Friday, December 21, 2007

Holiday Happiness

What a great time of year.

I've been up and down the Gulf Coast of Florida from Bradenton, to Boca Grande, Siesta Key, Anna Maria Island and Sarasota.

And I'm seeing some great deals out there. What a time to be buying.

Wanna buy a house with on an open bay with miles of view facing west so you can see the sunset every night?

Don't want to spend a million dollars?

Well they are out there from the mid-500k asking price.

You haven't seen those kind of deals in a long, long time.

And you won't see those kind of deals for another long, long time when they're gone.

Personally I have had several clients shopping along the coast and finding those million dollar deals close to half price.

So Happy Holidays it truly is a great time of year.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.779.5149
greg@teamworksfla.com

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Investor Alert

The investment opportunity in developing Florida property has caught the attention of Fortune magazine.

The local development company they picked in top 10 stocks for 2008, St. Joe.

St. Joe has developments ready to go but on hold in the Sarasota, Bradenton, Anna Maria Island area. In particular Perico.

The magazine picked St. Joe because of simple demographics. The Census Bureau has predicted at 33 percent population increase in the state by 2020.

That is six million more people looking for a place to live. St. Joe has plenty of land to develop in the state.

The St. Joe stock has dropped to a point where Fortune magazine believes it is a good buy that will rise as development gets back on track.

Take that one step further. If you want to buy property that is likely to appreciate now would be the time to start investing in Florida property.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.779.5149
greg@teamworksfla.com

Thursday, December 13, 2007

A thaw is on the way

Yea, I'm not one of those Mary Poppins types who believes that the market it is going to turn on a dime here on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

That being said as the temperature begins to freeze up north I'm beginning to see a thaw here in the Bradenton/Sarasota area.

Our team deals quite a bit in waterfront. It is considering some of the premier real estate in these parts from Anna Maria Island on down.

Areas where I have seen no action for almost a year on waterfront I now see prices have fallen to a level where offers are starting to come.

When you can get open bay water in the low from the mid-$500k up, astute buyers know these are bargains.

During the hot market the same properties were fetching in the $800k and up range.

Knowing these properties are starting to move again on the local market level shows a positive sign towards a leveling out of prices.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.779.5149
greg@teamworksfla.com

Monday, December 10, 2007

Gut check or credit check

Gut check or credit check.

Buying a house it probably feels pretty similar.

Bradenton and Sarasota are the same as anywhere else in the country right now.

Yes, you can get a mortgage, yes you can get a bargain on a home, and yes your credit has to be passable unless you are buying with cash.

Any good real estate agent is going to ask you right off the bat if you have seen a loan officer.

You can go out window shopping all you want but if you don't have a loan pre-approval letter you might as well doing the proverbial you know what in the wind.

There are potential homebuyers who pre-qualify on line and believe they can get a mortgage for a mansion or think that their less than perfect credit score has magically fixed itself.

Wrong on both counts.

You need someone to pull your credit to find out if you can get a mortgage.

A good loan officer will also know people in the credit repair business that will help you bring your score up so that you can qualify for a mortgage.

Finding out what you can and want to spend on a monthly payment first will make your home shopping experience a whole lot easier.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.779.5149
greg@teamworksfla.com

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Help on the way

I'm actually starting to believe we may be on the way to market recovery in the Bradenton, Sarasota market.

The phones ringing, people are buying, contracts are closing.

It ain't a flood but it is definitely beyond a trickle.

From Longboat Key to Anna Maria Island and east to Lakewood Ranch, the sound of buyer's footsteps are starting to be heard again.

No the prices are not going to start rising right away. The inventory on the market from about 36 month worth to less than nine before that might happen.

Still, we dropped fast here so that downward spiral may start flattening out soon.

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.779.5149
greg@teamworksfla.com

Monday, December 03, 2007

Uncertain times

It looks like the feds are stepping in stabilize some of the interest pressure on home owners.

The fed rate may drop again.

There is talk of stabilization in the Sarasota condo market.

The winter in Canada is expected to be the worse in 15 years.

So what does this all mean?

Well for the average person looking to get in to the housing market in the Sarasota, Bradenton, Anna Maria area, it means that striking sooner rather than later is probably your best bet.

Not that all the bargains will be gone tomorrow but thinks of this.

The inventory of homes for sale would increase as more of the adjustable rate mortgages start moving up and home owners find themselves unable to keep their payments.

The feds stepping in to relieve that pressure should help keep the inventory of homes for sale stable possibly with a slight decrease.

A drop in the interest rate will create more borrowing, expansion, increase the economy. Well you know how it is. So that too should create more stability.

The condo market in Sarasota, much like Bradenton is flooded. Any sign that is stabilizing is welcome, then again it might be a while to determine if that is true or not.

As for the Canadians. There dollar is high, the weather is lousy and yes, they do like to spend the winters in Florida. Canadian banks are also helping them do that with favorable second home mortgages.

If you were sitting on your hands waiting for the market to turn maybe time to start rubbing them together.

No, I don't see prices rising before the end of 2008 but the extreme bargains may start getting fewer and less frequent.

For the market savvy buyer this means it is time to make a choice.

Waterfront dream home for retirement at wholesale prices anyone?

All the best
Greg Owens PA
Keller Williams Realty of Greater Manatee
941.779.5149