I have been seeking a Tallahassee neighborhood for which I could report something different than all of our recent housing reports, and Barrington Park Condos in Tallahassee, Florida provides the relief that I have been seeking. Could it be possible to find a niche; a community in Tallahassee where property values have been on the [...]
Are Barrington Park Condos The Shangri-La Of The Tallahassee Real Estate Market?
I have been seeking a Tallahassee neighborhood for which I could report something different than all of our recent housing reports, and Barrington Park Condos in Tallahassee, Florida provides the relief that I have been seeking. Could it be possible to find a niche; a community in Tallahassee where property values have been on the [...]
Keep Reading...Young Neighborhoods Fight Flight: Weems Plantation Tallahassee Florida
Weems Plantation is a popular Northeast Tallahassee neighborhood that is undergoing some turmoil related to the age of the community, as are all newer neighborhoods around Tallahassee. With home sales happening at half of our historical rate, we know that a shadow inventory of pent-up supply is growing, and thus so too will the list [...]
Keep Reading...How To Decide Whether To Buy A Home Or Wait?
A question on many people’s minds these days is whether you buy a home or wait until home values fall even further. We know that home values will continue to decline over the next several years. And we also expect that these historic interest rates will not last forever. In an attempt to bring clarity [...]
Keep Reading...What Yogi Berra Would Say About Selling A House In 2012
Yogi Berra has said a lot of things about baseball, but what would he he say if asked about selling a house in 2012? Berra was a fifteen-time All-Star, and the Major League Baseball MVP three times, in 1951, 1954 and 1955. While he is arguably one of the best baseball players of all time, [...]
Keep Reading...Have You Heard The Great News About Tallahassee FHA Streamline Refinance?
Changes have been made by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that are going to have an immediately wonderful impact on people who want to do a Tallahassee FHA streamline refinance. You see, the FHA has found itself in a bad position, and perhaps it feels that best way to protect itself is to to do [...]
Keep Reading...What Are We Going To Do When Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Finally Crash?
As our federal government continues to flail and waste time disputing who caused the housing market collapse, I just sit here wondering what we’re going to do when Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac finally crash. Did you happen to catch the Super Bowl this past Sunday? Even if you didn’t, have you participated in our one-question [...]
Keep Reading...How IRS Form 1099-C Addresses Cancellation Of Debt In A Short Sale
I have had quite a few conversations lately about the capital gains tax that results from a short sale or foreclosure, and what exactly what you should do when the lender sends you an IRS Form 1099-C. First of all, as a quick disclosure to first-time readers … I am a real estate broker in [...]
Keep Reading...Wanna Know Where To Retire? Choose Tallahassee – Just Like Home!
There are millions of baby boomers around the world trying to decide where to retire, and if long-term reader “Bill” has anything to with it, they are going to choose Tallahassee. Bill has given the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog great feedback over the years, and his recent comments center on the fact that Tallahassee needs [...]
Keep Reading...Mortgage Relief Plan Is Redistribution Of Wealth Plan
There was an article in yesterday’s New York Times that explained the new mortgage relief plan, which is due to be signed today, is very close to completion. Like so many articles that have been written about the housing market crisis, this one liberally showed how all the victims will receive assistance. In case you [...]
Keep Reading...How Confident Are You That We Are In A Housing Market Recovery?
When I attempt to put a time frame on the housing market recovery, I start by looking at real estate supply and demand numbers for the entire country. It is obvious to me that the supply of homes for sale still far outweighs the current rate of demand, yet when I read most of the [...]
Keep Reading...Homes In Tallahassee Killearn Lakes
Homes in Tallahassee neighborhood Killearn Lakes have dropped in value by more than a third since the peak of the housing market. As one of the most popular neighborhoods in Tallahassee, Killearn Lakes offers a great representative view of homes in Tallahassee, and currently there are 42 homes for sale in Killearn Lakes Plantation. In [...]
Keep Reading...Piney Z Home Sales Coming Off 8 Straight Declining Years
Piney Z home sales were down significantly in 2011, and a new “low” was hit with only 28 homes sold in 2011, down 10% from 2010. This means we have seen 8 straight declining years, something that I have not seen often from the rest of the Tallahassee real estate market. Typically, when we see [...]
Keep Reading...How To Ensure You Don’t Pay Florida Tourist Development Tax
Have you recently received a letter from the Leon County Tax Collector, advising you to pay a Florida Tourist Development Tax? If you are a real estate investor in Florida, and you own residential investment properties, you should be aware of this tax. Fortunately, the tourist development tax only applies to the rental of living [...]
Keep Reading...Time To White Wash Another Pending Home Sales Report
The National Association of Realtors released its monthly Pending Home Sales Report, and it appears as if things are still going well (there seems to be a positive stream of reports now going back 15 straight years). Lawrence Yun (pronounced Yawn by those of us who have tired of his reports that white-wash conditions in [...]
Keep Reading...What The Century 21 Super Bowl Commercial Can Teach Us About Selling A Home Today
The world of golden jacketed real estate agents is all a buzz about the Century 21 Super Bowl Commercial that will be shown for 30 seconds nine days from now. Normally, I do not write much about my “brand,” as Century 21 does a whole lot of that themselves. For those of you “normal” people [...]
Keep Reading...Southwood Real Estate Outlook January 2012
With 2012 well underway, let’s start the new year’s housing reports with the Southwood real estate outlook. Sporting the most active subdivision in Tallahassee, our Southwood real estate report is a natural “first of the year” look at the activity in the Tallahassee real estate market. Currently, there are 48 homes for sale in Southwood [...]
Keep Reading...What A Real Estate Blog Has Taught Me About Selling Homes
If you want to hire the best company to help you sell a home, start by selecting a company that has a prominent real estate blog. The lessons learned while writing this real estate blog has taught me so much about what consumers are doing every day on the internet. I have written a daily [...]
Keep Reading...Homeowner Alert: The New “Refinance A Home” Scam To Avoid
I am concerned that the next wave of “putting a finger in the dike of the housing crisis” cures will be built around risky loans created solely to help you refinance a home. In response to yesterday’s Weekly Special Report “The Great Falling Home Supply Mirage,” several readers were quick to comment on thoughts they [...]
Keep Reading...The Real Key To Marketing A House For Sale In Tallahassee
Anybody who has been in the real estate business for more than a week can tell you that “real estate is local,” so why are most real estate companies focused on marketing a house for sale in Tallahassee on the large aggregate sites that are anything but local? I suspect it has something to do [...]
Keep Reading...Short Selling – I’m Working For The Seller, Not For The Bank
A series of unrelated conversations over the past few months made me realize there is a lot of confusion about short selling a home. First of all, when a homeowner chooses to hire a CENTURY 21 agent to sell a home, it is that homeowner for whom we work. Period. It does not matter if [...]
Keep Reading...You Can Learn A Lot From The Banks On How (Not) To Sell A Home
We all know that banks and lenders are entirely overwhelmed with this whole housing crisis thing. Many lending institutions have transformed into loss mitigation institutions, or they have outsourced their problems to organizations formed solely to solve the problems that surround distressed homeowners and delinquent loans. In so many cases, they are really doing a [...]
Keep Reading...The Real Scoop On Lot And Land Sales In Tallahassee
The price of developed lots in Tallahassee has moved all over the place during the rise and fall of the housing market. When I started in the real estate business in the early ’90s, Florida was just emerging from the inception of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan that resulted in many land-owners bringing residential lots [...]
Keep Reading...Should You Wait Until Next Year To Sell A Home
There are a lot of people who have decided to wait until next year to sell a home. I know this is true because the inventory of homes for sale in Tallahassee continues to drop, even as the rate of home sales has hit a 20+ year low. Will it be a smart move … [...]
Keep Reading...3 Lies Real Estate Listing Agents Like To Tell
Real estate listing agents are at it again. They are holding back the “whole truth” when dealing with prospective home sellers, and sellers no longer so easy to trick. It seems that I have spoken with more people who want to sell a home in the past 60 days than I have in any previous [...]
Keep Reading...Why I Won’t Be Judging The US Marine Corps Today
Today is one of those very rare days that my blog will be “off topic,” meaning there will be no tie to the Tallahassee real estate market. Every so often I feel compelled to share my viewpoint on a current event, and today I want to share a unique perspective on a hot global story [...]
Keep Reading...How We Know The Housing Market Is Weakening Despite What NAR Is Reporting
Anybody who follows the real estate market knows that the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) recently announced that they had been over-stating sales (oops) since 2007. Some people were quick to point out that this announcement means the housing market is doing worse than previously thought, but there might be another reason for this well-timed [...]
Keep Reading...The Five Star Guide To Tallahassee Neighborhoods
Want to know where to eat in a new city … ask your new friends. Want to know the mood and pace of a city, read its newspaper. But what do you do if you want to know where the top neighborhoods are? How can you tell where you might want to live, apart from [...]
Keep Reading...How To Sell Your Home Even If Your Neighbors Are Giving Theirs Away
One thing that home sellers really want to know right now is how they can sell a home without giving it away … in a market loaded with distressed properties for sale. I mean, if the Jones family down the street is going to give their home away, how are you going to entice a [...]
Keep Reading...Where You Should Advertise A Home For Sale
Today’s blog post was inspired by a reader question concerning how and where we advertise a home for sale. I have said it numerous times before but I will say it again, some of our best blog posts at the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog come from reader questions, as they help us reach the real [...]
Keep Reading...How To Use Current Real Estate Market Conditions To Improve Your Quality Of Life
I was once taught that the first rule of economics is “never consider sunk costs.” In simple-speak, this means that the money you have already spent on something is “in the past” and cannot be “un-spent”, thus you should unemotionally look at your present situation and make the best decision possible looking forward. If you [...]
Keep Reading...How To Misjudge Real Estate Supply And Demand – The Ultimate Guide
Right about now, all across the US, real estate supply and demand reports are being published, and many will be misjudged, misunderstood, and misreported. You can either allow yourself to be misguided, or you can choose to have a mind of your own. If you are thinking about selling a home, the best starting point [...]
Keep Reading...Top 10 Real Estate Blog Posts For 2011
2011 is over, and as we look forward to the recovery of the Tallahassee housing market, let’s take one last look backward to see which blog posts were the most popular last year. The top 10 real estate blog posts for 2011 gives me an idea of what our readers most enjoy seeing at the [...]
Keep Reading...The Minimalist Guide To Selling A Home
Who better to turn to than William Shakespeare when assembling the best words to guide us to a successful home sale? Shakespeare has written many phrases that became part of the English language, as he artfully conveys a thought or action most efficiently. I have “borrowed” four quotes from Mr. Shakespeare that serve to bind [...]
Keep Reading...Searching Tallahassee Real Estate Just Got Easier
You asked for it, CENTURY 21 First Realty delivers. One of the most often requested site modifications at the Tallahassee Real Estate Website has been an improved navigation system, allowing readers to find specific articles from the thousands of available pages of original content. Our real estate website has gotten so large that we have [...]
Keep Reading...Short Sale Amenisty Program Could Cure The Real Housing Market Problem
If you have ever used an old fashioned hand water pump, then you remember how much work it can take to get the water flowing. Sometimes you might crank up and down on that old cast iron arm for several minutes and not even get the first drop of water. When one of these pumps [...]
Keep Reading...Does Experience Really Matter When You Hire A Tallahassee Realtor
As somebody who tries to analyze, measure, and track every recorded aspect of the Tallahassee real estate market, I am often curious about the impact of the changes we are seeing in the real estate brokerage industry. With the help of the Tallahassee Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service, today I want to take a [...]
Keep Reading...Expect Slower Home Sales In 1st Quarter 2012
If you study new contracts in the Tallahassee MLS every day, and plot their performance over time, you often are able to produce short-term forecasts for home sales that are relatively accurate. With that in mind, the pending home sales report (new contracts) is projecting a slower 1st Quarter for 2012 than we saw in [...]
Keep Reading...What A Purple Trike Can Teach You About Selling A Home
As I was waiting for my family to gather to put a movie on last night, I was surfing and came across a show on the History Channel called Pawn Stars. In a day and age when there is a TV show about everything, it came as no big surprise to find a series based [...]
Keep Reading...Home Sales In Betton On The Rebound
Home sales in the Betton neighborhoods continue to climb, which is remarkable considering the housing market in Tallahassee is still declining in both the number of homes being sold every day as well as in depreciating home values. This popular Northeast Tallahassee neighborhood currently has 23 homes listed for sale in the Tallahassee MLS, which [...]
Keep Reading...Cash For Real Estate
With all the problems that we read about obtaining financing for real estate these days, it has raised some discussion about just paying cash for real estate. Tallahassee has never been a town filled with people with a lot of excess cash, so I really don’t see a new trend towards cash buyers starting any [...]
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