A few people who are considering buying a home in  Magnolia Estates have asked us about this community.

It consists of approximately 190 single family homes in a gated, deed-restricted community off of Perrine Ranch Road in New Port Richey, Florida.:

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 It is a fantastic gated community with close proximity to shopping, U.S. Highway 19 and McMullen Booth Road, Tarpon Springs beaches, and much more.

In the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) realtors ® list it under “Magnolia Estates” under “Subdivision Name.”

For June 2009 there were no single family homes that were listed in the MLS that sold in June 2009.

Currently there are 11 homes for sale in Magnolia Estates ranging from $231,000 to $450,000 listing prices. Eleven homes out of the 190 or so homes in Magnolia Estates is less than 10% which tells me that its homeowners love living there so if you are considering buying a home in this community that is something that you may want to consider

Well one person who earns their business is Raul Alvarez of Wells Fargo. He’s been in the mortgage industry for eight years.

He is fluent in English and Spanish, lives in Palm Harbor, and services clients throughout Tampa Bay, Florida. He is very easy to talk to.

So if you are looking for a Spanish speaking mortgage consultant or know someone who is looking for a mortgage consultant who speaks Spanish… then give him a call.

He can be reached on his cell phone at (813) 541-8889.

Or via email at raul.a.alvarez@wellsfargo.com

Or… feel free to check out his website: https://www.wfhm.com/loans/raul-alvarez/index.page

When looking to buy a home for financed home purchases it is advantageous to get pre-approved. That way you will know how much how you can afford.

Raul is bilingual. In addition he speaks  English well and is very easy to talk to so feel free to contact him.

For the period of June 1, 2009 to June 17, 2009 in Tarpon Springs, Florida 19 properties were sold. The listing prices ranged from $68,908 to $899,000 while the sales prices ranged from $61,000 to $870,000. Other statistics are as follows:

Average:

• 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms    1,882 heated square feet
• Listing price: $230,142
• Sale price: $215,484
• Sale Price to Listing Price Ratio: 93%

Median:

• 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms    1,687 heated square feet
• Listing price: $160,000
• Sale price: $153,750
• Sale Price to Listing Price Ratio: 95%

* Information acquired from GTAR, PSAR & WPBR data.

* Information is believed to be accurate but should not be relied upon without verification.

If you are like me and want to see the report yourself feel free to go here:

http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/5c9013804e3eae35811fc11daf16ff2d/REL0904EHS.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=5c9013804e3eae35811fc11daf16ff2d

National median existing-home price: for all housing types, was $170,200 in April, which is 15.4 percent below 2008. Distressed properties, which accounted for 45 percent of all sales in April, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.

Total housing inventory: at the end of April, rose 8.8 percent to 3.97 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 10.2-month supply at the current sales pace, compared with a 9.6-month supply in March. “The gain in inventory is largely seasonal from sellers entering the spring market,” Yun says. “Even with the rise, inventory over the past few months has remained consistently lower in comparison with a year earlier.”

Single-family home sales: rose 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.18 million in April from a level of 4.08 million in March, but are 2.8 percent below the 4.30 million-unit pace in March 2008. The median existing single-family home price was $169,800 in April, which is 14.9 percent below a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales: increased 6.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 500,000 units in April from 470,000 in March, but are 9.4 percent lower than the 552,000-unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price was $173,900 in April, down 18.5 percent from April 2008.

By Region

NAR reported the following with existing-home sales across the country:

• Northeast: jumped 11.6 percent to an annual pace of 770,000 in April, but are 10.5 percent below April 2008. Median price: $237,400, which is 9.6 percent lower than a year ago.
• Midwest: slipped 2 percent in April to a level of 1.00 million and are 9.9 percent lower than a year ago. Median price: $138,800, down 11.7 percent from April 2008.
• South: increased 1.8 percent to an annual pace of 1.74 million in April but are 8.9 percent lower than April 2008. Median price: $148,000, which is 12.8 percent below a year ago.
• West: rose 3.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.17 million in April and are 19.4 percent higher than a year ago. Median price: $222,600, down 21.8 percent from April 2008.

This is good news.

Why? Existing-home sales rising in April with strong buyer activity in lower price ranges shows that this is still a time of opportunity.

A hui hou (until next time)

~ Lana Robbins

As you can see in the graphs below there are many homes for sale. Unfortunately local and national media outlets are not down in the trenches yet somehow feel as though they “know” the heartbeat of the housing market. Despite some of their inaccurate reporting which make it seem as though no one is buying… people are still buying in the Tampa Bay area.

For the month of April 2009 2,527 homes were sold in the Tampa Bay, Florida areas of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties while 4,274 homes were under contract:

This is a significant increase compared to February when 1,954 homes were sold and 3,307 homes were placed under contract:

As you can see… people are buying which is no surprise.  Despite some biased local and national media, people have to live somewhere so they either buy… or they rent. For the last month there has been an increase though the local and national media seem to inaccurately portray the housing market as a crumbling one. As you can see… locally the numbers clearly show otherwise.

*All reports are published May 2009, based on data available at the end of April 2008.
All reports presented are based on data supplied by the Tampa Florida Association of Realtors, Mid Florida Association of Realtors, Southeast Florida Association of Realtors, Regional MLS, County Association of Realtors, Sarasota Association of Realtors, Englewood Association of Realtors, Manatee Association of Realtors, Venice Association of Realtors or their MLSs. Neither the Associations nor their MLSs guarantee or are in anyway responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Associations or their MLS COPYRIGHT© TRENDGRAPHIX, Inc

http://makinghomeaffordable.gov

As reported in recent Washington Reports, the program has two main components: (1) refinancing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans for borrowers who are current and have loan-to-value ratios of 80%-105%, and (2) loan modification for borrowers in default or at imminent risk of default who have high debt-to-income ratios and mortgages with balances up to $729,750.

The new website is designed to make information about eligibility, free counselors, and other program details readily available. It also includes links that let borrowers learn whether they have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan. These programs are key elements to help some people buy a home.

If you would like more information please check out their website or contact us for more information.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/17/real_estate/housing_starts/index.htm?postversion=2009031709

Of course this is good news for Tampa Bay home buyers as well as for those beyond because it shows that housing is still growing despite the dismal predictions.