Tampa Bay Rays Clinch The American League Wildcard!

Anyone who questions the pure determination of our Tampa Bay Rays simply does not understand what we know about this team! During off season this year, Tampa cut an insane number of our premiere players in order to drastically cut the payroll. Such stars as Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Matt Garza and Rafael Soriano were sent on their way.

But behind it all, Joe Madden led the team through cherry picked replacements such as Matt Damon, Casey Kotchman and some strong rookie muscle to our bullpen. All of the players know Madden never looses his confidence or his calm... creating an environment that makes the players enjoy the game with a highly competitive spirit.
September has been a stellar month for the Rays! Struggling to find consistency within it newly patched together team, they began September 9 games behind the Boston Red Sox vying for the American League wildcard spot! This is where Madden and his team began to pull it together and game by game decrease that spread. By last night, they were neck and neck with Boston... and we were playing the Yankees! Boston was playing Baltimore. Depending on the score of those two games, there would either be a wildcard winner or a tie-breaker to be played on Thursday!

When the Yankees came out fighting, The Rays saw a devastating 0-7 score facing their wildcard race... at the same time keeping up with the Boston game (they were winning 3-2). Most people would think that was pretty bleak... but the 8th inning changed the game and the deficit was narrowed to 6-7. In the bottom of the 9th inning, with 2 outs on the scoreboard, Madden brought in Dan Johnson as a pitch hitter. As the announcer said, "Johnson is here for one reason and one reason only." And sure enough he pops one out there tying up the game and leading the team into extra innings.

In the bottom of the 12th inning, the word came up on the scoreboard that the Baltimore Orioles had beat the Red Sox!! Cheers roared in the crowd... if we could win this game, the AL wildcard belonged to the Rays. And Evan Longoria's dramatic homer did just that!

This team simply does not lose its spirit and they never give up even when the odds are stacked against them. Play offs begin Friday against the Texas Rangers... GO RAYS!!!

The PURTEE Team/Realty Executives/Tampa Bay Beaches Realtors Of Choice!

The PURTEE Team brings some heavyweight sizzle to the Tampa Bay real estate scene. With over 10 years of local real estate experience, their diverse professional backgrounds combine to create one powerful team! Always among the top producing agents along the Tampa Bay beaches, their clients have discovered a cohesive team whose combined strengths make an exceptional total package.

Recently, other institutions have begun to take notice as well. When Lending Institutions select one of the team members as their preferred realtor, it enables our clients to take advantage of distressed property prices right as they hit the market!

For almost a year, Lambdin Freeman has been on the Regions Bank preferred list of realtors in the area. She is an expert in preparing a property to list for Regions... and connecting that property to the right buyer from our team database.

Mark Purtee was recently chosen by Kondaur Capital Corporation of California to handle one of their distressed property listings. He was involved from the original assessment through property upgrades to enhance the property prior to listing. Mark typically suggests spending a minimum amount in order to keep the price low. It is our investor clientele that are truly able to take advantage of these types of properties as they hit the market.

Sun Trust Bank has recently recruited Kathy McBrayer as their realtor of choice in the Tampa Bay area to launch their Special Lending Program for Doctors wishing to purchase property. She brings a great deal of experience and expertise to Sun Trust.

Both Mark and Kathy have achieved their Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS) designation and Garges Purtee has added the Resort & Second Home Property Specialist (RSPS) to her list of accomplishments.

Throughout the process of rounding out the team, Garges Purtee brings over 30 years of marketing experience to the team... as evidenced by the team website, marketing materials, and marketing to the team database of over 7000 interested clients! In addition, her interior design license allows the team to offer professional staging all the way to helping a new buyer get to turn key ready.

Whether considering listing your property or making a purchase here in the Tampa Bay Beaches area, call on The PURTEE Team with Realty Executives. 10209 Gulf Blvd., Treasure Island, FL 33706. Or email us at
info@floridagulfproperty.com

Florida Home Sales Experiencing An Upturn

On September 1st,China's largest news agency - Xinhua (with over 800 million website followers) - featured a story on why Florida real estate is a smart investment for the international market.

"Tampa, FL (Xinhua) - September 1, 2011 - One of the first U.S. states to have its economy crushed by the U.S. housing market recession is now experiencing a rather happy surprise - its housing market is experiencing an upturn.

Despite and unemployment rate of 10.7%, which is higher than the national rate of slightly over 9%, enough people are buying houses in Florida so that the state's housing market is no longer considered an imminent problem by housing and regulatory agencies.

What makes this even more unique is the fact that the status of Florida's housing markets seems to be in the opposite condition of the national housing market."

The combination of highly affordable prices and record low interest rates are fueling this resurgence. So, taking a look back at the significance of foreign homebuyers in Florida... the National Association of Realtors conducted a survey this summer to determine the impact of international home buyers. Here are some of the results:

• Approximately 25% of all sales in Florida are to foreigners.



• Nearly all sales are for cash.



• Foreign purchasers buy upper end homes with a median price of approximately $174,700.
  


• International investors cite value as a major reason for their purchase - the discounted prices of U.S. real estate coupled with the weaker U.S. dollar.



• Canadians were the top investors in U.S. property, with the United Kingdom now less important that in 2010. Brazil and Venezuela have become more important.

The PURTEE Team is also experiencing this increase in foreign national activity. This year we have closed transactions with international buyers from various provences in Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Scotland. With our RSPS (Resort & Second Home Property Specialist) certification, we are trained to work with foreign nationals throughout the sales process. You can contact us to learn more HERE.