10 Top Reasons Why It’s a Great Time to Buy Real Estate

A recent article just came out about how “now is the time to buy real estate”. Given the fact that we have over 16,000 homes on the market in Orange County alone is overwhelming, to say the least. Word by the some of the media is, don’t buy now, prices are still going down. Well, it’s all a matter of opinion… You and I both know that no one has a crystal ball. This is definitely a buyers market and there are some very good buys out there.
#1 Regardless of the price range a buyer desires, there are plenty of houses from which to choose. Lots of options on the market today.
#2 Yay! No bidding wars. In 2005 we had multiple offers on a single home. This feeding frenzy that we experienced back then was horrible. The good news; there is no competitive bidding in this buyer’s market.
#3 You can make an offer. A few short years ago when you made an offer, the only question was how high above the asking price could the buyer reach in hopes of being the best offer on the table. Today this is not the case. Most sellers are grateful to get a fair price for their home.
#4 Patience is tolerated. In the hot seller’s market that existed everything was a big rush, rush. Today a buyer can take their time. Look at several homes and think about their decision for a few hours. Offer to purchase a home that they are “really happy” with. Not buying one out of desperation for fear they will not find another.
#5 This one is really crazy. In the not so distant past, buyers had to play games just to get into a new home. I remember several times I went to the model center at 5am in the morning for my out of state or out of country buyers and stood in line just to make sure my buyers had a chance at the lottery to build a new home. At one model center, there were homebuyer’s who slept on lounge chairs in front of the sales center doors at the model to ensure they were first in line. It was a crazy time and now builders have thousands of specs ready for anywhere from immediate to a few months down the road occupancy. Oh, did I mention how negotiable they will be on those specs!
#6 In this market even, due diligence is welcomed. A buyer is encouraged to obtain a home & termite inspection (which by the way we have always encouraged our buyer’s to order inspections. Back in 2005, many buyers waived these contingencies in order to gain an advantage with multiple offers.
#7 After a home inspection has been completed, the buyer submits a repair request to the seller. In the past a seller might insist the home be sold as is. And, in some cases you will find that today, but there are few back up buyers waiting.
#8 It was estimated that one third of all the sales in 2005 were to investors. Mortgage fraud became commonplace. We still have investors, especially on the foreclosure side, but the mortgage fraud has decreased dramatically.
#9 Location, location, location. How many times have you heard this. Well, it’s very true! Today many buyer’s can find homes closer to work and in areas that they are attracted to. In 2005, favorite communities were almost impossible to get into.
#10 Last, but certainly not least! Real financing is available… The “wink - wink” zero down, no doc, adjustable, sub-prime loans are gone. Fixed rates are back and FHA financing, first time homeowner bond programs, special loans for teachers, and police officers are back in business. Hip-hip-hooray! It’s a great time to buy real estate!!!
Source: Broker Agent News

Tampa Real Estate
Orlando Homes for Sale

Revised Property Tax Relief Proposal for Florida

Recent email from the president of the National Association of Realtors, Nancy Riley

For over a year now you have been advocating for property tax reform that is comprehensive and not just a simple tax cut. Your message has been clearly delivered to the legislature that reform needs to address all property types - not just Homestead property owners.

This afternoon The Florida House of Representatives released a revised property tax relief proposal that will be considered on Monday. This plan includes provisions advocated by both Republicans and Democrats in the House.

In addition to Portability which is being embraced by the Governor, Senate and House, this new House proposal includes a five percent assessment cap on Commercial and non-homestead property. This is intended to provide the predictability and stability that non-homestead property owners have been advocating for.

The House is also advocating a new homestead exemption that, instead of doubling the current $25,000 exemption, would guarantee a minimum Save Our Homes exemption of 40% of the county median home value. House leaders believe this will provide relief to not only new buyers but those who have purchased in recent years.

Again, we expect the House to begin consideration of this proposal on Monday. Both the House and Senate plans that are being considered maintain the current Save Our Homes structure and provide for portability of Save Our Homes.

Attached is a side-by-side that gives more detail on the current Senate and House proposals.

Here is a complete list of the issues being proposed in the House plan today:

• Instead of doubling the homestead exemption, this exemption is tied to the county’s median home value and will target relief to all homestead property owners (not just first time buyers). Again, the exemption would be 40% of area median.


• Save Our Homes-like cap on non-homestead and commercial property to help restore fairness, equity and predictability to our property tax system by capping any increase at 5%. This will help businesses who have faced outrageous tax increases and owners of second homes (Snowbirds).


• Portability - homeowners may transfer their Save Our Homes benefits to a new homestead anywhere in Florida within 2 years of leaving their former homestead.


• Creates a new Tangible Personal Property Exemption of $25,000


• Limits the authority of local governments to increase property taxes


• Provides for limitations on assessed values of properties used for affordable housing


• Provides an assessment growth limitation for all non-homestead properties in Florida by 5%


• Creates more flexibility for the Legislature to limit assessments for working waterfront properties


• Election of all county property appraisers

New Office Space Is On The Rise in Tampa

New Office Space Is On The Rise
By DAVE SIMANOFF, The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 11, 2007

TAMPA - The office development famine is over. But the feast might be hard to digest.
Commercial developers plan to build nearly 5 million square feet of new office space in Hillsborough County over several years, most of it in the West Shore Business District. The building boom comes after several years of relative inactivity, when few new buildings debuted despite a healthy local economy and growing job market.
The office developers are hoping to capitalize on the pent-up demand for new office space in the Tampa Bay area - and, naturally, the higher rental rates that have been spurred by a surge in demand.
Looking over the myriad projects, two questions emerge: Are there too many projects, and are they being planned too late?
Five million square feet represents a lot of office space - about four-fifths of all the office space in downtown Tampa. If all the office space proposed right now were built, the buildings would compete for tenants at a time when the growth in the population is expected to slow, and when employers are expected to add fewer new workers than they have in the past.
There's no question that Hillsborough County needs new office space. Local tenants need room to expand, and the county needs vacant space to accommodate companies that might wish to relocate from other parts of the country, according to Larry Richey, senior managing director of commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.
Richey said he wouldn't be concerned about the roster of planned office projects if the pace of job creation in the Tampa Bay area was expected to remain constant.
'The reality is, I'm not sure we can count on that level of job growth going forward,' he said. 'In office space, demand is tied to job creation.'
Richey is right to be concerned about employment growth. Per Gunnar Berglund, a senior economist at Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pa., predicts the work force in the Tampa Bay area will continue to grow, but at a much slower rate than a few years ago.
For example, Moody's Economy.com reports that the work force in the Tampa Bay area is expected to grow just 1.2 percent this year, 1.5 percent next year, and 1.7 percent in 2009. In comparison, the work force grew 4.5 percent just three years ago.
Moody's Economy.com says the Tampa Bay area is ranked 175th out of 389 metropolitan areas for job growth from 2006 to 2011.
Why the slowdown in employment growth? Berglund blames the downturn in the residential real estate market, and its effects on consumer spending and in the financial services industry. He said things likely won't improve until the end of 2008.
Developers said they're not seeing signs that they'll be hindered by a slowdown in employment growth.
Larry Wilson, southeast division president for Koll Development, said he's seeing 'a lot of interest' in his firm's Intellicenter of Tampa, a two-building, 350,000-square-foot complex at Tampa Telecom Park in Temple Terrace.
Koll, which is based in Dallas, has broken ground on the first building, which will have 200,000 square feet. It should be ready in August 2008.
Wilson, who is based in Charlotte, said population and job growth demographics remain attractive in the Tampa Bay area, and that new buildings usually continue to attract tenants even when market conditions are slow.
'I do not necessarily think that we are late,' he said.
Bob Abberger, managing partner for Florida at Trammell Crow Co., also didn't appear worried about the employment trend.
For one thing, he said, many proposed real estate developments do not materialize. For another, he believes his planned Prime Meridian Center, a 450,000-square-foot building in the Channel District of downtown Tampa, can compete against the competition by offering suburban-style amenities in an urban setting.
'It's positioned to be the best of class,' he said.
Prime Meridian Center should be complete by the end of 2009.
Richey, of Cushman & Wakefield, said it's very possible that Hillsborough County ends up dealing with much less than 5 million square feet of new office space.
Developers don't always build every project they announce. When a project involves multiple buildings, sometimes the developer will complete one building and wait until the market is ready before proceeding on a new one, he said.
If developers end up building too much office space, the market will eventually correct itself, Richey said.
'There's one thing that's always certain when it comes to commercial real estate, and it's that development is cyclical,' he said. 'We don't know when, but the pendulum will shift back the other way.'

Florida State Wants Deeper Insurance Rate Cuts

BRADENTON, Fla. – Aug. 16, 2007 – The state has been busy turning down rate increases requested by insurance companies, but now even rate decreases are being rejected as not creating enough relief for consumers.Recently, three property insurance carriers proposed lowering their rates. But the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation on Tuesday said the reductions aren’t good enough.“Governor Crist and the Legislature made some courageous decisions during the January special session,” Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said Tuesday in an issued statement, referring to legislation that ordered insurance carriers to lower rates. “We will not allow companies to file incomplete or inadequate rate reductions affecting the policyholders of this state.”The companies denied rate requests were Cypress Property & Casualty, which proposed a 5.4 percent decrease in rates; First Floridian Auto and Home, which proposed lowering rates by 8.3 percent; and Travelers Indemnity Company of America, which also proposed an 8.3 percent average rate cut.Companies have until Sept. 30 to submit their final reduced rate filings mandated by the law.Florida Farm Bureau was recently denied a 26 percent rate increase by the Office of Insurance Regulation.But denying decreases is a switch.However, it doesn’t surprise state Rep. Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton.“It doesn’t surprise me that they’re (Office of Insurance Regulation) wanting more,” Reagan said. “I see the governor trying to hold their feet to the fire and get lower premiums.”Tom Zutell, a spokesman for the Office of Insurance Regulation, said the companies’ rates were denied after review from the regulatory agency’s actuaries.Under the new law, companies have access to cheaper reinsurance – or insurance for insurance companies – through the Florida Hurricane Catastrophic Fund. In turn, companies are supposed to pass reinsurance savings on to consumers.“On these three particular ones,” Zutell said, “the actuary said that it appears from their reinsurance contracts that they realized a lot more savings in reinsurance than they passed on to the consumer.”Immediately after the special session in January, lawmakers said consumers could anticipate as much as 24 percent savings on homeowners insurance premiums. The recent rates that have been proposed from various companies awaiting public hearings have been more in the range of 12 percent to 15 percent, Zutell said.Hollywood-based Coral Insurance recently filed for a 9.7 percent rate decrease after taking advantage of cheaper reinsurance from the state CAT fund. The company operates in 12 counties, mostly in the southern part of the state.State Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said the denial of the rate requests was a sign McCarty was getting tough on insurers.“I believe that’s absolutely the way he has to be now,” Galvano said. “What we believed during the session and what the reality is now has not matched. Until the Office of Insurance Regulation holds the insurance industry’s feet to the fire with regard to passing on the savings to consumers, it’s not going to happen.”Copyright © 2007 The Bradenton Herald, Fla., Brian Neill. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

No1 Spot to buy a home? Try Tampa Bay!

From James Thorman St.Pete Times July 25
The online edition of Forbes magazine, with help from business prognosticator Moody's Economy.com, touts the Tampa Bay area as the No. 1 place in the country to buy a house.
Come again? Aren't we supposed to be in the throes of housing agony?
Hear them out: Because of our area's overall strong, growing economy and comparably modest housing prices, Forbes calls Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater a prime bounce-back market.
It predicts our area will experience what it calls a V-shaped recovery, where a market experiences a free fall, but rebounds strongly once it hits bottom.
Other regions will chart U-shaped or L-shaped courses. U-shaped recoveries are those in which prices fall slowly and recover gradually. Think Boston and Sacramento.
The L-shaped phenomenon is when prices plummet but remain mostly in a trough owing to underlying economic problems in the city. Think Detroit.
"While the Tampa market has yet to bottom out, the silver lining for buyers is that it is a highly resilient market," the article says.
"Most of the fallout in Tampa can be attributed to its high investor share, which is correctable given the good economic and job-growth projections."
To get on Forbes' top 10 list, a region needed an oversupply of real estate with plenty of sellers keen to strike a bargain. That's not all, though. Forbes also sought areas where prices wouldn't fall cataclysmically, so that buyers wouldn't be booking a fare on a sinking ship.
Based on Moody's figures, Tampa Bay home prices should bottom out in the first quarter of 2008, once the region burns off excess inventory from speculators who went hog wild in 2005.
Fast Facts:

Forbes' top 10
1. Tampa
2. Minneapolis
3. Miami
4. Kansas City
5. Chicago
6. Phoenix
7. San Diego
8. Milwaukee
9. New York City
10. Atlanta
[Last modified July 24, 2007, 23:42:23]

Crist signs bill to curtail mortgage fraud

Tallahassee, Fla. – June 20, 2007 – In 2005, Florida ranked No. 1 in mortgage fraud, over two times higher than the national average. But the rules will change Oct. 1, 2007, which a new law – signed yesterday by Gov. Charlie Crist – tightens lending rules. “The new law makes the mortgage lending process more transparent,” says Trey Goldman, FAR legislative counsel. “It also impacts buyers, sellers and real estate licensees who may be trying to commit mortgage fraud.”A person – including real estate licensees – commits real property fraud if he or she knowingly lies, misrepresents or omits material information that the lender or another party in the transaction would rely on in the mortgage lending process. The legislation is based on laws adopted in Georgia and other states.The new law, S.B. 1824, mandates the following: • Mortgage brokers and lenders must give borrowers detailed disclosures for loans, including variable rate loans (ARMs). • Borrowers must be told how much a lender pays a mortgage broker, and it must be in writing.• Good faith estimates must be signed and dated by the borrower, and disclose the “recipient of all fees charged.” The law allows the fees to be disclosed in generic terms.• If a loan’s terms change, the borrower must be notified no later than three business days before closing. The mortgage licensee must be able to prove that the notice was provided and that the borrower accepted the new terms. • The Florida Office of Financial Regulation may take an enforcement action against mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders who violate the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) or the federal Truth-in-Lending Act. © 2007 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Pinellas County Seeks Upscale Tourists

Tampa Real Estate
Orlando Homes for Sale

By TED JACKOVICS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 10, 2007

ST. PETE BEACH - When Frank Grieco recently planned a getaway to celebrate his wife's birthday, he had one goal: He wanted an upscale holiday.

'I thought about flying to Bermuda or Puerto Rico,' said Grieco, who retired from the publishing industry in New York and moved to Sarasota. 'I shopped around all over the Internet.

'We ended up driving 40 miles north to spend a couple days at the Don CeSar on St. Pete Beach, which we'd heard about but where we'd never stayed.'

Grieco represents the emerging face of Pinellas County's mainstay tourism industry. He's affluent, he shops for travel over the Internet, and his perspective for planning trips extends worldwide.

Pinellas County has begun to note an increase in interest from upscale travelers, both those on leisure and business trips. The median household income of U.S. visitors in March was $120,260, 6 percent higher than a year ago, while European visitor household income rose 16 percent to $116,235, data by tourism consultant Walter Klages showed.

The trend has been prompted largely by lnternet sites showing more arts, cultural, sports and environmental recreation available throughout the Tampa Bay area. It has been fueled by cheap air fares and one of the best exchange rates in recent times for international visitors.

High-end hotels and resorts in Pinellas have responded, spurring more than $100 million to upgrade facilities, expand services and add new properties that cater to affluent, would-be world travelers. The Don CeSar Beach Resort and Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg plan new, full-service spas, and the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa has completed a facilitywide upgrade.

Although the Vinoy, Don CeSar and TradeWinds Island Grand Resort on St. Pete Beach enjoy AAA four-diamond ratings, Clearwater Beach anticipates its first four-diamond (or higher) resort hotel in August with the opening of the Sandpearl Resort.

The visitors trend also is contributing to upscale development in business districts in Clearwater Beach and St. Petersburg. A corner of Safety Harbor's downtown has taken on a tony look in the past year.

Behind the scenes, tourism officials are targeting a worldwide market because the same factors that attract visitors to Pinellas work in favor of other Florida destinations and beyond.

'Ask a hotelier here where the competition is, and you will get the answer that it is anywhere with sun and sand,' said D.T. Minich, executive director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

'However, competition has changed dramatically. In Europe which accounted for 16.9 percent of Pinellas's 5.5 million visitors in 2006, you see ads for Dubai everywhere. The Seychelles Islands and Maldives in the Indian Ocean are getting more and more Europeans.'

Plus the Caribbean is outspending the United States for tourism marketing, he said.

In cities such as Montreal, billboards beckon visitors with vacation packages to Cuba. Canada provided almost 340,000 Pinellas visitors last year. Minich isn't concerned about Cuba, yet.

'They have a totally different product from what we offer,' he said. 'Cuba offers all-inclusive stays, with guests not leaving the resorts. We did a focus group in Lee County where he previously worked as tourism director talking to Canadians who visited Cuba, and they primarily talked about the inconsistency in the product.'

The good news for Pinellas and other U.S. destinations is that the weak dollar is providing Europeans an almost 2-1 ratio for U.S. dollars.

Gaining upscale visitors should bolster restaurants, shops and cultural attractions, tourism officials agreed.

'These are the people who spend the money,' said Beth Coleman, president and chief executive of the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce. 'When affluent people come here, they don't want basic hotel services. They want the facilities of a resort, the spas, all the amenities they can take advantage of, like the new dinner cruise on Clearwater Beach.'

Coleman agreed that marketing Pinellas has become more competitive. 'With the Internet, you can look for the deals, look for places that are a little different.' she said.

Meeting Upscale Demand

The Don CeSar's $10 million project to add an 11,000 square-foot spa with a rooftop garden overlooking the Gulf of Mexico stems from realizing its current spa is not big enough to meet visitor expectations, general manager John Marks said.

However, Marks is confident continued upgrading of the lavish, landmark resort will play into attracting additional upscale visitors.

The Vinoy, the Don CeSar's highly regarded counterpart in downtown St. Petersburg, can't boast a beachfront setting, but the resort overlooks the city's marina and has a handful of downtown museums nearby. It's also near upscale shops along Beach Drive and multiple entertainment options along the Central Avenue corridor.

The Vinoy also is planning a $10 million to $15 million investment in a 10,000- to 12,000 square-foot spa, general manager Russ Bond said.

'For the Vinoy to stay competitive, we definitely need to embellish our amenities,' Bond said.

Those enhancements are directed toward the business-meeting segment that favors the downtown location and visitors drawn by the hotel's history, architecture and furnishings.

The popularity of spa treatments, including a transition from an older demographic as recent as 10 to 15 years ago to fitness-oriented patrons today, plays directly into the strengths of the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, another Pinellas landmark.

The Olympia Development Group, which bought the 60-year-old resort on the western bank of Old Tampa Bay in 2004, spent upwards of $10 million to renovate all 175 guest rooms and has just completed a new spa sanctuary.

'There's been a change in what people are looking for,' said Kathy Gaye, the spa's vice president of marketing and public relations. 'It's important to bring back the spa to its period of grandeur but we need to offer upscale amenities.'

Gaye said Safety Harbor's downtown is coming along. She hopes more restaurants will emerge along with the modern retail complex Olympia built across the street.

Beyond Safety Harbor, the Pinellas areas undergoing the most obvious transformation these days to meet the upscale trend are Clearwater Beach and downtown Clearwater.

Clearwater Beach is in the midst of creating Beach Walk from the traffic circle south. Beach Walk is slated to be a corridor of hotel, retail, entertainment and restaurant businesses billed as the 'future of tourism in Clearwater.'

Mandalay Avenue heading north for several blocks also has been transformed in recent years to a distinctly more upscale flavor. The new anchor will be the splashy Sandpearl Resort on the site of the former Clearwater Beach Hotel. The $80 million resort will feature a 253-unit hotel with an additional 50 suites and 117 condominium units.

Beyond Upscale

The trend toward upscale does not mean Pinellas has no room for its mainstay visitors, the families and bargain hunters from the Unites States and abroad.

'We were down at a hotel on St. Pete Beach where the prices we saw were $400 a night,' said Tina Nickerson, owner of the 17-unit Great Heron Inn on Indian Rocks Beach, one of the few remaining mom-and-pop beachfront motels that survived the condominium- and land-conversion craze of recent years.

'You get a lot for that, of course, but there still are people who cannot afford it.'

Nickerson is investing $90,000 into renovations for the Great Heron, from air conditioning to stairway banisters.

The move to more upscale development has affected Nickerson directly through her annual property taxes, which rose from $34,000 a year ago to $57,000 this year. But a loyal group of annual visitors, many of whom renew year after year from Europe, has enabled her to keep prices this summer as low as $120 a day through Sept. 6 for a Gulf-front room.

Grieco found an Internet special at the Don CeSar for $225 a night. Nightly prices there can surpass $500.

'This is working out well,' Grieco said, pausing from taking pictures of the resort's pink towers. 'We did not go through the hassle of going through an airport, and we have discovered a first-class hotel. We don't know much about shopping and restaurants on Gulf Boulevard, but we will check it out.'