Reverse mortgages: Myths vs. realities
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
STUART – There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding reverse mortgages. I’ve highlighted six here that seem to come up most often in conversations with clients. I hope these will help when considering whether a reverse mortgage is the right path for you. Myth No. 1: The lender owns the home You will retain the
- Published in Blog, General, Housing Market, Local, Mortgage, Real Estate, South Tampa, St Petersburg
How will housing change over the next decade?
Wednesday, 22 March 2017
NEW YORK – March 7, 2017 – Your 10-year outlook: Expect business to get busier, but be ready for some major demographic shifts in housing. Housing demand over the next decade will be significantly higher than today, predicts Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), in his latest column at Forbes.com.
- Published in Blog, General, Housing Market, Investors, Local, Luxury, Mortgage, News, Real Estate, South Tampa, St Petersburg
Kitchen features buyers will pay more for
Thursday, 16 March 2017
CHICAGO – Dec. 6, 2016 – A great kitchen can help sell a home, and real estate professionals are spotlighting it in their marketing. Of all the homes listed for sale on realtor.com, 69 percent of the listing descriptions highlight the kitchen as a selling point. Forty-nine percent mentioned the bedrooms and 35 percent highlighted the
- Published in Blog, General, Housing Market, Investors, Local, Luxury, News, Real Estate, South Tampa, St Petersburg
Granite countertops take second place to quartz
Thursday, 23 February 2017
WASHINGTON – Jan. 25, 2017 – Granite is falling out of favor with homeowners. The engineered stone of quartz instead is displacing the long-reigning granite as the top-choice for kitchen countertops. “About 75 percent of our clients are opting for quartz over granite,” says Bill Millholland, executive vice president of the design-build firm Case. “More
- Published in General, Housing Market, Investors, Local, Luxury, Real Estate, South Tampa, St Petersburg
Higher inflation one more reason to buy a home now
Sunday, 19 February 2017
NEW YORK – Jan. 20, 2017 – Annual inflation hit a 21/2-year high in December amid rising gasoline prices as a core measure of inflation increased moderately. The consumer price index rose 0.3 percent, the Labor Department said Wednesday, matching economists’ estimates. Prices were up 2.1 percent the past year, the largest annual jump since
- Published in General, Housing Market, Important, Investors, Local, Luxury, Mortgage, News, Real Estate, South Tampa, St Petersburg
Which Tampa Bay neighborhood home values will rise most this year? The answer may surprise you.
Tuesday, 07 February 2017
Most Tampa Bay residents have never heard of Westminster Heights. But the St. Petersburg neighborhood could give a lot of bang for the buck when it comes to investing in real estate this year. Lying south of Central Avenue between 49th and 58th Streets S, Westminster Heights tops Zillow’s list of the five bay area
- Published in General, Housing Market, Investors, Local, Luxury, Real Estate, South Tampa, St Petersburg
Tampa, once dubbed dangerous for bicycling, now one of ’50 Best’ in U.S.
Monday, 30 January 2017
TAMPA — Just two years ago, Tampa was receiving brickbats for being one of the most dangerous cities to navigate on two wheels. The Tampa Bay region had just been named one of the worst metropolitan areas for bicyclists and pedestrians. The same report by the National Complete Streets Coalition dubbed Florida the most dangerous
- Published in Blog, General, Local, News, South Tampa
Why buy a home? Top 10 benefits of ownership
Thursday, 26 January 2017
LAWTON, Okla. – Dec. 19, 2016 – Buying a home may be the American dream, but it’s also a monumental task: You have to clean up your credit, apply for a mortgage, scrape together a downpayment, and then move all your worldly possessions in after you close on the deal. Phew! So then why do
- Published in Blog, General, Housing Market, Important, Investors, Local, Luxury, News, Real Estate, South Tampa, St Petersburg
Competing metros: Tampa Bay rebounds to best performance in decade in Milken Institute rankings
Sunday, 22 January 2017
Here’s a feel-good column to unwrap this holiday season that will reveal the Tampa Bay metro area is rebounding as one of the better performing, larger metro areas in the United States. That’s great news after a decade of rough times in the bay area economy, hitting a low ranking among the nation’s top 200
- Published in Blog, General, Housing Market, Investors, Local, Luxury, News, Real Estate, South Tampa, St Petersburg
Channel district apartment tower sold for $88 million
Friday, 16 December 2016
One of downtown Tampa’s newest apartment towers has a new owner. Skyhouse Channelside, which wrapped up completion in 2015, sold for $88 million to a corporate entity tied to Yonkers, New York-based AVR Realty, according to public records. Skyhouse, right, is a 23-story tower in downtown Tampa’s Channel district. The seller was Atlanta-based Novare
- Published in Blog, General, Investors, Local, Luxury, News, Real Estate, South Tampa