Archive for August, 2008
Seven Oaks is a New Tampa Community with a Lot to Offer
Seven Oaks is a community where the quality of life is a high priority. With a commitment to preserving its natural environment Seven Oaks has miles of nature trails, walking and jogging paths and pristine preservation areas, lakes and wildlife habitats. The community has parks and playgrounds spread throughout, a perfect place for the active family. The Sports Core had everything to offer that an athletic person strives for and is complete with a leisure resort pool and sun deck, a Junior-Olympic lap pool with double-loop water-slide, a wading pool, a shallow-splash children’s water park, competition-quality tennis courts, a sand volleyball court, softball and soccer fields and full-court basketball with lighting. The Seven Oaks Club offers a multi-tiered theater with projection screen, a state-of-the-art and fully equipped fitness area, an aerobics room, locker rooms with showers, separate activity rooms for younger and older children, a specialty coffee shop and juice bar, and a spectacular rotunda and great room.
In a nutshell, Seven Oaks has it all. If you are looking to live in a spectacular planned community look no further. For a tour of all available real estate in Seven Oaks call me, Annette Bohannon, today at (813) 979-4963. My team and I can help make your Seven Oaks real estate transaction educated and informed. Team Bohannon has the knowledge necessary when it comes to New Tampa real estate. We know the market and the neighborhoods and have the experience you are looking for.
New Tampa is a Fast Growing Community in Hilsborough County, FL
The community of New Tampa is a fantastic planned community, offering an active lifestyle in a fantastic setting. Complete with parks and nature trails New Tampa also offers golf courses, tennis courts and swimming facilities. New Tampa is near the University of South Florida, offering it great educational and cultural amenities. Among the communities of New Tampa are Arbor Greene, Cory Lake Isles, Cross Creek, Grand Hampton, Heritage Isles, Hunter’s Green, Northwood, Pebble Creek, Richmond Place, Seven Oaks, Tampa Palms and West Meadows. All of the New Tampa communities have much to offer.
If you would like to explore the New Tampa communities further please give me, Annette Bohannon, a call at (813) 979-4963. My team and I are well versed in New Tampa real estate and have the knowledge you need to make your real estate search as educated and informed as possible. Explore New Tampa real estate today with Team Bohannon.
Home Sales Up, Home Prices Down, Equates to Great Time to Buy in Tampa Bay
With home sales on the rise and home prices down, Tampa Bay real estate appears to be rebounding. It couldn’t be a better time for buyers to look at real estate in Tampa Bay. There are are a lot of homes on the market, giving the buyer a lot to choose from as well as a great bargaining position to be in. If you are looking for a primary residence, a second home or an investment property no is a great time to look.
Call me, Annette Bohannon, at (813) 979-4963. I can help you find the Tampa Bay property you are looking for. Whether you are looking for ocean front luxury Tampa Bay property or something away from the ocean and more secluded, a condo, a single family home or a high-rise apartment I can help you find what suits your needs. Team Bohannon offers you the expertise you need to make an educated real estate decision.
Home Valuation: What your home is NOT worth
Your home is not worth what Zillow estimates, what the county tax data says, or what website generated pricing models suggest. Your home is definitely not worth what the appraiser said it was two years ago when you re-financed; or what your neighbor’s home sold for at the market’s peak.
Looking at asking prices on Realtor.com can be misleading. Only 1 out of 10 homes in the Tampa Bay area will sell near the asking price this month. Homes that stagnate on Realtor.com are the losers of the sales derby, not models to emulate.
Services such as Zillow use a geographic radius to determine values rather than taking into account such factors as: neighborhoods, builders, lot (size, location, pond, conservation, cul-de-sac), pool, spa, kitchen, upgrades, and whether a home is in a gated community, a golf community, or has any neighborhood amenities.
Hilsborough County and Pasco County tax roll values are based upon purchase prices, which may have little relation to current values.
Appraisals for re-financing purposes can be circumspect. With prices changing so rapidly, any appraisal more than 3 months old should be updated. Appraisals, by definition, are backward looking. Understanding a home’s worth based upon the last 3 sales is helpful, but it will not tell you what price is necessary to sell you home next month.
Wondering what your home is worth? Call Team Bohannon today.
- by Dale Bohannon
Property Near University of Tampa Might Be the Investment You Are Looking For
The 75 year old University of Tampa hit record enrollment numbers this year, just shy of 6,000. Rentals are always desired near universities, for both professors and students. Many students, especially in the higher grade or undergoing graduate studies look to live in apartments or condos instead of dormitories. This makes investment property near universities nearly sure bets in terms of cash flow. If you can find a property for the right price, looking near the University of Tampa might be what you want to consider.
Call me, Annette Bohannon, today at (813) 979-4963. My team and I can help you find a property that suits your needs. Whether you are looking for a property to live in or rent Team Bohannon won’t let you down. For the best in Tampa Bay real estate contact us today.
Increase in Home Sales Makes Tampa Bay a Buyers Market
Despite home sales in the South dropping over 18% in July, home sales were up 5% in the Tampa area during the same time period. While single family home prices are still going down, it is uplifting to see home sales rising especially when home sales have dropped significantly elsewhere in the country. Approximately one third of homes sold in the Tampa area have been bank foreclosed properties, which definitely affects the overall price average of the homes selling. People looking to buy have more leverage in price because they can easily purchase a foreclosed home at a lower price, making Tampa Bay a buyers market.
If you are looking to buy real estate in Tampa Bay, look no further. Call me, Annette Bohannon, at (813) 979-4963. Team Bohannon offer expertise in the Tampa Bay real estate market and will keep you well informed and educated. Call or visit our web site today.
Number of Tampa Homes Sold in July Up 5%
Good news – 5% more homes sold in the Tampa Bay area in July 2008 compared to July 2007 (see story). The celebrating is tempered by the pricing data, however, as the median sale price has fallen 18 percent to $176,500 during the same period. The median price peaked at $239,600 in June 2006, then tumbled to $215,600 in July 2007, and now rests at $176,500. There are 4 keys to stabilizing this market: keeping interest rates low; resolving the uncertainty surrounding Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac; sorting out the credit crunch; and selling off the REO / Foreclosure / Short Sale inventory.
- by dale bohannon
Should I Sell Now? 10 Questsions to Ask Yourself
“Should I Sell now?” As Residential Real Estate Consultants, we have been asked this question thousands of times. If you have a major life changing event that would require selling within the next few years, then yes….investigate selling now. Many indications from economist point to continued declines in housing prices in the Tampa Bay market.
If you are not experiencing a life changing event, then there is no stock answer. Having represented thousands of sellers in the marketing and negotiation process, we have learned that these decisions are deeply personal, and we always start by asking: “why do you want to sell, and where will you go?”
Many who ask for advice about selling do not have plans for where they would go next, and they offer vague responses about possibly upsizing, downsizing, renting, or moving to another area.
After asking the “question behind the question”, we often conclude that the motivating factor is fear. While we are all subject to the barrage of negative media coverage about real estate, and while we all know about a drop in the perceived equity in one’s home, we confidently assert that fear is the last reason someone should sell. Consider the following before you decide to sell:
1. What was your plan when you purchased the home? Was this your dream home where you planned to put down roots? Did you plan be there for 5-7 years? If it has only been 3 years, then why are you selling?
2. Have you had a major life changing event (marriage, divorce, birth of a child, unexpected death in the family, job change or corporate relocation)?
3. Do you need additional space for a home-based business or other reason?
4. Do you require the equity from your home for something else?
5. Have you become a “market watcher?” who frets about your home’s value today compared to the peak of the market?
6. Have you adopted a flipping, day-trader, or investor mentality as opposed to a more long-term outlook about the place that your family calls home?
7. Do you realize that the transaction costs of selling and buying often negates the value of “market timing’?
8. Do you know that timing the market correctly is almost impossible? For a traditional homeowner, who should be taking a long-term approach, timing is irrelevant.
9. Do you remember that real estate is a great financial investment? The average return on a five percent down payment over 10 years is usually three to five times greater than stock market returns.
10. Do you seriously want or need to sell; or are you just testing the market? Since just 1 out of 10 homes is selling per month, now is not the time for a casual seller to test the market; additional overpriced inventory will not benefit anyone.
If you have a strong desire to sell, please contact Team Bohannon for professional assistance. We will ask “the question behind the question”, and offer advice as well as documented results.
- by dale bohanon
Why Buy Now? A Perspective from TIME Magazine.
One of my favorite articles this year was Ignore the Headlines by Dan Kadlec of TIME Magazine. One key passage is:
Consider a typical home that sells for $218,900. You put down 20% and get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at today’s rate of 5.5%. Monthly principal and interest come to $994.31. Let’s say that 12 months from now the same house goes for 10% less, or $197,010. But by then the recession is history and the Fed is jacking up rates to stem inflation. If mortgage costs rise a point, to 6.5%, your monthly payment would be $994.94 and you’d have saved nothing. Meanwhile, home prices might steady and sellers might become less willing to negotiate. And you have spent a year living someplace you’d rather not be. Full Article. – post by Dale Bohannon
Living in Tampa Bay Puts You Next to the #1 Ranked Beach in the US
This year Caladesi Island was ranked as the best beach in 2008 on an annual list of “Best Beaches”. Caladesi Island beat out beaches in Hawaii and California to get the top ranking this year. What makes Caladesi’s beaches so fantastic is its remote location, beautiful water and amenities. Caladesi offers restrooms, showers, kayak and beach chair rentals, as well as a snack bar where burgers and beer are available. The Caledesi amenities make hitting the beach here easy and effortless. In addition the fine, white quartz sand and the typically low waves make Caledesi Island very family friendly. Caledesi island is very near Tampa, most people take a 15 minute ferry ride over unless they are traveling by their own boat.
Caledesi Island is yet one more feature which makes Tampa Bay such a desirable place to live. If you would like to look at real estate near Caledesi or any where else in the Tampa area contact me, Annette Bohannon, at (813) 979-4963. Let Team Bohannon find you the property you deserve in an area that is desirable to live in.
