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Tampa Area Ranks No. 23 For Fitness ![<a href=]() The Tampa metropolitan area is No. 23 on the American College of Sports Medicine's American Fitness Index for 2009, a ranking of 50 of the nation's most populous metropolitan areas. Tampa was the highest ranked Florida metro area. The top-ranked community in 2009 was the Washington metro area, followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver, Boston and San Francisco. The Tampa metro area ranked 15th on community and environmental indicators, which includes ball diamonds, park playgrounds and recreation centers per capita, the analysis said. |
Home Sales Climb Around Tampa Bay
There are fewer homes to buy in the Tampa Bay area, but they are getting cheaper.Existing single-family home sales in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area rose 11 percent in April to 2,326 units, behind the statewide growth of 18 percent, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Lakeland-Winter Haven home sales grew from 265 units a year ago to 323 last month, a 22 percent jump. |
Jumbo Loans Are Key to Housing Recovery
![Parkview Homes - <a href=]() If the housing market is going to rebound, then the federal government has to be ready to expand an $8,000 tax credit to all buyers and to convince Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to start buying jumbo loans says Florida Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun in a visit to the Greater Tampa Bay Association of Realtors. Help is needed to sell homes listing for more than $300,000, Yun said. "In the middle market, we are seeing a rise in foreclosures, and the high end will begin to suffer if there are no buyers." |
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TV and Magazine Ads Are Most Effective
A study conducted by well-regarded research firm McPheters & Co. examined the relative effectiveness of ads across the three media, and found that 30-second TV spots and full-page, four-color magazine ads were proven to be more effective than standard online banner ads. Among Web users, nearly two-thirds (63%) of banner ads were not seen. Respondents' eyes "passed over" 37% of the Internet ads and "stopped" on slightly less than a third, McPheters & Co. found. In contrast to online ads, TV and magazine ads generated a strong propensity to be seen and recalled. Full-page, four-color magazine ads were determined to have 83% of the value of a 30-second television commercial, while a typical Internet banner ad has 16% of the value. |
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Spring Thaw in Pricing Attracts Buyers
The frozen housing market is thawing as more buyers are finding the current historically low interest rates, stabilizing prices and tax credit refund incentives irresistible. The number of homes under contract increased in March, according to the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, which increased 3.2 percent from February to March. Optimism about the housing market is on the rise as well, an April 16 Gallup Poll found that 71 percent of Americans said that now is a "good time" to buy a house, an 18 point increase from one year ago and the highest level in four years. |
Growing Numbers of Baby Boomers
Head to Age-Restricted Communities
![<a href=]() More than 1.2 million households of baby boomers are choosing to move to communities designed to meet their needs, according to a study released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the MetLife Mature Market Institute (MMI). The research showed that while most 55+ consumers prefer to stay in their current home as they age, an increasing number (3 percent, compared to 2.2 percent in 2001) will opt for an age-restricted community designed to attract "active adults" with a heavy emphasis on lifestyle. The analysis also confirmed that while most consumers were generally happy with their current homes, residents of age-restricted, active-adult communities had the highest satisfaction rates. |
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Business Picking Up Statewide Fourteen of Florida's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing-home sales in April and 11 MSAs also showed gains in condo sales. A majority of the state's MSAs have reported increased sales for 10 consecutive months. Florida's median sales price for existing homes last month was $138,500; a year ago, it was $199,500 for a 31 percent decrease. Housing industry analysts with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) note, however, that a significant downward distortion in the current median price is due to many discounted sales, including a large number of foreclosures. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. According to NAR's latest housing industry outlook, it could take a few months for the housing market to gain momentum, though there are signs of stabilization. "The share of lower priced home sales has trended up, indicating a return of many first-time buyers," says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Buyer traffic has been rising, and real estate offices are getting phone inquires about the tax credit. By early summer we should be seeing a positive impact on home sales from record-low mortgage interest rates in addition to the stimulus provisions." |
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Details of FHA $8K Downpayment Advance Released
 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released more details about its program to help first-time homebuyers use a tax credit as part of a downpayment. The most significant change involves the amount of downpayment required. FHA mortgages require a 3.5 percent downpayment, and the $8,000 tax credit cannot be used to override that requirement. Once the 3.5 percent downpayment requirement has been met, however, the tax credit can be applied to additional costs, including a higher downpayment and paying points to lower the mortgage rate and/or closing costs. Lenders will treat the tax credit money as a second lien on the home until it's paid back. |
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Mortgage Rates Still Below 5% Rates on 30-year home loans rose this week and were poised to go higher as investors demanded higher rates for long-term government debt, which is closely tied to mortgage rates. Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said last Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 4.91 percent this week, from an average of 4.82 percent a week earlier. Rates in Freddie Mac's survey have been below 5 percent for more than two months. If they rise higher, that will diminish the appeal for refinancing for many borrowers. The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.53 percent this week from 4.5 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac. Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages inched up to 4.82 percent from 4.79 percent last week. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.69 percent from 4.82 percent. Qualifying for a loan, however, is still tough. Lenders have tightened their standards dramatically over the past year, so the best rates are available to those with solid credit. |
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Recession Ending? Economists Think So  More than 90 percent of economists predict the recession will end this year, although the recovery is likely to be bumpy. That assessment came from leading forecasters in a survey by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) released last week. It is generally in line with the outlook from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues. About 74 percent of the forecasters expect the recession - which started in December 2007 and is the longest since World War II - to end in the third quarter. Another 19 percent predict the turning point will come in the final three months of this year, and the remaining 7 percent believe the recession will end in the first quarter of 2010. |
Oak Creek is a new neighborhood noted for its trees and ponds. Residents will enjoy the easy access to major roads including I-75 and the Crosstown Expressway, shopping and schools. In addition to several natural environmental features and creeks, Oak Creek offers its residents a five acre recreation center including a swim club, playground and picnic area. The site plan was developed to maximize the number of lots that front on preserve and water areas.
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Look for these exciting features in the next issue:
- Got inventory? We can help with the New Home Hot Sheet!
- REMODEL Tampa Bay: Remodeler Profiles, Master Suites
- Parade of Homes Winners
![Florida Homebuyer <a href=]() Ad space closes soon! Contact Kim Hannigan, publisher to reserve your ad space. (813) 514-2988
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Kim Hannigan, Publisher
Florida Homebuyer Tampa Bay 17852 N. US Hwy 41
Lutz, FL 33549
(813) 514-2988
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