Benjamin Franklin - In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789
I received an email from a client of mine who had purchased a home in Tallahassee back in 2004. Like many citizens of Florida, he is disturbed about his rising property taxes. His message was Read the rest of this entry
I was speaking with a home owner in the Tallahassee real estate market yesterday who was very frustrated that she could not sell her home. She has had it on the market for over a year and was now considering my company for the job of selling the home.
The first thing that I shared with her is that she is not the only frustrated homeowner in Tallahassee, and for that matter, she does is certainly not the only frustrated homeowner in the US real estate market. I really felt for her and wanted to try to end her frustrations.
If you have been reading the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog for a while, then you are aware that our nation is suffering through a very tough real estate market right now. Inventories are rising in all but a select few markets and frustrated homeowners are having to lower their asking prices. So, in short, there are no “painless” solutions to the housing problems until inventories return to a more balanced level. So what should my frustrated homeowner do?
If you are a frustrated homeowner, I will tell you that the market is what the market is. Period. Many homes are still selling and yours can sell too if you make the right decisions. In order to simplify what needs to occur, let’s take a look at some basic marketing principles…
As you can see from basic marketing, the actions to convert you from a frustrated homeowner to a former homeowner is rather simple. Clean it up, price it right, promote it worldwide, and it will sell.
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Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
I thought I might provide some insight on How Home Values Are Determined. Everyone who owns a home typically likes particular aspects of that home. But these likes and dislikes have less to do with value that you might think, so let me give you some value-thoughts to chew on:
I often times find that home owners do not know how home values are determined and I find that one of the biggest roles that real estate professionals have is to continuously remind our Sellers of this. When somebody decides to sell their home, they think about what they want for it and they think about what they will do with the proceeds. Unfortunately, none of the buyers for the home care.
Some of the key things seller’s think about that buyers do not consider important …
So, how do we know how home values are determined? They are determined by what a buyer is willing to pay in today’s market, based on the comparison of your house with others on the market, both here and in other neighborhoods.
(Analogy: Buyers don’t just say” I’m only going to buy in the Golden Eagle Subdivision in Tallahassee.” They don’t look just in the Golden Eagle Subdivision; they look at a larger category of inventory, across many subdivisions in Tallahassee. They screen price range, bedrooms, bathrooms, school zones, etc.)
BUYERS - I have never, ever spoken with a buyer who said, ” I don’t like that house on Elm Street, but let’s go look at comparable properties to determine its value.” Buyers don’t care about comparables (nor the value of your home) unless they like your home. The most critical data you can operate off of when determining the value of your home is from the homes available in the marketplace the day the buyer goes out and shops.
People with their homes on the market are competing with the other people and builders who have homes on the market. The number of Buyers is limited and you have to be the best deal if you want your home chosen. Do not ever misunderstand that you are in a race; a competition to attract the best buyer for your home!
If the market changes tonight and your competition all drop their prices $5,000, then you wake-up tomorrow over-priced. And you have to do something about it. This is the concept of “value is a moment in time.” Do not ever think that you have “set” the price on your home and that you do not need to pay attention to value movements in your marketplace.
“Comps” is a real estate industry term, short for comparable property sales in the past, that many people errantly rely on to determine value. The critical error that they make is the assumption that markets don’t go up and don’t go down! BAD ASSUMPTION! No other commodity works that way! Why would houses?
As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
Keep checking out the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog every day for updates that include charts, graphs, and analysis of the Tallahassee real estate market.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my blog through a full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe to this blog and have it delivered by Email.
Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
Today’s Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog is completely different.
With all the serious discussion about real estate markets and economic conditions, I think a little levity on Friday is in order. And when you want to lighten the load, it seems like Golf is a great tool to have at your disposal.
Golf is a funny game. You tend to play it with people with whom you enjoy spending time. Rarely do you act your age. Golf allows you to blow off steam and forget about market conditions, homes on the market, subdivisions reports, etc.
So I want to recommend a book. As you might have guessed, it is titled Golf Is a Funny Game. It is written by Allan Zullo and Chris Rodell and is available on Amazon for only $11.04! You can click on the link below and it will take you right there!
When you look at Golf Is a Funny Game on Amazon, you can read reviews and even read from inside the book. I recommend you search for the chapter titled “Brew HaHa.”
Enjoy your Friday. Remember, if you want to have a little fun, Golf Is a Funny Game.
About the Author
Allan Zullo has authored more than 90 books, including the best-selling Amazing but True series, which features AMP’s Amazing but True Golf Facts day-to-day calendar. Allan visits the fairway near his home in Asheville, N.C. The fact that he is my little brother’s father-in-law has no bearing on his book being recommended here. Furthermore, the chapter that he wrote about my friends and I also was not relevant in my recommending the book.
As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
Keep checking out the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog every day for updates that include charts, graphs, and analysis of the Tallahassee real estate market.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my blog through a full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe to this blog and have it delivered by Email.
Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
I haven’t done a Golden Eagle Plantation update in quite a while, so I figured I would knock one out today. I pulled all of the active listings from the Tallahassee Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and all of the sales data from the Leon County Tax Records for the period of April 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008.
Currently, Golden Eagle Plantation has an absorption rate of roughly 4 units per month. There are 53 homes for sale in Golden Eagle, therefore Golden Eagle Plantation has a supply of 14.1 months of homes.
The chart above shows that Golden Eagle Plantation home values (per square foot) seem to have dipped down quite a bit during the last four months of last year. But this information is incomplete because this report does not consider amenities (pools, lot features such as waterfront and golf course) nor the age of the homes. This is just a “snapshot” of what is happening.
This next graph gives us an idea of what Buyers are wanting in Golden Eagle Plantation.
The chart above shows us the overage home that was purchased in the past year was 3,260 square feet and sold at $170 per square foot. Currently, the average home for sale in Golden Eagle Plantation is 3,740 square feet and is priced at $184 per square foot. So, homes on the market are 15% bigger and are priced relatively higher than what has been sold recently. That tells us that we are still in a value market and that buyers are buying more house for less.
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In order to make the most active sections of our website easier for readers to remember, we have created some short-cuts. Please visit the links below (often) for great new information about the Tallahassee Real Estate Market.
As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
Keep checking out the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog every day for updates that include charts, graphs, and analysis of the Tallahassee real estate market.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my blog through a full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe to this blog and have it delivered by Email.
Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
I have been doing a lot of research and reading lately, as I feel this is the toughest real estate market cycle that I have been through in my 17 years of brokering in the Tallahassee real estate market. It seems that many people have an opinion on real estate, and many have speculated that the worst is behind us. While I’m excited to think that some of the stories in the media could actually turn positive soon, I feel that some simple concepts can reveal where we truly are in this current real estate market cycle.
Let us first define what a “good real estate market” is versus a “bad real estate market.” A good real estate market is where Sellers can put their homes on the market and can fairly quickly sell them, while a bad real estate market is where most sellers will fail to sell their home. Fair enough? In a good market, home prices appreciate, and in a bad market homes depreciate.
So how do we know which way the market is going? As simple as this question sounds, the answer is equally simple to tell. All you have to do is look at the flow of inventory over a period of time. Are more homes coming onto the market (creating inventory….creating glut)? Or, are more homes leaving the market (reducing inventory … leaving demand unfulfilled)? That is all we have to measure!
The Tallahassee Real Estate Inventory Report, which can be found updated several times per week, shows that the inventory is still growing. We need to see the “yellow” portion of the chart move below the zero line on a consistent basis to know that market has turned.
As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
Keep checking out the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog every day for updates that include charts, graphs, and analysis of the Tallahassee real estate market.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my blog through a full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe to this blog and have it delivered by Email.
Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
Last month we launched our first-ever Tallahassee Real Estate Market Inventory Report. The purpose was to provide useful information about supply and demand in the Tallahassee real estate market.
So here it is again. This month, we have improved the Tallahassee Real Estate Market Inventory Report by adding a column of data which shows how the inventory has changed since last months Tallahassee Real Estate Market Inventory Report.
We encourage you to download this report and take some time getting to understand it’s very useful information about supply and demand in the Tallahassee real estate market.
Tallahassee Real Estate Market Inventory Report - April 2008
Tallahassee Real Estate Market Inventory Report - March 2008
As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
Keep checking out the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog every day for updates that include charts, graphs, and analysis of the Tallahassee real estate market.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my blog through a full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe to this blog and have it delivered by Email.
Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
Well, if you read the newspaper this morning, a well-written article was prepared by TaMaryn Waters discussing the state of admissions with Florida’s public universities. Apparently, having a 4.0 GPA is not enough. Bear in mind, I was accepted to West Point in the mid-1980’s with a GPA in the low 3.’s, so I’m wondering why our state is so broken it cannot create opportunity for kids who have obviously demonstrated that they want to learn at a higher level.
I have been keeping an eye on the Florida Prepaid College Plan for years, thinking that the State of Florida was truly the leader nationwide for creating a system to ensure continued education for families of all financial means. There are now, according to some reports, over 1.2 million people who have or are participating in this opportunity. With all these “kids” enrolled, where will they be attending school if even the kids with 4.0’s are being rejected? If this were a simple business, I would look at the supply and demand curve and point out that demand has blown past supply and a great opportunity for the State of Florida is here!
Miss Waters’ article in today’s Tallahassee Democrat points out that while admissions in the State universities are flat or dropping, the burden of handling these students is moving to the community colleges. She reports thatTCC enrollment is up 7% since last April. Could this spell the “end” of the four-year college, where only the best of the brightest will go to a university for four years, while most everyone else will attend a community college for two years, and then enroll in a university as a junior to complete their degree?
Perhaps the greatest question is “why am I blogging about the Florida Prepaid College Plan in the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog?” The answer is simple. We have well over 70,000 college students in Tallahassee and I think we are going to see quite a few more in the coming years. TCC is growing, FAMU appears to be well on its way to recovery through the great work of Dr. Ammons, and FSU is a highly desired school as well. This part of our community is a strong pillar of our local economy as well as the backbone of our real estate rental market. When enrollment at FAMU dropped 40%, it put a “big hurt” on many real estate investors in the south-side of Tallahassee. When investors get hurt, the whole market suffers, not just the investors. Homes in all prices ranges are affected, and so are local businesses as less money is available.
I would love to see the Tallahassee Democrat continue this excellent article on college admissions. I’d love to hear what the “experts” are saying about the divide between “no admission” and “prepaid.” Are the schools allowed to say no when the kids have already paid through the Florida Prepaid College Plan?
As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
Keep checking out the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog every day for updates that include charts, graphs, and analysis of the Tallahassee real estate market.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my blog through a full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe to this blog and have it delivered by Email.
Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
In today’s tough real estate market, where Sellers seem to far outnumber Buyers, it is important to have a complete “bag of tools” when you desire to sell a home in Florida.
Today, I will focus on an instrument that is fairly common on Wall Street that we do not see very often on “Main Street,” and that is the Zero Coupon Bond. For those readers who do not invest their money in bonds, I will briefly define a zero coupon bond as an investment that generates no monthly payments, but rather accumulates interest and is repaid in full, plus interest, on a future maturity date. If you would like a much better definition of the zero coupon bond, just follow the link preceding this to the Wikipedia site.
So, how do we apply the zero coupon bond to selling a home in the Tallahassee real estate market?
The best way to explain this is with a real world situation in which two excellent Century 21 Realtors were able to creatively sell a home that had been on the market for a rather long-time.
We had a home on the market (names and dollar amounts have been changed to protect the sensitivity of the transaction) listed by our office which had been listed by a previous office for nearly one year. The Sellers (Mr. and Mrs. Seller) were in desperate need of a sale, as they had already committed to moving out of the Tallahassee real estate market. They owed $400,000 and felt they needed at least $50,000 to purchase their new home in the next market. While they had a $600,000 appraisal on their home, they had failed to get it sold while listed previously at $575,000.
We explained to Mr. and Mrs. Seller that they were seeking to sell their home to a very tiny portion of the home buyers in Tallahassee. With our median sales price being less than 1/2 of what they were seeking, we felt that the Sellers needed to do some creative marketing and offer creative financing in order to attract more buyers. We have learned that many more buyers exist for a home if we can satisfy one of two problems, cash issues and/or credit issues. A buyer with cash issues has good credit and can afford to make a home payment, he just does not have the required cash to close on the transaction. A buyer with credit issues might have plenty of cash, but might not have the credit to qualify for a loan or might lack the income required to make the entire mortgage payment.
We offered the Seller’s home for sale at $560,000, but put the word out through our network that creative financing was available. In fact, a buyer could buy the house for $560,000, but have payments as if he had only paid $500,000 for the home! How is this possible….enter the zero coupon bond.
We found a buyer who very much loved the home, but fell short of qualifying for the home due to income restraints. This buyer had very good credit and had sufficient cash to close on the home, but not enough cash + borrowing ability to get it closed. So here is how we structured the transaction:
The Seller was able to walk away with nearly $56K from this sale, more than enough to close on their new home. Additionally, they were able to realize the top amount of money (full asking price) for their home.
The buyers were able to buy more home than they expected, while keeping their payments at a with which they were comfortable.
So what were the terms of the zero coupon bond? The Sellers and the Buyers agreed to $65,000 at 3.25% interest for ten years. That means that the Buyers will owe $89,500 in ten years. Should the Buyers refinance or sell the property prior to that, they will be required to repay the entire principal balance ($65K) plus the accumulated interest at the time of the refinance or sale.
This transaction worked out very well for both parties. We continuously seek to find “win/win” solutions so that we can help Sellers out of their homes by bringing more potential buyers to a market that is currently heavier on housing inventory than it is on active buyers.
As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
Keep checking out the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog every day for updates that include charts, graphs, and analysis of the Tallahassee real estate market.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my blog through a full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe to this blog and have it delivered by Email.
Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
Perhaps the most written-about, most talked-about subject in the national real estate news has got to be foreclosures. If you believe the media, then the neighbor on your left and the neighbor on your right are both being foreclosed upon!
So, what is the truth about foreclosures in Tallahassee? Well, foreclosures in Tallahassee are certainly happening at a faster rate than I have seen in the past, but I would not say we are seeing them occur as much as the news media would make you believe. I have found the reports to be so over-stated that I am now tracking the new filings for foreclosures (called a Lis Pendens) on our Tallahassee Real Estate Web Site. This list is available for free to all visitors at http://www.manausa.com and can be found through the menu as seen below:
To show you a sample of the information, choose any link below to see the corresponding week’s worth of Lis Pendens filings:
Tallahassee Lis Pendens Lists - Week Ending March 13, 2008
Tallahassee Lis Pendens Lists - Week Ending March 6, 2008
Tallahassee Lis Pendens Lists - Week Ending February 28, 2008
Tallahassee Lis Pendens Lists - Week Ending February 21, 2008
Tallahassee Lis Pendens Lists - Week Ending February 14, 2008
Tallahassee Lis Pendens Lists - Week Ending February 7, 2008
Tallahassee Lis Pendens Lists - Week Ending January 24, 2008
Tallahassee Lis Pendens Lists - Week Ending January 17, 2008
Tallahassee Lis Pendens Lists - Week Ending January 10, 2008
As a reminder for those who subscribe to the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog by email, some embedded pictures and videos might not be appearing in your email and you might need to click the title header to go to your browser where all will be visible.
Keep checking out the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog every day for updates that include charts, graphs, and analysis of the Tallahassee real estate market.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my blog through a full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe to this blog and have it delivered by Email.
Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
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