Bidding Wars? Seriously???

Well, if you thought bidding wars were a thing of the past... think again! Homebuyers here in the Tampa Bay area are finding more competition when trying to find their dream home. The problem is that buyers are getting frustrated that this is the current scenario.


Why are things getting so competitive? There are several factors that have fueled the increase in multiple offers during the first quarter.

1) Low inventory of homes for sale. [ See Absorption Rate Blog ] In Pinellas County alone there has been a DECREASE of 44% less inventory of homes or condos for sale, leaving homebuyers with fewer options and more bidding on the same property! During March, absorption rates moved over 20%!

2) Record low mortgage interest rates remain around 4%. It appears the Feds will support this rate for at least two more years making financing very attractive when combined with a great deal.

We have 3 real life examples going on at this very moment here with The PURTEE Team:

1) We listed a 3-bedroom beach front condo in an extremely popular 7-day rental complex in Indian Shores. The unit is bank owned and was listed at a "sell quick" price of $399,900. In less than two days there were multiple offers involved. Bank called for highest and best and accepted the highest offer... leaving the other 6 buyers high and dry, along with all those who simply hadn't made time to get an offer in. The sense of urgency is bank!

2) In Clearwater Beach there are a very limited number of condo complexes that allow weekly rentals making them highly desirable. Over the past couple of years, several units in each of these complexes have sold at highly distressed and de-valued prices. However, there was NOTHING available in any of these buildings. With the pent up demand, we listed a condo in one of these buildings on Tuesday of this week. It is a corner unit with solid rental history in place, fully furnished, over $10,000 in future bookings, a repeat renter group and two live and fully operational rental websites for the unit. It was listed at $485,000... $35,000 higher than the highest recent sale. For every realtor or buyer who is calling arguing about its price, there are two others trying to see it. This one will set a new bar in price and guess what... the next buyer will wish he got it at this price!

3) We submitted a full price buyer offer for a bank owned property that was listed at $39,250. Needed quite a bit of work but a lot of potential. 3 offers came in and were submitted to bank. Bank called for highest and best yet they held the property open for additional offers. This one is still in 'wait and see' mode.
The point is... read our blog about Low-Balling Offers. If you are a buyer or investor looking for a great property, USE A REALTOR AND FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE. You still may not get the property in this situation, but you at least have a fighting chance. The next tier of listings will come as sellers begin to enter their properties at non-distressed but still value packed prices. PURTEE advice: don't miss out!

Low Ball Offers: Effective or Counter-Productive?

From the perspective of a realtor... we saw this coming. For those who listened, they truly reaped the rewards! Here in Pinellas County (the waterfront county of Tampa Bay that includes the beaches), in 2007 just as the market started to head downward there were a total of 18,504 property listings. Buying at such an unprecedented rate was slowing down. Seller began to realize that no offer could be ignored, even if it was 25% or more off the asking price!

Today, however, at the end of March there were 6,985 listings throughout the entire county... I checked today and that number is down to 6,935. If you combine a rebounding market with a severe depletion of inventory, we very quickly move away from a buyer's market. Those buyers need to understand that a more realistic buyer gets the home. There is nothing wrong with a low ball offer and everyone wants to get the best deal possible. However, we are finding buyers who make that stand losing out on the property. Multiple offers are becoming a norm.

"In a survey last year conducted by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), one in 10 respondents cited low-ball offers as a concern. According to real estate columnist Kenneth Harney, a NAR survey conducted in March and not yet released found that almost no one complained about low offers. When the number of listings outpaced the number of buyers, many potential homeowners submitted a shockingly low offer on the theory that they had nothing to lose. If the seller balked, most would still counter with something below their asking price. Today, however, offers close to the asking price – or even beating it – will probably come in fairly quickly from someone else if a home is priced correctly in the first place."

The misconception is easy to understand, particularly for out of state and international buyers (which Florida has plenty of). The media is filled with news about Florida's foreclosures and short sales. The point is that this news is old. Markets are local and diverse and when you have one rebounding it is easy to miscalculate the time for a low ball offer. You never want to blame someone for trying to get the best deal possible. My concern is the buyer who says "I don't pay retail" or "I am patient and can wait for the right deal" "I am paying cash!" Even the sellers who don't get offended by a low ball offer are more frequently countering at only a little off their asking price. In this Tampa Bay market of 2012, if a property is correctly priced... it may well be counter-productive to low ball. Not only that but 63% of the local sales are all cash so that once admirable playing card doesn't have quite the punch as it once did.

Keep up with the real estate market and The PURTEE Team. Email is at info@floridagulfproperty.com to receive monthly updates and local market statistics.

Absorption Rate Continues Momentum!

Click on Chart For Larger View
As realtors, we have seen first hand that March brought about a buying frenzy and a continuation of the decline in inventory. The market statistics that were just released by the Pinellas Realtor Organization gave full credence to what we inherently knew. Take a look at the chart on the left... the Absorption Rate is determined by dividing the number of units sold during the month by the total number of listings in the MLS.

March saw a HUGE jump in the numbers and basically it is saying that 1 in 5 listings was sold during the month! Another important factor is that out of those sales, 69% were non-distressed properties! Distressed home sales are down 28% from a year ago while bank owned properties have fallen 57%. To take a closer look at the 2007-2012 statistics and comparison from listings to sales, click on either Single Family Homes or Condos to see for yourself.

Throughout 2011 The Purtee Team has been keeping their clients informed about the market which is reflected in their sales performance. Many of their clients got amazing deals by knowing when to enter the market and how to best get the property at the greatest value. On the other side, sellers that use The PURTEE Team have found that over 40% of those sales are with buyers brought to the closing table by The PURTEE Team... resulting in lower commission fees. Whether you are in a position to buy or sell in the Tampa Bay, Florida area, contact a member of this team first! Email us at info@floridagulfproperty.com.

Vacation Home Sales Rise In 2011 & Continue In 2012!

Each real estate market area is unique is how it performs and how it adjusts to this slow turn in the economy... they do NOT all operate the same. The PURTEE Team has been talking in our BLOG about the beaches of Tampa Bay and how the recovery has swiftly turned the pendulum into a HOT sales market!

According to the National Association of Realtors, "sales of investment and vacation homes jumped in 2011, with the combined market share rising to the highest level since 2005. NAR’s 2012 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, covering existing- and new-home transactions in 2011, shows investment-home sales surged 64.5 percent to 1.23 million last year from 749,000 in 2010. Vacation-home sales rose 7.0 percent to 502,000 in 2011 from 469,000 in 2010."

Vacation-home sales accounted for 11 percent of all transactions last year, up from 10 percent in 2010, while the portion of investment sales jumped to 27 percent in 2011 from 17 percent in 2010. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said investors with cash took advantage of market conditions in 2011. “During the past year investors have been swooping into the market to take advantage of bargain home prices,” he said. “Rising rental income easily beat cash sitting in banks as an added inducement. In addition, 41 percent of investment buyers purchased more than one property.”

Here on the beaches, we have see inventory dwindle and distressed properties easily absorbed... often before they even hit the market! Nationwide, all-cash purchases have become fairly common in the investment- and vacation-home market during recent years: 49 percent of investment buyers paid cash in 2011, as did 42 percent of vacation-home buyers. Half of all investment home purchases in 2011 were distressed homes, as were 39 percent of vacation homes. Here in Tampa Bay, the all-cash percentage currently exceeds 63%!

Some interesting statistics from NAR’s 2012 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, conducted in March 2012:

• Eight out of 10 second-home buyers said it was a good time to buy. Nearly half of investment buyers said they were likely to purchase another property within two years, as did one-third of vacation-home buyers.


• The typical vacation-home buyer was 50 years old, had a median household income of $88,600 and purchased a property that was a median distance of 305 miles from the primary residence; 35 percent of vacation homes were within 100 miles and 37 percent were more than 500 miles. Buyers plan to own their recreational property for a median of 10 years.


• Eighty-two percent of vacation-home buyers said the primary reason for buying was to use the property themselves for vacations, or as a family retreat. Thirty percent plan to use the property as a primary residence in the future, and only 22 percent plan to rent to others.

In our local area, as inventory for sales has dwindled so has inventory for rentals. Even snowbirds traveling to the Tampa Bay are are finding their property to secure for next year harder and harder to find. This is a primary reason some of these renters are turning into buyers in order to secure their own place that they can count on year after year.

At this very moment, The PURTEE Team has 6 bank owned distressed properties in various stages with the bank prior to their being listed for public sale! Want to be on the inside track? Email us today at info@floridagulfproperty.com

Inventory At Record Lows - Sign Up For Monthly Updates To Stay Informed!

The PURTEE Team keeps their clients informed about the Tampa Bay beach real estate market with informative monthly updates via their email list. These updates include the current statistics on Absorption (inventory turnover), Condo and Single Family Home Active Listings Inventory & Sales.

In order to navigate this recovering market, buyers and sellers need to be informed. Real estate is not the same from county to county across the country... it is very much localized. The worst thing we are seeing is buyers who think they are more knowledgeable about the market and where it is headed. They often do not listen nor do they look at the facts or trends... these are the buyers who will miss the opportunities that exist here on the water in Florida TODAY!

Take a look at the chart above in regards to inventory being absorbed. 2008 was even worse, but look at the trend since February 2011! Look again at the start we had in March to June 2010. What happened there??? The Gulf oil spill happened which halted that momentum. However, we have been in double digit absorption for a year. Inventory is at record low levels... and the trend of moving to Florida has picked up again, primarily due to its affordability.

If you are interested in learning more about the Tampa Bay beach real estate market, join our monthly update email list. It is easy. Just us our CONTACT US ez form to send us your email and start getting information this month! Just tell us you want to be on the email list in the notes section. You, too, can own your piece of paradise and enjoy the Florida lifestyle that we all love so much!

Tampa Bay Beaches Continues Decline In Active Real Estate Listings

Click Here To Enlarge Chart
We continue to talk about inventory here along the beaches of Tampa Bay. January 2012 has continued the trend of dwindling real estate that is actively for sale. The chart at left represents the entire Pinellas County inventory! Active inventory is down 31% from last January with 3,672 fewer listings. Foreclosures alone are down 56% from last January!

According to the Pinellas Board of Realtors, there are fewer than 2 houses for sale for each buyer actively looking in the market. On the other hand, pending contracts were up 22% in January from this time last year. We will be talking about other market statistics in the days to come, but this trend is here in realty... right now. The PURTEE Team monitors the market and its evolving trends. You can sign up to get their monthly updates by sending your email address to info@floridagulfproperty.com

Tampa Bay Avoiding General Housing Gloom

When the Federal Reserve puts out their Beige Book report (issued about every 6 weeks) on current market sales trends, it is worth taking note. Here in Florida, we are part of the Atlanta District which spans the southeast. While other areas in the region experienced "soft" sales, the Sunshine State actually rebounded! The reason according to the Beige Report? INTERNATIONAL & CASH BUYERS!

Click On Chart At Right To Enlarge
According to the Miami Herald, only Nevada and California vied with Florida for being hardest hit by the housing crash, so it’s natural for Florida to enjoy a stronger turnaround than places where prices didn’t fall as far.

Florida’s relative optimism on the sales front has been a recurring theme in the Beige reports this year. Here in Pinellas County, we have watched double digit Absorption Rates since the 1st quarter of 2011 gobble up our inventory and begin to push prices upward. For the latest Year End 2011 Market Statistics, view Single Family Home or Condo.

The PURTEE Team, with Realty Executives, can keep you ahead of the market trends. Just give us a try and see why we closed over $10.2M in sales in 2011 in a still depressed market!

The Art Of Flipping Property - A Thing Of The Past?

From 2004 to late 2006, appreciation of property here in the Tampa Bay area was spiraling upward at an unprecedented rate! The hunger for "flipping" properties drew buyers by the thousands, often resulting in long lines or lotteries just for the chance of purchasing. Combine that appetite with "anyone can get" financing and the bubble was well on its way... Pre-construction was a key choice for many. With 20% down, buyers could wait through the building process and find their property substantially increased in value by the time construction was complete and they closed on the property.

Many of those buyers were looking for a quick return on their investment, not looking to carry a property long term. Those are many of the investors that got caught when the market turned, resulting in short sales, damaged credit or foreclosures.

During 2011, we have seen prices plummet to a fraction of their previous value. As inventory decreased throughout the year (currently at a 6 year low), sales have increased bringing the absorption rate into double digits month after month. Although there continues to be great values in the market place, there has been a shift in demand for those properties that stand out and we are seeing some similar patterns to the feeding frenzy of 2004-2006.

The new "flipping" involves buying properties at highly distressed levels, fixing them up with either a slight face lift or a major remodel and putting it back on the market. There is a LOT of that practice going on and a LOT of $$ being generated! In Pinellas County, out of 7,931 active listings only 1,927 (just over 24%) are distressed. As the market gobbles up these distressed listings, the only direction for the appetite to go is to the lowest of the non-distressed properties.

On January 2, the Federal Housing Administration extended a temporary waiver of FHA’s anti-flipping regulations through 2012... primarily in order to allow the re-sale of foreclosures. “This extension is intended to accelerate the resale of foreclosed properties in neighborhoods struggling to overcome the possible effects of abandonment and blight,” said Commissioner Carol A. Galante. “FHA remains a critical source of mortgage financing and stability and we must make every effort to promote recovery in every responsible way we can.”

While some buyers continue to sit on the sidelines wondering if the market has hit the bottom, others are taking full advantage. Schedule a meeting with The PURTEE Team and find out more... Email us at info@floridagulfproperty.com

In Search Of Distressed Properties In Florida

Every day The PURTEE Team talks to buyers looking for a real estate "deal" here along the coastline of Tampa Bay. There are still great values, but the climate is definitely changing... and we continue to get the word out to our clients.

In Pinellas County, as of November 7th, there are 8,253 properties listed for sale. Over 76% of those are non-distressed! By distressed, we are talking about a short sale or pre-foreclosure or bank-owned. This 8,253 listings number represents 33% less inventory from what was available at the end of October 2010.

For that reason, there is less for the buyer to choose from. Plus, out of the active listings, less than 20% are short sales and only 3.7% are bank owned! Although 1,400 new listings hit the market during October only 7% were bank owned and slightly less than 20% were short sales.

THE RESULT? When comparing sales from October 2011 to October 2010, non-distressed sales are UP 20%, short sales are up 57% and bank-owned sales DOWN by 12% (lack of inventory).

A prospective buyer came into an open house over the weekend to look at a property that has been aggressively priced and is currently one of the lowest per sq ft properties to have been sold in this particular community. He emphatically told me the prices were going to continue to come down and he would pick up one when a lower price came available. HOW DO YOU READ THESE STATISTICS?

Directly from our website, on our HOT DEALS page, you can search all local distressed properties. Our advice? DO NOT DELAY your purchase. As of the holidays we go into our busy season and many people from around the country and internationally are planning to make a purchase while they are here. We are here to help. Contact Us Today!

** Statistics provided by the Pinellas Realtor Organization

Getting Meaning From The Statistics

As realtors in the Tampa Bay area, we find it critical in today's market to keep a close eye on the statistics. The PURTEE Team has just posted August stats on our website and they are available here: August 2009 Tampa Bay Real Estate Statistics. There is an abundance of information to review and we plan to start posting the month end statistics as soon as they are out. In the meantime, I pulled some additional information worth noting...

Strictly along the beaches I did a comparison of the last 30 days (Aug. 21 - Sept. 21) over the last 4 years.

In 2006, when real estate in this area was at its peak, there were 62 properties sold. Of those sales, the average list price was $720,036 and selling price was $671,492 or 94% of asking price. This represented an average selling price of $425/sq ft.

By 2007, things had shifted. There were 65 properties sold; average list price of $691,364 and selling price of $619,586 or 91% of asking price and average selling price of $360/sq ft.

Well... 2008 had more in store. There were 74 properties sold; but the average list price was now $641,834 and selling price of $563,768 or 90% of asking price and average selling price of $299/sq ft.

So, want to hazzard a guess about this year and this past month's statistics? For 2009, 92 properties have sold. Would you like to know why? How about an average list price of $441,588 and selling price of $394,755 again at 91% of asking price and average selling price of $239/sq ft!!!

Now does this seem like an incentive to take advantage of sales at over 40% off their 2006 high? We are watching closely... average properties sold, average selling price and ratio to list price, as well as the selling price per square foot. If you are watching this market as well to know when to make a purchase, keep up with the news that we offer.

REDINGTON SHORES YACHT & TENNIS 1/2 PRICE SALE!

Every day a wide variety of information gets to us via local and national news, the National Association of Realtors, local Pinellas County statistical information, lender and mortgage rate updates... and, of course, jewels that either come onto the market brand new or are reduced in price to a level that they become irresistable! An interesting article came out yesterday that I would like to share:

Low rates keeping homes affordable
Mortgage applications and refinancings are on the rise; a Bankrate study shows closing costs at 2007 levels. Read more.

BUT, the BIG news is a price reduction in the new Redington Shores Yacht & Tennis Club! A 3 bedroom, 3 bath waterfront condo... 2000 square feet in a gated community built in 2007. Amenities include waterfront pool and hot tub. clubhouse, fitness center and tennis courts along with 24-hour guard gate. When these condos were finished, just 2 years ago, they were appraised in the high $800,000 range. Yesterday, a third floor unit was reduced to $400,000 as a short sale!!! Literally HALF of its value! As is typical with short sales, a buyer has to be patient to get through the lender system. These condos in the yacht club are beautiful and this is a great deal! Click the Hyperlink link to and view this property. Listing link will stay active for 30 days. Call us at 727-490-3556 to learn more about this property or other great buying opportunities RES - Buyer Flyer Report