Archive for October, 2007

Prospective Tampa Condo Buyer Weighs Choices

October 29th, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Condos, New Projects (Condos), Tampa Market Conditions

I recently posted about an e-mail I received from a prospective Tampa condo buyer. I subsequently received an e-mail from a sales rep at a condo project in the Riverview area. He had read the post and felt that he might have exactly what Prospective Tampa Condo Buyer is looking for.

Lenny,

I came across your blog and took special notice of the entry in the subject line. I sell the Luxury Garden Homes in FishHawk Ranch, and I have a home that may be what [your client] is looking for. The ‘Ashwood’ is over 1400 sqft, 2 + loft/2.5 with a 2 car garage, loaded with luxury features including stainless steel appliances. It is right across the street from Park Square, FishHawk’s outdoor town center with shops, restaurants and night life. The advertised price is $224,900, but we have a SPECIAL right now for $215,900 with $5,000 toward closing costs when using a preferred lender.

So I passed this information on to my client and he decided that the project was worth consideration. He went and took a look, and was very impressed with the floor plan of this project and the value, as compared to what $220k can get closer to the downtown Tampa area. But unfortunately, for his line of work, the location was ultimately just a little too far off the beaten path.

Today we’ll look at a townhome in another area of town that is very aggressively priced near $180k. Aggressively priced because the lowest sale to date (very recent) of a comparable unit in the same project is much higher, by about 20% actually. Why is it priced so low? Because the seller “just wants to dump it and take the loss” according to the listing agent. It’s a property that is owned free and clear with no mortgage to be paid off at closing. No short sale situation with bank approval required to get in the way of a good deal. The unit is less than 18 months old and is much better located, at least for Prospective Tampa Condo Buyer’s needs.

We’ll take a firsthand look and see if this one will work for him. He understands that this is a buyer’s market, and he also understands that there may be further downside in Tampa’s residential real estate. He knows that there are few buyers to compete with currently, and when the opportunity to purchase at 20% below market (recent sales) comes along, it’s worth a look.

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Posted by Lenny Gurvich | No Comments »

Did Slave Labor Procure Your Floors?

October 25th, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate

Kermit Johnson, a Minneapolis Realtor, posts a belated Blog Action Day article regarding exotic hardwood flooring, and the slave labor that is prevalent in Brazil. A must read if how your flooring gets to you is a concern. It should be. Well researched and well written.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | No Comments »

South Tampa Gated Waterfront Community Impresses

October 24th, 2007 categories: South Tampa, Tampa Waterfront Homes, New Projects (Condos), South Tampa Neighborhoods

Took the opportunity to visit Westshore Yacht Club this morning as they hosted our firm’s weekly meeting. It’s been about 18 months since I’d been over there with some clients, and what a difference.

Westshore Yacht Club is a new gated, waterfront community, with a marina, on the west side of the Interbay Peninsula just south of Gandy Blvd. The community occupies the old Westinghouse property that had long been a vacant eyesore, and is a development of WCI Communities.

The theme of the community pays homage to the history of Tampa. The street names, home and townhome names, as well as the names of the condo tower units, are all associated with names of old Tampa architects, councilmen, founding fathers, etc.

There’s not much in Tampa that compares with this community and the lifestyle it will provide, Harbour Island the possible exception. The community is very private and secure, with large concrete walls surrounding the area, and a grand entrance with 24 hour security. Don’t bother trying to get in unless you have business there or are headed for the sales center.

The community club, known as The Bay Club, is waterfront, and features 19,000sqft of space with a spa, fitness center, waterfront dining, tiki bar, pool, billiards room, etc. All residents of Westshore Yacht Club are required to pay $5800 annually as club dues. It’s all about the lifestyle! This building is beautiful. The 806 Lounge, on the second floor, is cozy, and has excellent water views. That would be my late evening choice for relaxing with a cocktail.

We also looked at a representative sample of the residences, including 2 of the single family homes, a townhome, and a couple of the condos in Castillo Tower, the lone highrise building in the community (3 towers are planned).

Castillo Tower is comparable to The Bellamy on Bayshore and The Plaza Harbour Island, but the views at Castillo Tower are hard to beat. All units have views both westward and eastward, much like the Bellamy does. The terraces on the west side are all spacious, providing great waterfront views of Old Tampa Bay and downtown St. Petersburg. Sunsets, I’m sure, are spectacular. Castillo Tower also has its own clubhouse and pool as well. Condo fees are $.36 cents per square foot, considerably lower than some other new Tampa highrises. Here’s a neat video tour of a WCI condo tower.

And yes, it truly is a Yacht Club. There is a 149 slip private marina, with slips from 40’ to 100’+, accommodating vessels with drafts of up to 8’. The slips can purchased or leased. The 40’ slips are priced starting at $170k. There is a ship’s store on site, and the marina provides 24 hour video monitoring for security.

If you know the Tampa area, you can see that this is something that Tampa has previously not been able to offer. And now that Newport Tampa Bay, just to the north, has been put on hold, this really is a one of a kind Tampa community.

Feel free to contact me for more information regarding Westshore Yacht Club or other Tampa waterfront opportunities.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | No Comments »

How Long Does It Take To Sell In South Tampa?

October 23rd, 2007 categories: Tampa MLS, Homes For Sale in Tampa, Tips for Sellers

I’m a numbers geek and the great thing about our MLS is that it’s full of numbers. If I’m looking for a particular statistic to share with a client I can grab the data, download it to my machine, open it in MS Excel and tweak it any way I see fit.

One such number that is very useful in our MLS database is the Days to Contract or DTC figure. This indicates how long a particular property was active on the market until it went under contract, aka pending.

Why is this number so important? The DTC number tells you how long it took to market the home before finding a buyer. Listing agents/brokers are required to update the status of the property to pending within 48 hours of an effective contract. We must then enter the date that the property went under contract.

So in looking at the average DTC number for a comparable set of properties, we can at least gauge how long it may take to find a buyer. This is a huge generalization because there are so many factors that determine how long it will take, pricing being the number #1 determining factor.

You can often assume that there is a buyer in the store, so to speak, whenever you first list a home for sale. If that buyer sees value at the opening price, the seller may get lucky and have a DTC of less than 5 days. If there are no buyers in the store and/or those buyers don’t see the value in the pricing, then the DTC number will certainly be higher.

But this is a big generalization. If you’re looking at these numbers you better be comparing apples to apples, oranges to oranges. There may always be a buyer in the store for a South Tampa 3/2 with a pool and garage for under $400k. But is there always a buyer around for a South Tampa home priced at $5.2 million dollars? The answer, most likely, is no.

So back to the title of this post. In looking at the South Tampa residential properties that closed in September, we find the average DTC is slightly more than 106 days. By contrast, that number for September of 2006 was about 80 days, and about the same for September of 2005 as well.

And for the South Tampa residential properties that are in pending status? The average time it has taken those sellers to find a buyer is just over 136 days.

So you can see that the data we have available through the MLS database can be very valuable for home sellers and their agents in planning how to price and best market a Tampa home. A good agent can analyze this data and help home sellers make the best decisions in meeting their goals in a tough market. Getting the price in the shortest amount of time is a common goal for home sellers and their agents. Don’t underestimate the importance of the wealth of data available through the Tampa MLS.

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More tips for Tampa home sellers.

Data used is from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS and does not include private, non-brokered home sales.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | No Comments »

Notable Tampa Condos E-Mail Of The Weekend

October 22nd, 2007 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Condos, Tampa MLS, New Projects (Condos), Tampa Market Conditions, Tips for Sellers, Channelside Market Updates

Another e-mail from a client that points to the general mindset of many prospective Tampa home and condo buyers currently:

“Lenny,

If any of the 2/2 condos at Skypoint fall in price to $220,000 and don’t laugh, call me. I am not in a rush and unfortunately still see the housing market at this time changing. My focus is for April of 2008 to be in a 30 year fixed townhouse / condo at around $220,000 where ever in Tampa that might be – Westchase, Brandon, Downtown, South Tampa, Palm River – just NOT Tampa Palms… They are out there now but I am still waiting a few months longer. Thank you.”

Prospective Tampa Condo Buyer

Certainly the high inventory of Tampa homes and condos, along with the relatively low demand points to further price declines. But is this a realistic expectation?

Let’s take a look at that market:

Currently there are 18 two bedroom/two bath Skypoint condos for sale, at least on our MLS. Prices range from $355k on the lower end, to about $648k for a top floor, southwest corner unit. The large majority of them are resales. Days on the market runs from just 4 days, to 130 days.

Demand for Skypoint resales? Most seems to be in the lower price points, the 1/1 units, Skypoint’s bread and butter. Skypoint’s sales success early on was due to the fact that they were able to keep the price points low, from the $170Ks (along with the timing of that red hot market). In fact, Novare’s next downtown Tampa highrise condo project, Element, is predominately 1 bedroom units, priced in the low-to mid $200Ks.

So what else can that $220K get the buyer right now in the way of a 2/2 somewhere near downtown Tampa? He can go over to One Laurel Place, an older (1982) downtown Tampa condo project and step into a 2/2 of 1136sqft for under $207k. He can go over to Harbour Island’s Parkcrest and get a 2/2 of 962sqft, with a courtyard view, for $220k. If an Ybor City apartment conversion is appealing, he can get a 2/2 of 1130sqft for that $220k at The Quarter at Ybor (many to choose from BTW). How about something in Hyde Park? There’s a 2/2 at Hyde Park Place, an older conversion near Old Hyde Park Village, for $230k right now.

But none of these is Skypoint. If you want new, modern, built as a condominium, highrise, downtown Tampa, you’ve only got one choice right now. And that is Skypoint. Those facts alone should buoy the value of a Skypoint 2/2 condominium.

But on the other hand there are 18 of them for sale, and not many buyers stepping up to buy the resales. So where will prices be by April of 2008? Time will only tell. Stay tuned.

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