Clearwater Beach Real Estate Archives

Housing Market Report – March 2016

Housing Market Report

market report In Florida, buyers closed on 18,159 single-family homes in January 2016, up 0.4 percent, but condo sales fell 5.4 percent to 7,658 units.

Homes statewide sold for a median $200,000, 11.1 percent more than last year, while condos traded for $150,000, a 5.6 percent gain.

“The trends we’re seeing in closed sales and new listings have led to two straight months of rising inventory levels in both property type categories,” said Florida Realtors chief economist Brad O’Connor. “Single-family home inventory was still 3.8 percent lower than it was at the end of February 2015, but this is still an improvement over January’s 7.4 percent year-over-year decline.

“Year-over-year inventory growth in the condo/townhome market, on the other hand, was strongly positive for a change, at 6 percent,” he said.

The trade group has revised prior-years’ results to reflect a new data collection system started last month, but it said revisions were minor.

In the nation

Nationwide, Americans retreated from home-buying in February, reversing months of prior gains as low inventories pushed up prices to levels that restrict sales.

The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 7.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.08 million. The decline follows robust yearly sales rates of 5.47 million in January and 5.45 million in December.

The housing market enters the traditional spring buying season facing a quandary: There are relatively few properties listed for sale, even as steady job gains and low mortgage rates have bolstered demand from would-be buyers. The limited supplies have fueled rising prices that have, in turn, reduced affordability and limited sales levels. These cost pressures were further enhanced by a volatile stock market that hit down payment savings.

“We assume the plunge in the stock market in the first six weeks of this year persuaded some potential homebuyers to reconsider, at least temporarily,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Shepherdson noted that sales momentum “stalled” in February, but sales volumes might pick up in the spring.

The national median home sales price was $210,800 in February, a 4.4 percent annual increase from a year ago.

Herald Tribune March 21, 2016

It’s Not a Housing Bubble: 3 Reasons

WASHINGTON – March 17, 2016 – Home prices are rising three to four times faster than wages, and credit conditions are loosening, say Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors^®. Those conditions usually prompt housing analysts to start uttering the words “housing bubble,” but Yun discounts those warnings.

“Even though the credit conditions appear to be easing somewhat, the move is from overly stringent conditions to not-so-overly-stringent conditions,” Yun writes on Forbes.com. “It is a far-fetched view to imply the current mortgage approval process in any way resembles the loosey-goosey, easy subprime mortgage access conditions of a decade ago.”

Reason one: Mortgage credit scores today aren’t anywhere near where they were during the housing bubble. Today, approval scores average about 740 to 750 compared to 710 to 720 during the housing crisis, according to Fannie Mae data.

Reason two: The no-doc requirements for subprime mortgages of yesteryear are nearly gone today.

Yun also says that while home prices are rising above wages, low mortgage rates have been a silver lining.

“For someone making a 20 percent downpayment, the monthly mortgage payment at today’s mortgage rates would take up 15 percent of a person’s gross income,” Yun writes. “During the bubble years, it was reaching 25 percent of income.”

Reason three: Yun says experts can squash bubble fears by just looking at the housing supply. Inventories are at about four to five months today, which is similar to the bubble years.

However, sales aren’t moving at the same pace. Existing-home sales and new-home sales combined were at 8.4 million back then. In 2015, combined home sales were 5.76 million – about one-third lower.

A limited supply of for-sale homes is mostly behind the latest home-price increases, Yun says.

“We are not in a housing market bubble in terms of an inevitable impending home-price crash,” Yun says. “Rather, we are facing an above-normal home-price growth trend, which admittedly is unhealthy on several levels because of the simple economic law of insufficient supply. We need more homebuilding.”

Source: “Are we Entering a New Housing Bubble?” Forbes.com (March 14, 2016)

Florida Realtors® March 17, 2016

Pinellas County Real Estate Overview for January

Pinellas County Real Estate

Pinellas County Real Estate Report — January 2016 — One of the most impressive figures in the table below is found in the median sales price and average sales price categories.

According to the Florida Association of Realtors®, the Median Sales Price from January of 2015 to January of 2016 increased by over 23 percent. The Average Sale Price from January of 2015 to January of 2016 increased by over 18 percent.

Median Sale Price – The median sale price reported for the month (i.e. 50% of sales were above and 50% of sales were below).

Average Sale Price – The average sale price reported for the month (i.e. total sales in dollars divided by the number of sales).

Economists’ note: Median Sale Price is our preferred summary statistic for price activity because, unlike Average Sale Price, Median Sale Price is not sensitive to high sale prices for small numbers of homes that may not be characteristic of the market area.

From the Florida Association of Realtors® – Summary for January 2016 – February 24, 2016

See the Full Report

Summary	January 2016	January 2015	Percent Change Year
Closed Sales	841	782	7.5%
Pending Sales	795	904	-4.5%
Paid in Cash	319	334	-12.2%
New Listings	1,555	1557	2.5%
Median Sale Price	$193,500	$156,500	23.6%
Average Sale Price	$263,728	$222,350	18.6%

Staging Your Home for Great Photos

Staging for great photos – here’s some great tips for getting the perfect look and making that property shine in photos.

Design for the camera, not for the end user.

When putting together a space, we always think of the camera first. Will this angle look right, will it show off the best feature of the house? Will the light hit these items correctly? The good news is you have a camera in your pocket as you read this. When we stage a house for market, we are constantly taking photographs of it and looking at it through the camera lens. It helps us to see errors in symmetry, lighting, cleanliness, etc.

No more wrinkles.

In real life, wrinkly sheets don’t make a lick of difference. The camera, however, hates wrinkles and makes them look 100 times worse than they really are. Our best advice on this one is to use a professional steamer. The hot steam will take those wrinkles right out and makes the sheets, pillow shams and draperies look perfect in the picture.

Light it up.

Light can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you don’t know how to control it, you are destined to fail. The time of day and weather conditions can make a huge difference on how well your space photographs. If the afternoon sun is blazing into your room throwing harsh shadows all over, the shot is destined to look “blown out” with areas as dark as night and as bright as a nuclear holocaust. To help combat this problem, look for the best time for indirect sunlight outside and inside your space. It is also a great idea to turn on your interior lights and lamps, this will help to even out the lighting in the space.

Fluff the carpet.

So often we see houses photographed with harsh vacuum lines or matted carpet that looks old and tired. The best way to fluff up your tired wall to wall is to use a broom. Running the broom over the top of the carpet in random directions will bring new life to a sagging floor textile.

Look beyond the window.

It’s true enough you are photographing the interiors of your space but the outside of your windows will be seen in the photos. If there are piles of trash covered with blue tarps right outside your window, they are going to come through in the photos. Clean up the areas outside the window and make it visually quiet so it does not draw attention to itself. If the area can’t be cleaned up, consider a frosted film on the window.

Limit the color scheme.

There are neutrals and there are colors. The neutrals are black, white, grey, brown, beige, cream, silver, and sometimes gold. You can put as many different neutrals in a room as you want. They can form a great base for your color. The colors are the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Colors must be used with great restraint. We endeavor to have only one “color story” per room. A color story might be blues or reds or colors of the peacock, or teal and yellow. If you have more than one color story per room, the photographs will start to look chaotic and visually noisy.

Rely on symmetry, repetition, rhythm.

Symmetry, repetition, and rhythm can be found throughout nature and humans find them to be aesthetically pleasing. Symmetry can be found in most animals and insects. Repetition is why we find flowers so pleasing. Rhythm can be found in the ripples of a sand dune. A quick and easy way to make a space more aesthetically pleasing is to use these simple principles of good design.

Look at the problem from a different angle, then design for the best one.

What is the first impression going to be? Design for that view and the rest will fall into place. Figure out where the camera will most likely be and make every decision for the room based on that. Chances are, it will turn out great.

Hire a professional.

Don’t invest the time to decorate and then run through with an iPhone and snap 16 horrible pictures. If you want great photographs, hire a great photographer.

Put down the toilet seat.

No explanation needed.

Get out of the mirror.

Make sure there is no one in the mirror reflecting back with a camera.

Furnish the house, but don’t over decorate the cake.

Empty houses are hard to see. Furniture provides scale, shows use, and adds light to spaces. Without it, the space is just walls, windows, floors, and ceilings. It is important to show how the space is used and how big the space is. Once you have taken care of these items, then stop decorating. There is a point when the decoration is no longer about the house but more so about the decoration. Stop before you get there.

Florida Housing Market Report December 2015

The year of 2015 saw a true rebound in Florida Housing Values

Statewide, single-family sales totaled 23,056 last month, up 2.9 percent over the year.
Condo sales fell 1.2 percent to 9,357, according to the Florida Realtors trade group.
Homes sold for a median of $206,500, which was 11.6 percent more than last year.
Condos traded for $156,500, up 5.0 percent.

“Florida’s real estate markets remained quite healthy in December,” said Brad O’Connor, chief economist at Florida Realtors. “Closed sales remain strong, and prices continue to rise.

“Inventory levels of single-family homes dropped to an annual low for 2015 at the end of December, to just under 100,000 active listings,” he added.

Nationwide
Nationwide, total home sales in 2015 were the most in nine years, as closings rebounded in December after new regulations had delayed the completion of purchases in November.

The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes climbed 14.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million. Sales had previously plummeted as the industry adapted to new mortgage disclosure rules — a temporary downturn before delayed sales were finalized in December.

“This is a great way to cap off 2015,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Last month’s rebound concluded a year that produced the highest annual sales total since 2006. Steady job growth and low mortgages drew more buyers into the market, causing both sales and prices to climb.

Americans bought roughly 5.26 million homes in 2015, a 6.5 percent increase over 2014. The median sales price rose 6.8 percent to $222,400.

The Realtors forecast that sales will stay flat in 2016 and that the median price will rise more than 4 percent. A price increase that big would compound a problem for many would-be buyers: A rising proportion of homes are unaffordable as home values rose last year at more than twice the rate of pay.

Herald Tribune January 22, 2016

Pinellas County Real Estate Report for December 2015

The year came to a strong close for Pinellas County Real Estate, with closed sales up 4.5% for December 2015 over December 2014, and up 24.7% for the year compared to 2014 (22,952 units in 2015 and 20,007 units in 2014).

The sold dollar volume was up a whopping 21.7% year over year, from $4.1 billion in 2014, to $5 billion in 2015. Average sale price for a single family home was $247,860 in December 2015, up 5.0% from last December ($236,078).

The average sale price for townhome/condo was $191,346, up 7.7% from $177,632 a year ago.
The number of closed sales for single family and townhome/condo combined for December 2015 was 1,955, up 4.5% from 1,870 in December 2014.

New single family listings for December 2015 were 1,131, down 1.5% from December 2014, at 1,148. Median sales price for single family was $186,450 this December, versus $169,000 last December, an increase of 10.3%.

Inventory Remains Low as Median Prices Continue to Rise

The Median sale price for the townhome/condo segment was up 9.2% for December 2015 ($131,000) over December 2014 ($120,000). December 2015 saw only 44 median days on market for single family, down 15.4% from December 2014, when the count was 52. For townhome/condo, the median days on the market were also low, at 49 in December 2015, down 29.0% from 69 days in December 2014.

Total month supply of inventory is down 21.1% from last December for single family, with a 3.3 month supply this December as compared to a 4.2 month supply in December 2014.
Active listings for December 2015 single family and townhome/condo combined were 6,575, down 9.8% from 7,287 in December 2014.
Both stats continue to show the low inventory we’ve seen throughout 2015.

Representing more than 6,000 members, the PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION is one of the Tampa Bay area’s largest professional trade associations.

Pinellas Realtors® January 2016

Homeowners Reap Remodeling Benefits

Homeowners Reap Remodeling Benefits Whether Selling or Staying, Say Realtors®

Homeowners preparing to sell often make improvements, both big and small, to their homes that can help yield positive results and garner top dollar from buyers. According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors®, remodeling projects can also bring major benefits to homeowners who choose to remain in their homes.

“Realtors® know that certain home upgrades and remodels can be beneficial to get more buyer eyes on a property, potentially bring in more offers or gain more equity from a home,” said NAR President Tom Salomone, broker-owner of Real Estate II Inc. in Coral Springs, Florida. “But remodeling projects are just as valuable to homeowners who simply want to get more joy out of their dwellings. Regardless of the situation, Realtors® know what remodeling projects bring the biggest bang for the buck and what projects are most likely to improve a homeowner’s impression of their current place.”

According to NAR’s 2015 Remodeling Impact Report, which uncovers the reasons homeowners choose a remodel and the increased happiness certain projects bring once completed, 64 percent have experienced increased enjoyment in their home after completing a remodeling project.

Additionally, 75 percent of respondents said they felt a major sense of accomplishment when thinking of their completed project. Fifty-four percent of respondents felt happy about the changes to their home, and 40 percent felt satisfied. As for their reasons to complete a remodeling project, 38 percent of homeowners said they wanted to upgrade worn-out surfaces, finishes and materials; 17 percent wanted to add features and improve livability; and 13 percent believed it was time for a change.

Realtors® named kitchen upgrades, complete kitchen renovations, bathroom renovations and new wood flooring as the interior projects that most appeal to potential buyers. Similarly, Realtors® also ranked projects based on expected value at resale (without accounting for project price); the projects that ranked the highest in this category were complete kitchen renovations, kitchen upgrades, bathroom renovations and the addition of a bathroom.

When looking at the interior projects that yield the biggest financial results upon resale, Realtors® ranked hardwood flooring refinishes (100 percent of project cost recovered upon resale), insulation upgrades (95 percent recovered), new wood flooring (91 percent recovered), and converting a basement to a living area (69 percent recovered) as projects to consider.

Exterior projects are also important for both sellers and homeowners looking to increase satisfaction with their current home. Realtors® said new roofing, new vinyl windows, new garage doors and new vinyl siding are most appealing to potential buyers and are highly valued upon resale (both considering project price and disregarding project price).

Upon resale, Realtors® said new roofing would recover 105 percent of its project cost, a new garage door would recover 87 percent, new vinyl siding would recover 83 percent, and new vinyl windows would bring back 80 percent of their cost.

As for exterior projects that bring the most happiness for those not necessarily intending to sell, homeowners said new fiber-cement siding, new fiberglass or steel front doors, new roofing, and new garage doors brought the most satisfaction.

The 2015 Remodeling Impact Report, the first of its kind from NAR that examines personal satisfaction from remodeling projects, surveyed Realtors®, consumers who have completed their own remodeling projects, and members of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

“Remodeling projects can greatly improve both the value of and satisfaction with one’s home, which are great things no matter the reason for a project,” said Judy Mozen, president of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. “This report highlights the best projects to consider in either situation and showcases just how much of a difference a good and professional remodel can make in real numbers.”

Salomone said the report not only assists homeowners who are preparing to sell in choosing the best projects to attract buyers, but it also helps those looking to get more personal satisfaction out of their homes.

“Realtors® know that remodeling projects aren’t just done to get more money for a home once it’s time to sell – a home is your sanctuary, the place you raise your family and where you make lifelong memories, which is why the report can also help consumers decide which projects could enhance their current quality of life and happiness,” he said.

The National Association of Realtors®, December 2015

Florida Housing Market Report – October

Florida Housing Market Report

Florida’s housing market reported higher median prices, fewer days on market and a constrained inventory of homes for sale in October, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes rose last month with a total of 22,147, an increase of 1.2 percent over October 2014.

“October marked the 47^th consecutive month that statewide median sales prices increased year-over-year for both single-family homes and townhouse-condo properties,” said 2015 Florida Realtors President Andrew Barbar, a broker with Keller Williams Realty Services in Boca Raton. “Sellers received a higher percentage of their original list price, with single-family homes getting on average 94.3 percent and townhome-condos getting 93.3 percent. It also took less time for homes to sell in October: a median of 46 days for single-family homes and 50 days for townhouse-condos.

“The state’s housing market continues to benefit from more people moving to Florida, the increased job growth and stronger economy.”

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $198,995, up 12.4 percent from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations.
The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in August was $150,000, up 7.2 percent over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

According to the National Association of Realtors®(NAR), the national median sales price for existing single-family homes in September 2015 was $223,500, up 6.6 percent from the previous year. The national median existing condo price was $209,200. In California, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in September was $482,150; in Massachusetts, it was $340,500; in Maryland, it was $260,126; and in New York, it was $240,000.

Looking at Florida’s townhouse-condo market, statewide closed sales last month totaled 9,294, down 0.9 percent compared to October 2014. The closed sales data reflected fewer short sales in October: Short sales for townhouse-condo properties declined 47.7 percent while short sales for single-family homes dropped 33.1 percent. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

“The Florida real estate market is catching its breath after a frantic summer and early fall,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “One month’s numbers do not make a trend, but the October numbers are signaling a return toward a more balanced market.”

Inventory remains constrained, with a 4.4-months’ supply in October for single-family homes and a 5.3-months’ supply for townhouse-condo properties, according to Florida Realtors. Most analysts consider a 6-month supply of inventory as the benchmark for a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.80 percent in October 2015, down from the 4.04 percent average recorded during the same month a year ago.

Florida Realtors® November 2015

The Balance of Success on Clearwater Beach

Balance of Success

About 15 years ago the city wrote policy designed to lure hotels and luxury resorts to the beach that was heavy with aging buildings and in need of an economic boost.

Clearwater is approaching a significant milestone in the beach’s history as a hotel density reserve created in 2008 has nearly run dry.

With intense redevelopment now accomplished, the next step should be better ways to handle the parking and traffic congestion that has followed, according to planning and development director Michael Delk.

“We’re at a point where we have to look at our transportation options,” Delk said.

Beach by Design required new hotels to provide parking for guests, but the city still struggles with accommodating the thousands of day-trippers who drive to the beach.

One parking solution in the works for nearly 15 years is the seven-story garage that broke ground last month on the north end’s Poinsettia Avenue. The structure is three stories higher than originally planned and will sit directly across from Day’s East Shore Resort, looming over bungalow homes and single-story structures.

William Selvidge, who retired to Clearwater Beach in 2010, sees the high rises and luxury resorts as benefits because development put everything within reach and created a walkable community.

For his move to Florida, Selvidge bought a convertible that has only 7,500 miles on it five years later. His only concern is congestion from what seems like a new development every day.

Buildings near the residential area are also getting bigger. Last month, the Community Development Board approved a complex of 22 three-bedroom units on a half-acre Avalon Street lot that was originally called Avalon Condos.

Beach By Design restricts condominiums in the district to 65 feet tall, but developers pitched the Avalon project instead as “resort attached dwellings,” a title that allows them to be used as residences or hotel rooms.

Promising the CDB they would reserve at least one unit at all times for a short-term rental, developers were granted the maximum height given to hotels of 75 feet.

Another north end project recently approved by the CDB is Somerset Vacation Townhomes, which will include 20 hotel rooms and a rooftop bar.

Charles Siemon, hired by the city from 1999 to 2001 to write Beach by Design, said redevelopment has been a balancing act of luring investment while maintaining quality of life for day trippers and residents.

But now that luxury hotels, restaurants, shopping and condos line the shore, Siemon said it may be time to re-evaluate whether the infrastructure has kept up.

“Success breeds success,” Siemon said. “The focus then was on getting something started. Now apparently there’s some perspective that they need to slow down.”

Siemon said Beach By Design called for parking strategies like city-run ferries, trolleys and shuttles to discourage cars on the island, but those alternatives have not materialized like he’d hoped.

To alleviate congestion, Siemon said the city could require more room between buildings, but limiting development once you’ve asked for it is tricky.

“You work like crazy to get people to invest, and when they do invest you tell them to slow down, so it’s not easy,” he said. “I think they should be going through the process of taking time to quickly analyze what’s good and what’s the bad and what’s the ugly. Fix the ugly. Promote the good and try to make it all work.”

TampaBay.com November 2015

Construction Spending at Seven-year High – US

Construction spending hit $1.1 trillion in September, its highest level since March 2008.

That’s according to an analysis by Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), which pointed out the number would have been even higher if it weren’t for a shortage of construction workers.

“Overall, demand for construction continues to grow at a very robust rate,” said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. “It appears, however, that many firms performing private nonresidential work could not find enough qualified workers in September to keep pace with growing demand.”

There were only 479,000 unemployed construction workers in September, the smallest total for that month in 15 years, Simonson noted.

Construction spending has increased every month this year, and the latest gain suggested the economy remained on firmer ground despite some slowing in consumer spending and persistent weakness in manufacturing.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast construction spending rising 0.5 percent in September. Construction outlays were up 14.1 percent compared to September of last year.

September’s increase is slightly above the gain the government had estimated in its advance third-quarter gross domestic product estimate published last week.

A recent AGC survey found that 86 percent of construction firms say they’re having a hard time finding qualified workers to fill vacant positions.

Both private sector and public sector construction spending continued to grow, with outlays in the larger private sector 16.0 percent above a year ago, and public construction spending 9.4 percent higher.

The fresh data suggested that the housing sector specifically remains healthy despite some recent data suggesting a slowdown.

Private spending on housing construction, the largest component of all construction spending, picked up 1.8 percent in the month and gained 17.2 percent year on year.

Eventually that could turn into higher supplies of new homes, to ease the current tight market that has pushed prices high enough to deter buyers, according to industry specialists.