One small step

Amendment 1 passed during the vote on Jan. 29 and that is one small step in the right direction.

Basically, as word spreads, people will find out that their homestead has increased and the their homestead exemption is portable.

Now I don't expect to see a fluery of activity in the next week on the Gulf Coast of Florida. But a lot of people in the Manatee and Sarasota County areas may start thinking about buying after this wise decision.

The State of Florida now needs to follow up quickly with legislation that helps none homesteaders and business owners receive a reasonable cap on tax increases (not the 10 percent as the amendment did).

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

Testing, testing, forget it!

Here is my advice to anyone thinking about testing the waters for selling their property on the Gulf coast of Florida.

If you don't have to sell don't do it.

It is a shark fest out there. Ask any Realtor worth their salt in the Manatee, Sarasota and Anna Maria Island area and they will tell you the same thing.

If they don't they are either fooling themselves or you or both.

There is about a 35 month supply of single family homes on the market right now in Manatee County alone. Some areas have more than double that amount of inventory.

No the annual snowbird influx is going to come no where near to gobbling up all that excess.

Homeowners are upset over low offers. If you are in this market get used to it.

If you are insulted by offers lets say 25 percent or more below your asking price, get out of the market or get used to being insulted.

This is an extremely strong buyer's market with a lot of foreclosures and short sales driving the prices down in every neighborhood.

For buyer's right now everyday is Christmas Day. As a buyer's agent I know my clients are doing the happy dance and shopping to their hearts content.

For sellers, if you don't want to drop your price, get ready to sit there with your home for sale for a long time.

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

Love that stock market

Stocks are falling.

Interest rates are falling.

Real estate prices are falling.

We're in property purchase heaven.

Yes property does go up in value overtime.

Take look at the Sarasota, Manatee counties and Anna Maria Island areas for instance.

Waterfront is affordable again. Home prices continue to drop.

But the kicker is the the boomer are retiring and they don't want to shovel snow. So this won't last forever.

Time to think about that real estate investment.

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

Waiting for the word

Here is a couple of truths you need to know when it comes to selling and buying your home and the media.

Just so you know I was a journalist for 22 years so I have pretty good background in the business.

I hear from a lot of people in the Sarasota/Manatee area about the continuing downward spiral of the housing market which they are reading in the local and national media.

Two big points here, first housing is a local market.

Saying the housing market is down everywhere is like saying it is raining across the nation today. There are bound to be some sunny spots or snow.

So when the media reports national statistics they are just that national, not local. There are still hot spots houses in this market.

Next the local media are constantly playing catch up when it comes to the local market.

They were reporting a slight downturn in the local market and basically nothing major going on here when we were in a price free fall.

This gave sellers and real estate agent false hope and kept the asking prices much higher than they should have been.

Many of those same sellers are now looking at foreclosure, short sales and may have been on the market for more than a year.

The local media was at least two to three months behind in reporting in what was actually going on in the market place.

What this means to the current buyers is if they are waiting for the the local media and national media to start talking about a housing recovery they have probably missed the bottom of the market by several months.

The wise buyer knows there are bargains in both rising and falling markets they are not waiting for the local or national media to tell them when to act.

First get a good real estate agent who knows the market. Next, listen to your gut. If both are telling you it is a good deal it probably is.

Of course get a facts and figures to reinforce your decision.

If you are waiting for someone else to tell you when to move forward you may be standing there a long time and moving far too late.

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

Gulf access for wholesale prices

The sky may not falling but real estate prices certainly are.

In the Sarasota/Manatee County areas you can get a condominium with a dock and direct access to the Gulf of Mexico listed for under 200k.

Yep. You can be fishing in the warm Gulf of Mexico waters a couple of minutes from your back door.

You can look at your boat, get in the boat and get on your way any time you want.

How's that for a New Year's present.

Oh, but wait, some of these villas and condominiums are within minutes of the beaches of Anna Maria Island, just in case you don't feel like boating.

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