Bridge work over BBD to cause delays Thursday night

It looks like you will want to avoid Bruce B. Downs in the area of the I-75 bridge.  FDOT will be erecting a temporary bridge on Thursday night after 10:00 PM and traffic will be backed up for 15 minute periods throughout the night.  Additionally, traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction as the giant "320 foot erector set" is pushed into place.

More indicators that planned Cypress Creek Town Center will be an outlet mall

Yesterday the Tampa Tribune reported on the settlement of a lawsuit between the current developer of The Cypress Creek Town Center and a construction company.  More interestingly, the Tribune provided additional information regarding the rumor that the proposed mall will be an outlet mall:

"Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher said he met with Cypress Creek officials a few weeks ago. They told him the Richard E. Jacobs Group, the original mall developer, plans to sell its interest in the property to the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group*, which owns Premium Outlets in Ellenton.

"They're pretty eager to go and they wanted to know what obstacles would be in front of them from a county planning standpoint, Gallagher said. In my opinion, there aren't any.  The outlet mall would be about half the size of the original design, he said."

The original proposed 1.3 million sq. ft. mall at SR 56 & I-75 was previously scheduled to open in 2008, but construction was delayed due to a series of lawsuits.

*Simon Property Group owns or has an interest in 337 retail real estate properties comprising 245 million square feet in North America and Asia.  The company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide.

New Fire Station in New Tampa

The new 8,660 Sq. Ft.,  $1.6 million (est.) fire station under construction on Cross Creek Boulevard in New Tampa recently had the driveway and parking pad poured; landscapers were at work yesterday and it looks like it is nearing completion.  Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act were used to pay for the project on already purchased land.

Rep. Castor to Host Help for Homeowners Workshop Today in Tampa

Are you having trouble making your mortgage payments? Have you lost your job? Have you been turned down for a loan modification? Is your property already listed for sale? Don’t miss this chance to meet one-on-one with your mortgage company or a HUD-approved housing counselor to find options to avoid foreclosure.

Where?

Hyatt Regency Tampa
211 North Tampa Street
Tampa, FL 33602
Complimentary parking in the Hyatt Regency Garage
Enter on Tampa Street.
Teco Streetcar – Get off on Franklin & Whiting Street

When?

Friday, February 24, 2012 • 1:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

What documents should you bring?  LINK

Get Free Help Putting Your Documents Together by Calling 1-888-995-HOPE (4673).

More positive indicators on a housing recovery

• From The Niche Report:  Home Depot's Impressive Q4 Earnings, Does this Mark the Bottom for Housing? Link
• The Niche Report:  Moody's Analytics:  US home sales show steady progress  Link
• Rismedia reports that housing is expected to add to GDP for the first time in seven years!  Link
• Housingwire reports existing home sales jump 4.3% in January, inventory drops!  Link
• From The National Association of Home Builders this week: 

Nationwide housing affordability, as measured by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), rose to a record level during the fourth quarter of 2011, while prospective home buyers continued to feel the constraints of tighter credit standards and a soft economy.  HOI data released today indicated that 75.9 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,200, the highest percentage recorded in the 20-year history of the index.

There are over 300 single family homes for sale in New Tampa.

Tampa In Top 10 Most Searched Housing Markets In US

The following are the top searched housing markets from last month, according to Realtor.com data of 146 metro areas:




1. Chicago
Median list price: $186,000

2. Detroit
Median list price: $81,700

3. Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif.
Median list price: $320,444

4. Philadelphia, Pa.-N.J.
Median list price: $221,995

5. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.
Median list price: $169,500

6. Atlanta
Median list price: $150,000

7. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
Median list price: $142,500

8. Dallas
Median list price: $189,900

9. Orlando, Fla.
Median list price: $155,000

10. Las Vegas, Nev.-Ariz.
Median list price: $121,500

Search Homes For Sale

Clouded Title

Fresh market at Wiregrass tomorrow

Curious?

This sign recently showed up on SR 56 in front of the Sams Club in Wesley Chapel.  The Tampa Bay Times reports that it is an announcement for a new restaurant--PDQ.  PDQ is a new restaurant chain and offers fried and grilled chicken tenders, sandwiches and salads. Menu link The Times also reports that the new restaurant is expected to open by early summer and provide 75-80 jobs.  Previous reports in the press state that the new chain plans to open 8-10 stores in Tampa Bay, Charlotte, and Raleigh.
PDQ already has one restaurant open in South Tampa:

	2207 S. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, FL 33629-6313 · Get Directions
Phone	1 813.254.7373
Website	http://eatpdq.com

My Furry Valentine

Here's a short video I took today of the doggie obstacle course at My Furry Valentine at The Shops at Wiregrass.  (The event will be held until 3:00 PM today.):

January, 2012 Home Sales Report for New Tampa

53 single family homes were reported sold by our local MLS in New Tampa for the month of January, 2012:

• 77% of the monthly sales were "Normal" sales
• 19% were Short Sales/Pre-foreclosures
• 4% were REO's/Foreclosures

There was a wide range of actual sales price per square foot (heating & cooled) with a low of $58.81 to a high of $150.86.

Single Family Homes for sale in New Tampa range from $119,000  for an "as is" home and go up to over $2,000,000.

Tuesday Morning opens in Tampa Palms

City Plaza

Tuesday Morning in City Plaza (also home to Stein Mart and Publix) in New Tampa opened this week, saving us from having to drive to Carrollwood, Brandon, or South Tampa!
16013 Tampa Palms Blvd. W
Tampa, FL 33647
813-971-4939

$8.4 Billion in relief for Florida homeowners

Some Floridian homeowners may benefit from the settlement announced by Florida's attorney general:

• $7.6 billion to some delinquent Florida borrrowers for loan modification 
• $309 million for the refinancing of loans to some underwater homeowners
• $350 million direct payment to the state of Florida for foreclosure protection programs
• $170 million cash payments to some Floridians who lost their homes to foreclosure

The settlement is for customers of five lenders only:

• Ally/GMAC
• Bank of America
• Citi
• JPMorgan Chase
• Wells Fargo

Note:  The Tampa Bay Times reports that it can take months or even years beore some of the promised relief gets to many Floridians.
Full article from the Tampa Bay Times

NationalMortgageSettlement website

Taste of New Tampa 2012 moved back to Wharton

The Taste of New Tampa was going to be held at The Shops at Wiregrass this year, but "due to logistics" has been relocated to the Wharton High School location where it has been held most recently.  The event will be held on March 11, 2012 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM.
Taste of New Tampa website

Pasco Deputy Buzzetto to address PACA

Deputy Ronald Buzzetto of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office will explain how communities can increase their anti-crime efforts and safeguard their neighborhoods at the Thursday, Feb. 9, meeting of the Pasco Alliance of Community Associations (PACA).

The public is invited to attend the association’s Feb. 9 meeting. It begins at 7 p.m. at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center. It is located at 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. (US 41), three miles north of SR 54.

Wesley Chapel January 2012 home sales report

January, 2012 Single Family Wesley Chapel Homes Solds:

The statistics* for the single family homes sold in January, 2012 as provided by our local MLS are as follows:

• Normal Sales (Not Short Sales or REO/Foreclosures):  made up 54% of the sales and had an average of 80 days to contract and 122 days to close.
• REO/Foreclosures:  made up 13% of the sales for the month and had an average of 56 days to contract and 87 days to close.
• Short Sales/Pre-Foreclosures:  made up the remaining 33% of the sales with an average of 242 days to contract and 351 days to close.

Single Family Homes For Sale in Wesley Chapel:

• 61% of the single family homes in Wesley Chapel listed for sale in our MLS are "Normal" sales.
• 6% are classified as REO/Foreclosures
• 33% are identified as Short Sales/Pre-foreclosure

Wesley Chapel Homes For Sale link

*Data and statistics provided by mls are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel hiring update

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel recently announced that it now has a web page for hiring and that hiring for the new hospital will begin the first quarter of 2012.

Applicants are encouraged to check back in mid-February for information on upcoming job fairs and postings.        http://fhwesleychapel.com/postings.html

If you are interested in seeing the latest progress on the construction of the new Wesley Chapel hospital, click on the following live webcam link.