A housing bottom for Florida...

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Home price increases & Wall Street is buying single family homes now too

CNN Money reports today that " Home prices hit a bottom and are finally bouncing back, according to an industry report released Tuesday. Nationwide, home values rose 0.2% year-over-year to a median $149,300 during the second quarter, the first annual increase since 2007, real estate listing site Zillow reported. Prices were up 2.1% from the first quarter.  Even though June marked the fourth consecutive month of home value increases, overall home prices are still down almost 24% (nationwide) since April 2007, when Zillow began to track home values."

Fortune magazine also reports today that Wall Street is investing in single family homes.   "In the past six months or so, a number of investment firms, hedge funds, private equity partnerships and real estate investors have turned into voracious buyers of single-family homes. And not just any homes, but foreclosures. Investment banks, who also want in on the action, are lining up financing options to keep the purchases going.

Take for instance private equity mega-firm Blackstone Group (BX). About a year ago, when the NY Observer profiled the firm's head of real estate Jonathan Gray, there was no mention of single-family homes or even that the firm was looking to profit from a rebound in the residential real estate market.  Last week, Gray said Blackstone now owns 2,000 single-family homes."  Link to full article

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Tampa is going to the dogs

USA Today lists Tampa as one of the top ten most "dog friendly" cities in the US with 2.3 off leash dog parks per 100,000 residents.
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Community grand opening set for Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel

The community grand opening event for Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel has been set for Sunday, September 16, 2012 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM.  Food and fun activities promised.

New Tampa recreation center to expand

The Tampa Tribune reports that the four year old 19,568 square foot New Tampa recreation center will expand.  The planned 2013 expansion will add 14,000 square feet to this very active and popular rec center.  The New Tampa recreation center offers programs in dance and gymnastics and also is home to a very popular skate park.

Foreclosure auction too good to be true?

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Market report for Arbor Greene in New Tampa

© Russ Perlowski, People's Choice Realty 813-505-7460

12 single family homes were reported sold in June by our local MLS*.  Sold prices ranged from $177,500 for a three bedroom, two bathroom home to $430,000 for a four bedroom, three bathroom pool home with a three car garage.  The average sold price was 96% of the list price and none of the reported sold homes were distressed sales.

This very popular upscale New Tampa gated and guarded community currently has over 20 single family homes for sale ranging from $175,000 to $549,000.

Link to Virtual Tour of Arbor Greene


*Information reported in MLS deemed reliable but not guaranteed

9 reasons to live in a deed restricted community

New Tampa and Wesley Chapel largely consist of deed restricted communities, generally with HOA's policing conformance with the community restrictions.  While some people prefer not to reside in a deed restricted community, here are 9 reasons that you may prefer living in one (so you will not have a neighbor with a home painted like any of these).

New Tampa bridge over I-75 on schedule

The $12.4 million New Tampa bridge over I-75 connecting New Tampa Blvd. with Commerce Park Blvd. is on schedule for a January, 2013 opening,  around the same time that the widening project of Bruce B. Downs from Palm Springs Blvd. to Pebble Creek Dr. is scheduled to be completed.

Distressed home sales drop in Wesley Chapel in 2012

The reported distressed sales in the first half of 2012 for single family homes sold in Wesley Chapel made up 54% of the total resales compared to 62% in the second half of 2011. The following chart shows the % of distressed sales for ten Wesley Chapel communities for the 2nd half of 2011 and the first half of 2012 as reported in our local MLS.  Distressed sales are comprised of Foreclosure sales and Short Sales/Pre-foreclosure sales for all reported resales in MLS.

*Information reported in MLS deemed reliable but not guaranteed. New home sales were not included in the calculations.

Happy Independence Day!

Average Sold Price For Single Family Homes In Wesley Chapel Up Over 2011

The average sold price for single family homes in Wesley Chapel in the first half of 2012 was $171,838 compared to $160,384 for the second half of 2011.* Additionally the average sales price per square foot increased from $72.15 in the second half of 2011 to $76.38 in the first six months of 2012 for single family homes in Wesley Chapel.  

Below are the average sales figures for some of the larger communities in Wesley Chapel:

On a national level,  CoreLogic released its May Home Price Index (HPI) report, saying that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 2.0 percent compared to May 2011. On a month-over-month basis, home prices, including distressed sales, also increased by 1.8 percent compared to April 2012.

The May 2012 figures mark the third consecutive increase in home prices nationwide on both a year-over-year and month-over-month basis.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices nationwide increased on a year-over-year basis by 2.7 percent in May compared to May 2011. On a month-over-month basis excluding distressed sales, the CoreLogic HPI indicates home prices increased 2.3 percent compared to April 2012 – the fourth month-over-month increase in a row. Distressed sales include short sales/Pre-foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

*Information reported in MLS deemed reliable but not guaranteed.  New home sales were not included in the calculations for 2011 or 2012.