December 31st On Beaches of Treasure Island, Florida!

Granted it has been one of the coldest Decembers on record here in Tampa Bay, but today had temperatures back to normal for this time of the year in the mid to high 70's.

BUT... the water temperature is still 54 degrees!!! A long way from the balmy 80 degrees we get during the late summer. One thing is for certain, these brave souls are NOT from around here! Or perhaps it was the liquid encouragement they were all drinking that made them immune to these cold water. They are at the beach after all and it is New Year's Eve!

At the grocery store today, there were license plates from Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, New Jersey and Virginia... just during my short visit. They have got to be excited to be here. I hope they don't have to drive anywhere!

Have a very Happy, Healthy and SAFE New Year's!
The PURTEE Team
Realty Executives
Mark, Garges, Lambdin and Kathy

Sometimes you have to sit back and smile... maybe even dance a step or two. As Mark put his finishing touches wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve afternoon, I think he has procrastinated and will never be finished in time. He, on the other hand, is having a jolly old time!

From the back bedroom where he is creating wrapping works of art, I find him with the balcony door open listening to Christmas carols being played directly across the street via a steel drum player and his guitarist partner! Simply there to celebrate the season, Mark naturally had to take them some eggnog in appreciation of their making his work efforts actually quite pleasurable.

This is the scene I walk into... Mark singing along to the steel drum carols totally in the mood of the season! I can't help but smile and appreciate all we have around us!

Merry Christmas

2010 A Challenging Year? YOU BET!

To say that the economy was the top story for 2010 is quite the understatement! What it meant for real estate here in the Tampa Bay of Florida was quite the roller coaster ride!

So many highs and lows... it seemed like every time we could grab on to some positive news, something would happen to pull us back down. Tax credits ended, banks pulled back on lending and foreclosures stopped closing.

In March and early April, real estate in our area was beginning to flourish. Inventory levels were decreasing and prices were stabilizing. Finally the light at the end of the tunnel. UNTIL an oil rig owned by BP exploded on April 10, 2010, and it took three months to cap the flow. Millions of gallons of oil tainted the Gulf with some of it landing as tar balls along the beautiful sugar white beaches of Florida. Around the world, the news shook the very belief on the beauty that Florida has to offer. It didn't matter that in our area there was no oil even close to our shores. It was the perception...

Interest rates hit the lowest level in decades, but the confidence level of buyers wavered. The majority of sales continued to be all cash with a serious reluctance to get saddled with a mortgage. Record numbers of potential buyers began looking for long term rentals to wait out the instability of the market. Now we are seeing mortgage rates begin to climb and economists do not see them coming back down.

But even with those stumbling blocks, signs continue to point to a stabilizing and slowly improving economy. By the end of 2010, falling home prices and record-low interest rates made homebuying a bargain even without the tax credit, and the Florida housing sector seemed to be tentatively and warily stabilizing. The market remains solid if not stellar, and most economists predict a positive trend in 2011.

Our clients are getting amazing deals in waterfront property! Canadians are flocking to our shores to take advantage of the Canadian currency on par with the US Dollar. With our deflated prices paired with their boost in currency exchange, we are a very tempting bargain! In the last week... yes the week before Christmas, we have written up 3 waterfront deals right off our HOT DEALS page. We identify properties that fall into an amazing price point and quickly get it out to our clients. One of the properties had a buyer beat our client to it by 4 HOURS. This is the kind of situation we are used to... when buyers and realtors alike know and identify a deal quickly, then fight like crazy to get in line first. If you are considering a purchase in the Tampa Bay area, talk to us. We have a wealth of information to share.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Borrowers Wait For Lower Mortgage Rates and Lose

According to Janna Herron, Associated Press real estate writer, "Homeowners who delayed locking in super-low mortgage rates – think close to 4 percent for a 30-year fixed – may have waited too long." Rates are beginning to creep back up. The 30-year rate rose to 4.61 percent from 4.46 percent last week. That is well above the 4.17 percent rate hit a month ago – the lowest level on records dating back to 1971.

“People thought for a while that rates would fall below 4 percent, and they hedged on that,” said New York mortgage broker and banker Andrew Toolin, who had just been on the phone with a client who is paying 5.875 percent on his mortgage. A month ago, the client passed on what now looks like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the chance to refinance at 4.125 percent. That would have put $321 more in his pocket each month. He held out, thinking he could do even better. Now the rate is up to 4.75 percent. He could still shave money off his monthly mortgage payment, but not nearly as much – about $229.“He’s wondering if he should wait for rates to go back down,” Toolin said. “He’s talking to his wife tonight about what to do.”

What is making the rates start to climb? If you look back in prior PURTEE Team Blogs, you will see that interest rates are tied directly to investor buying and selling of Treasury Bonds. With the upcoming tax deal President Barack Obama and Republicans forged that could boost the economy next year if passed, we would see a freeze on tax increases for 2011 and other stimulus tax cuts take effect. A stronger economy would make the stock market a more attractive place to invest money. That’s a big reason why many investors are selling their safer Treasury bonds. As investors sell off these Treasury bonds, rates have to increase for them to compete in the investor market. These bonds help finance the mortgages. As more bonds come on the market, prices become depressed and yields have to increase. "Prices and yields move in opposite directions."

We talk about the pendulum... which we actually thought would start to swing earlier in the year. Everyone wants to buy at the lowest rate and for the lowest price. We hear it every day. The issue is the uncertainty that lingers as to where the bottom truly is. What we do know is that buy the time the general media says it is time to buy, the real opportunities have been left behind. For additional mortgage information, check out our website... Click Here.

Back On Market! Contract Fell Through

In this market, things happen every day that simply make you shake your head in amazement. A client of ours upside down in a property in Clearwater Beach has been working for a year to do a loan modification with his lender... to no avail. Working with an attorney, he actually got an offer on the property that the bank ACCEPTED, then 2 days later they foreclose on the property! What??? Obviously they are repealing...

In this case, the owners of this gorgeous condo at Redington Shores Yacht & Tennis Club, going through their own financial and health issues, find themselves unable to keep up with this property weighted down with both a 1st and 2nd mortgage. They got a contract in which would be a short sale and presented it to the lender along with their hardship dilemma. After several weeks of intense scrutiny, the lender refused to even consider a short sale? So... the alternative??? Either let the bank foreclose on the property or be willing to accept a contract at a price where they can liquidate their future retirement and bring the balance of the funds to the closing table themselves.

So... that is the story with this condo. back on the market at $495,000 FIRM... $55,000 less than any other condo currently listed in the community! Seller will be ADDING close to $150,000 to the Buyer's purchase to make the transaction go through. Tough on the Sellers... an amazing opportunity for the Buyers. For information, click here.