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Tampa Real Estate Market Update

August 19th, 2006 categories: Real Estate Market Reports, Tampa Florida, Tampa Florida Real Estate, Tampa Real Estate

 

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Calculating Your Monthly Nut

August 18th, 2006 categories: Hillsborough Property Tax, Real Estate Market Reports, Tampa Florida, Tampa Homes, Tampa Real Estate

Calculating your monthly payment on a particular loan amount and property is relatively easy, but many buyers often leave out some big components. Mortgage payments are usually made up of four components known as “PITI”, or principal, interest, taxes and insurance.

With rising property values comes increased taxes. With Florida’s hurricane activity of recent years comes increased insurance premiums. So the “TI” components have risen substantially over the last few years for Florida homeowners. This puts a squeeze on the amount of principal and interest a buyer can afford. In effect “P & I” are competing against “T & I” for a bigger piece of the pie.

Example:

Johnny wants to buy a $500,000 property putting 20% down and financing the remaining 80% or $400k. A quick check of the mortgage calculator, assuming a rate of 6.5% on a 30-year fixed loan, gives Johnny a principal interest payment of $2528.27, the “P & I”. Reasonable hey?

A quick check on the appraisers website shows that Johhny can expect his taxes to be around $10k annually on a purchase price of $500k and homesteading the property. That’s another $833.33 per month. Now that payment is up to $3361.60. We’re not finished yet. A quick call to my homeowners insurance contact and we find that Citizens will insure the property for about $6k annually. Well there’s another $500 added to our payment bumping us up to $3861.60.

In this scenario, 34.5% of the monthly nut is comprised of taxes and insurance. “P & I” has been losing the fight in recent years but as the market cools, taxes will flatten out somewhat. In fact, Hillsborough County recently reduced the property tax rates somewhat. The insurance companies continue to raise premiums to cover recent losses and future risk of more losses from hurricanes.

The point in all of this is for buyers of Tampa real estate to understand the components of a monthly payment and to not underestimate the monthly costs associated with ownership.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 3 Comments »

Gap Between Sellers and Buyers Continues to Grow

July 19th, 2006 categories: Real Estate Market Reports, Tampa Florida, Tampa Homes, Tampa Real Estate

State of the Market

The number of sellers of Tampa homes continues to climb while the number of Tampa home buyers continues to fall. The chart above displays the number of active listings in the City of Tampa as compared to the number of Tampa homes under contract pending a closing. This data is from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS and is current as of 7/19/06.

Buyers have it good right now while sellers, for the most part, are competing fiercely for the buyers that are out there. There are many sellers having a difficult time facing the reality that their home may not fetch what it would have last year at this time. Sellers are having to reduce prices and be very knowledgeable about their competition and make sure that their home has good curb-appeal. Meanwhile, buyers are having an easier time demanding that sellers make repairs, pay some of the buyers closing costs, wait for the buyers home to sell, etc.

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State of Florida to Help Homeowners with Hurricane Preparedness

July 15th, 2006 categories: Tampa Florida, Tampa Homes, Tampa Waterfront Homes

 During the 2006 Legislative Session, the Florida Legislature approved legislation that directs the Florida Department of Financial Services to create a new program to help Floridians strengthen their homes against hurricanes and to reduce hurricane damage exposure in our state.

The “Florida Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program” will offer free home inspections and matching grants up to $5,000 for specific home improvements to qualified homeowners. As required by the new law, the department must take certain steps before the program can be implemented and before homeowners can apply for inspections and grants.

This new program will offer an unprecedented opportunity to help thousands of Floridians better protect themselves and their families against hurricanes. The program will be a massive undertaking but is a priority for the department to have up and running as quickly as possible.

More Info

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Affordable Tampa Homes

July 13th, 2006 categories: Tampa Florida, Tampa Real Estate

Heath Beach just bought a west Tampa home at a price of $164,000, but Beach said it wouldn’t have been possible for him to buy the home without the city’s help.

The Tampa program that assisted Beach pays part of the down payment and closing costs for qualified buyers.

“That’s the only reason I was able to get the house, because I couldn’t afford a $50,000 down payment,” Beach said.

Even with programs such as Tampa’s, real estate agents say finding affordable homes is getting more difficult. According to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, the average sale price of a single-family home in Hillsborough County went from $255,000 last year at this time to $304,000 now.

Association president Brad Monroe says the corresponding rise in property taxes and rising insurance rates are also making homes less affordable for more people.

“It’s somewhat tougher, especially for the working-class folks who are trying for their first home,” Monroe said. “It’s definitely more difficult.”

Tampa City Council member Kevin White says he hopes more people will take advantage of city assistance programs.

“Having affordable housing is paramount right now, especially with the shortage of housing in our community and in the country,” White said.

More affordable housing is on the way in west Tampa. The West Tampa Community Development Corporation says about 70 new homes are planned for the area.

Article from BayNews9.com

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