by admin | Jun 17, 2015
June 17, 2015 Newsletter – Here’s a hopefully useful update. There have been some changes in trends and recent information that may be of interest to you. I’ll start with the question I am often asked. What’s the real estate market like in the Clearwater area? Okay, that’s too general, so let’s split it up into various types of properties – Single Family Homes and Townhomes/Condos. Let’s also look at the type of sales (regular or traditional; Foreclosures and Short Sales). This will enable us to better answer the question. Residential – Single Family Homes The local county – Pinellas County – consists of the cities of Clearwater, Belleair, St. Petersburg, Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and more. In April 2015 there were of 985 single-family homes sold in the traditional manner – meaning not via a foreclosure or as a bank owned property or as a short sale (one where the property is being sold “short” of what is owed on its mortgages). This is a whopping 32% increase over the sales in April of 2014. That’s one heckava increase. The main reasons for this increase include lenders now being more active with more loan programs (and low rates still continue!), there is an increase of “For Sale” inventory and real estate is viewed again by many as a viable investment. If anyone watches TV, there is an increase in advertising. For those who look at newspapers, there is much more coverage on the subject. And online advertisers and marketing companies have increased dramatically and are competing for the business of real estate professionals as well as the public. Short Sales of Residential Homes This used to be a hot arena of activity. Short...
