Top three reasons most buyers will miss the bottom in the Tampa real estate market

May 15, 2008 Tampa, Fl

With all the talk of declining real estate prices over the last 18 months its no wonder that most buyers waiting on the fence will in fact miss the bottom of the market and end up paying more for the house they want in the future. Why will this happen you ask? In a nut shell, its the same reason most sellers didn't sell at the peak. It is the old adage "Pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered". The same human emotion of greed works on the buy side as well. Today's buyer's are trying to time the market and therefore maximize their profits by buying at just the right time and paying the lowest price possible for their home. It's human nature and we all at some level access both our fear and greed emotions when deciding on investing our money. Now to the top three reasons why buyers will miss the bottom.

Reason Number 1.
Greed. I think buyers are becoming greedy today when making offers on homes and are walking away from some very attractive prices on some very nice affordable homes because they think that prices will go lower and if they wait they will get a better deal. This is one of the many signs that a bottom has already occurred. The best time to buy is when fear is at it's highest point. That occurred in March and April of 2008 and will probably be proven to be the very bottom of the Tampa Bay area real estate market. The window of opportunity is closing and prices have already started to level off and sales trends and buyer traffic are increasing on a weekly basis.

Reason Number 2.
Affordability. With homes prices in the Tampa Bay market down over 20% in some areas and the increase in income levels over the past 8 years combined with historically low interest rates makes affordability the lowest since the year 2000. The same factor that contributed to the decline in home prices over the last 2 years is the same factor that will help home prices bottom out this year. Another contributing factor is lower home owners insurance rates and lower property taxes. This actually is one of the lowest risk times to buy a home in the last 10-15 years.

Reason Number 3.
Rental Market. The rental market is strong and the need for housing in the Tampa Bay area will continue to grow. The strong rental market is giving seller's an alternative to dropping their prices to unrealistic levels when they can rent their home and wait out the market. As the bottom in pricing forms, sellers are less willing to sell at the bottom. Sellers are actually listing their homes for sale or lease. This is putting buyers in competition with renters looking for homes to lease. This is also helping to lower available inventory in the Tampa Bay area.

My prediction is that there will be a lot of buyers kicking themselves a year from now about why they didn't buy at today's attractive prices. The amount of buyers who will miss the bottom will probably be the same number of people that wished they had sold at the peak in late 2005. Real Estate will once again stop being a dirty word and the talk at the water cooler will start to turn positive in the months ahead. Of course by that time you will have missed the bottom.

When is doing a 1031 exchange beneficial?

Tampa,Fl November 27, 2007

Want to know more about 1031 exchanges? Using these like-kind exchanges instead of selling the property outright will almost certainly save your seller big bucks in taxes, according to an expert in 1031 exchanges.

Read the full story:http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n3-112607.cfm

New Home Sales Report

September 19, 2007. Tampa, Fl.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday that construction of new homes fell by 2.6 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.331 million units – its slowest level in 12 years.

Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n3-091907.cfm

Real Estate Report and Update

Tampa, Fl 9/11/2007
Tighter credit for home mortgages will measurably dampen home sales in the short term and postpone an expected recovery for existing-home sales until 2008, according to NAR’s latest forecast. Still, “The volume of existing-home sales this year will be better than 2002, which was the second year of the housing boom,” says NAR Senior Economist Lawrence Yun.

Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n2-091107.cfm

Florida Foreclosure Update

Tampa, Fl 9/10/2007.
The number of homeowners receiving foreclosure notices hit a record high in the second quarter, driven up by problems with subprime mortgages. The delinquency rate, which tracks the number of homeowners with late mortgage payments, was also up sharply.

Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n3-090707.cfm

Florida Property Insurance Update

Tampa, Fl June 29,2007. How do property insurance rates compare in your county? Homeowners and buyers can now find comparison info on a state-run Web site, which creates a fictional house and then shows how much it would cost to insure, by company and county, based on rate filings submitted to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Gov. Charlie Crist announced the launch of the “Shop and Compare Rates” Web site – http://www.shopandcomparerates.com/.
Read the full story:

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n2-062707.cfm

Tampa, Fl May 21, 2007. I would like to introduce you to one of the best Lounges in the Tampa Bay area. The Rack. If you haven't already discovered the Rack this gem located 1809 W. Platt St. you need to put it on the top of your to do list. Where else can you go and order chicken wings and Sushi at the same place. The Sushi at The Rack is some of the best in town and I've been everywhere in my search for the best. There is always a hip crowd and the staff is always friendly and fast. You can shoot darts,play pool, watch the latest sporting event on one of many plasma's located throuthout or just dine on a wide variety of cusine. They also have some new sushi rolls to try out. The best nights to go to the Rack are Thursday and Friday's although any night is good if you enjoy eating great tasting food. The Rack is one of my favorite places to go in South Tampa and if you go I think it will become yours as well. For more information of the Rack go to their web site at www.hittherack.com or call 813-250-1595.

May 8th 2007, Tampa, Fl.
Remember a few years ago when everywhere you went you would hear people talking about all the Real Estate deals they were making money on and about how excited they are about their next deal? Well, today if you listen you hear people talking about what on earth am I going to do with all this Real Estate. As a Realtor and Real Estate investor myself, I'm facing the same questions. Realtor's should step up to the plate and give solid advice to thier clients thinking about walking away from deposits or how to manage being stuck in a property with either negative or no cash flow. Sure, we stand to lose some immediate commissions if the right thing to do is to walk away from the deposit and not close but if handled correctly we could also gain the loyality of a life long client.
One of the best ways to help investors stay afloat in this market is to generate income from vacant properties. Vacant Properties don't sell as fast and usually sell for a lower price. So, I suggest investors put a little money in painting the house with warm colors and furnishing the property. Then offer the home on a short term rental basis. The home will show better with furniture and furnished short term rentals are in demand right now. Also, when the home is decorated and furnished it makes it an easier tenant transition because they can move right in and out without having to move alot of furniture. How do you decide if you should spend the money to decorate and furnish the home? Just calculate the average days on market in your area and times that by your monthly carrying cost to arrive at an amount that you would spend if the home doesn't sell. Then take that money and furnish the home. This will allow you to weather the slow market and ease the negative cash flow if the home goes unsold after six months and beyond. The bonus is that you can also use the property when it is vacant for a vacation home or barter it to business cleints and or friends. Went it comes time to sell the home you can also recapture some of your furniture investment with a higher price by selling the home fully furnished and move in ready. This might not be the best fit for every investment property but it is definitely something one should look at, especially if the investment home is located in or near a vacation destination or is a condo.

Samari Blue Sushi Restaurant in Westchase/Highland Lakes

I was so excited about Samari Blue opening up and enjoyed it the first couple of times but was disappointed with the way they decorated the inside and the owners don't seem to care to much about customer service. The sushi there is excellent and the "Volcano Roll" is a must along with their spicy tuna roll, however my wife and I received very poor customer service one night when we had to wait for over a hour for a table then another hour for our food. The waitress didn't even come take our drink orders during that time and the Manager said sorry but we are very busy tonight and that was that. Has anybody else had any customer service issues there? Maybe it's just the kinks being new. Now that Zen Bistro Bar & Grill has opened in the New Shops at Westchase Village and we have dined there several times, we prefer Zen Bistro over Samari Blue. We perfer Zen Bistro because it has a better sushi selection and the atmosphere there is warmer and actually more upscale. Check back for more Tampa Bay area restaurant reviews at http://www.insidetampabayrealestate.blogspot.com.

If you are considering a move to Tampa you owe it to yourself to visit Waterchase and the Westchase area as part of your home tour. The Burkett Collection at Charles RutenbergRealty has full time team members living in Waterchase to help you with your home search!