Real Estate Information

It's time for another 60 day Palm Harbor real estate update.  Today we'll take a look at Autumn Woods Palm Harbor and Country Woods Palm Harbor.  Both of these communities are executive level neighborhoods with mature landscaping, sidewalks and in locations with access to the best schools, including Palm Harbor University High School.

For the past 60 days in Country Woods Palm Harbor there are two houses listed for sale.  One home on Beagle Path Way is listed for $329,900 and has 128 days on market at this price.  It is a beautiful home with a great layout for entertaining.  The other home in Country Woods Palm Harbor is on Turtle Terrace, is listed for $409,000 and has 364 days on market.  It too is a wonderful executive home and has a pool.

For the past 60 days in Autumn Woods Palm Harbor there are three houses listed for sale, one under contract and one sold.  All three listings for sale have pools.  One, priced at $799,500 has a 3 car garage, 4 bedrooms and 5,327 square feet of living space.  This house has 237 days on market.  Another listing at $389,900 is a 4 bedroom pool home with 2,850 square feet of living space and has 107 days on market.  The third listing in Autumn Woods Palm Harbor is listed for $330,420, has 2,292 square feet of living space and has only 56 days on market.

The one house under contract in Autumn Woods Palm Harbor is listed for $487,000, has a pool, 3 car gargae and 4,152 square feet of living space.  This house had a total of 712 days on market.

Finally, the one house that sold in the last 60 days in Autumn Woods is a pool home, with 2 car garage, 4 bedrooms and 4 baths, and has 4,120 square feet of living space.  This house had only 54 days on market.

So that's all for the last 60 days in Autumn Woods and Country Woods Palm Harbor real estate.  For additional information on these areas, visit our website, www.SunBayAssociates.com and click on our listings tab.  From there, you can search numerous communities and find the perfect home for you!

Happy House Hunting!!

This morning, I had a conversation with the CEO of a company who honestly said: "You should have lots of time as a realtor since you can work when you want to."

He truly felt that realtors have lots of time and was taken aback when I told him just a little about a typical day.  Any realtor can show a house or write a contract.  How about the hours of studying the market so that when a customer asks for the value of her house the agent can actually respond with an informed opinion, instead of relying on what the neighbor sold his house for, two years ago.  Fully understanding the real estate market, whether it is in a specific neighborhood, or a town, or an entire county, takes a lot more than just reading the local papers and taking the opinion of a reporter for gospel.  How many non-realtors actually understand market dynamics, price fluctuation in micro markets, how many houses have sold in their specific areas in the last week, month or year?  This is serious research and can take hours. Driving customers around looking at houses does take time, however it is far from the most important part of a realtor's day.

Then there is the small detail of letting a buyer write an offer that is credible.  Should the buyer take a guess at the value of a house, or rely on an educated realtor who knows the current market value of that specific house, or at least that neighborhood?  Again, there can be hours of research into responsibly representing your buyers so that no one wastes time making offers that are ridiculously low, or high, and that banks will simply not consider when it comes time for financing.  As a professional realtor, our job is to protect our clients from making huge financial mistakes.  Whether that means protecting the buyer from over paying for a property, or protecting a seller from pricing their home incorrectly, whther it is too high or too low for the market, our job is to look out for the best interests of our clients.

Getting the offer is just the beginning of the job.  There are the ongoing negotiations with the other side, getting the proper documentation in order, making sure the right inspections are done in a timely and professional manner, lining up title companies, lenders, repair people when needed, and more.  All the while this has to be done in strict compliance with the realtor code of ethics and applicable local and state laws. 

In short, I would say to my CEO friend, a professional realtor is at least as diligent in performing his/her duties as the most responsible employee who works for that CEO. 

In today's real estate market, every advantage counts.  When selling your home, the most important factor is, of course, price.  If a house is priced above the market value, even by just a few thousand dollars, it is very possible that the best buyer for that house will not even look at it because there are so many properties available in so many price ranges.  One of the very best seller advanatages you can use, and it is not very costly, is to have your house staged by a professional stager. 

As an example, in Clearwater, FL in Pinellas County, in the $200,000 to $25,000 price range there are 86 houses for sale.  According to the statistics published by the Pinellas Realtor Organization, in this price range county wide the absorption rate is 7.5%.  This means that for Clearwater, of the 86 houses for sale, 7 will sell in the next 30 days.  If you assume that the house is priced right, one of the next best advantages is to have the house staged by a professional stager.  Some interesting statistics, from houses in the greater Tampa Bay area, show that of 9 properties that recently sold, the average days on market was 150.  Of these, 6 were not staged for over 100 or more days.  Three were listed and staged at the outset.  The three that were staged from the beginning sold in 29, 3 and 28 days.  All told, the 9 houses averaged 150+ days on market, however the time to contract after each was staged by a professional stager was 20 days on market.  Even one house that had been on the market for 9 months went under contract in 21 days after being staged.

The bottom line is price your house right for the market and then to have an almost unfair advantage, have it staged by a professional stager.

Here is the Baywood Village 60 day update for real estate activity in this waterfront Palm Harbor community.  There presently are 9 homes listed for sale in Baywood Village, with 5 houses under contract and 2 houses sold in the last 60 days in Baywood Village, Palm Harbor.

Of the 9 homes for sale in Baywood Village, five have been on the market for more than 4 months, with four of these houses having 523, 709, 960 and 1010 days on market.  That amount of days on market is a strong indicator that the market is rejecting the list prices of these homes.  The prices for all nine homes on the market in Baywood Village, Palm Harbor range from $799,000 to $150,000.  The house listed for $799,000 has the 1010 days on market.

Of the five houses listed as under contract in Baywood Village, two are short sales and one is a foreclosed property. 

Two houses sold in Baywood Village in the last 60 days.  One, at 350 Westwinds, on the water sold in only 45 days.  This is an example of the market readily accepting the list price.  The other sale was sold in 164 days, a completely remodeled home on the water. 

As time allows, we'll look at the days on market for various neighborhoods to see how the numbers compare for active listings and houses that sell.  In the case of Baywood Village, Palm Harbor, the days on market for active listings is 392 and the days on market for houses that have sold is 105.  This indicator suggests that the sold houses were priced at market value and the houses that are active listings are still above the market value for the community.  Do yourself a favor if you are selling your home and price it at market value.  You will sell it quicker and realize more money in your pocket than if you list it high with "room to negotiate".  Listing your house too high for the market will only cost time and because of the still declining market, the value will continue to go down, as much as 1% a month.

In today's market, more than in the past ten years, price is the single most important part of getting a house sold.  In the past, if the realtor and owner did not price it right, and with a rising market, the market could catch up to an overpriced listing.  In today's market, if a house is priced above market value, and with a declining real estate market, it is sort of like trying to catch a ball that is rolling downhill and has a headstart.  You simply end up chasing the market all the way to the bottom.  When a house is priced correctly, it will get offers.  When the offer comes in, it is up to the realtor and the owner to determine if it is a good offer at or close to market value, or if it might be an investor hoping to pick up a real bargain.  If the offer is at or near market value, the seller would be wise to accept it, or at least make a legitimate counter-offer.  Failing that, a good buyer will simply move on to the next opportunity because in this declining real estate market, there is no shortage of good opportunities.

Here are a couple of examples.  In an executive community in Palm Harbor, FL there are only two houses listed for sale, both are very nice homes that the owners appear to have overpriced relative to what the market is willing to pay.  One is listed for $409,000 and has been on the market for 336 days.  The other is about the same size only without a pool, is prices at $329,900 and has been on the market for 279 days.  It would appear that the real estate marketplace is saying, loud and clear, that both of these houses are overpriced for today's market.

In another community in Oldsmar, FL, there are three houses listed for sale, one under contract and two sales in the last 60 days.  The average price per square foot of the sold houses was $110.  The average price per square foot for the houses listed for sale is $121.  These houses are also executive quality homes.  Although the three houses listed for sale have been on the market for 90 days or less, the indications are that the prices for them is above market value.  If they are not generating offers, the prices are too high.  The average price for the sold houses in this community is $242,500.  The average list price for the houses listed for sale is $297,633.  A $55,000 difference is another clue that the listed houses are higher than the real estate market value for this community. 

If you would like to get a feel for the market value of your home, click on the photo of deer in the community of Bay Arbor, FL and then visit the Market Snapshot on the right side of the page.

An example of what can happen when a good house is priced correctly is this.  We listed a short sale, in very good condition, at the lower end of the real estate market value yet still within the market value range.  Within a weekend, there were four competing offers and the seller accepted an offer 8% ABOVE the list price.  Considering it is a short sale, and selling it so quickly for more than the list price, the seller is very happy.  Of course the caveat here is that the bank needs to understand it is a good offer too.  Had the seller listed this property at the high end of the market value, it very likely would linger on the market with few if any offers, and the offers might well be far below market value.

When a seller gets an offer from a buyer that is "not what I need to get", and refuses that offer, the seller is effectively buying their home and beating out the competition.  If a seller has had 5 offers, and declined all of them, that seller has simply repurchased his house 5 times over and is sitting on the sidelines while the real estate market is continuing to drop.

The message is, do not overprice you house or you will end up either sitting on a white elephant (as far as the real estate marketplace is concerned) or when you eventually do sell the house, you will net much less than you would have had the price been correct in the first place.

BE IMPULSIVE! 

There seems to be a lot of anger in the world today.  Forget the national and global squabbles, and just take a look closer to home - on your TV, in the schools, among fellow employees - right in your own backyard.  

There's another attitude issue that could stand some help - disrespect.  It seems like the days are gone when youngsters (even 20-somethings) value their elders, social customs, even the laws of the land.  Common courtesy and politeness, even among adults, seems non-existent at times.

Want to be a changing force in your personal world?  It's easy, costs nothing, and goes a long way towards making a meaningful contribution for the better.  It's accomplished with an electrical impulse.  Really.  Consider your brain.  Everything you think of, each idea you have, each action you take begins with an electrical impulse - a single thought.  The thought required to cause change is called an "expectation."

Teachers use this thought daily in their classrooms.  They EXPECT students to listen, to observe silence, to walk single-file, to not cut in line, and to learn.  They EXPECT not to be challenged, disrespected, or ignored when they speak.  The best among them EXPECT nothing less than excellence.  Know what?  Their students respond positively to those expectations.

The electrical impulse called "expectation" is simple to enact, yet more difficult to enforce.  You have to really mean it.  As a country, a people, even families, we've grown soft on expectations - and it shows.  Fear of offending someone seems the rule.   Why not be "impulsive" for the next 30 days with those you love by setting a new, higher standard of expectations.  The results will both amaze and delight!

Baywood Village, Palm Harbor is a waterfront community with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico.  This is a very water activity focused community, with a boating club, weekend events on Three Rooker Bar, just off the coast and easy access for the neighborhood boaters, and is convenient to the Pinellas Trail, Tarpon Springs and so much more.

In the last 60 days, the real estate activity in Baywood Village, Palm Harbor has seen on home sell for $89,000.  This was a Baywood Village foreclosure with rights to the Baywood Village 5 boat ramp.  Three other homes are under contract.  The average days on market for the houses under contract is 307.  The Baywood Village foreclosure had only 82 days on market, because it was priced so competitively.

This is the canal view for one of the homes in Baywood Village that is currently under contract.

There are 4 houses listed as active in Baywood Village.  The list prices range from $799,000 with 987 days on market to $289,000 with 113 days on market.  The average active listing in Baywood Village, Palm Harbor is 2,095 square feet, has 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, is listed for $220 per square foot and has over 600 days on market.  This indicates that the active listings are priced above the market.  The average price for the houses under contract in Baywood Village is $266,600 with an average of 307 days on market.  This indicates the list prices are still above market price, however the final price will not be known until the houses actually close.

So, if you are looking for a waterfront house, with access to the Gulf of Mexico and convenient to excellent water-related activities, good restaurants and the Pinellas Trail, Baywood Village is a place to look.  Realistic offers tend to make sellers become realistic.  So make an offer on the house of your dreams and live on the water in Florida.

GIVE IT AWAY!

Here's a "feel good" idea that pays big dividends to both giver and receiver: "Give something away every day!"

We all get caught up in our day-to-day routines and responsibilities. Between family and home, work and leisure, our daily schedules are usually packed with the things we do for ourselves. Managing to squeeze in a little time for others is often out of the question.

In the big picture, however, it is not what we do for ourselves but for others that really matters in life. We're not just talking about those who are "less fortunate" in this context. The world of "others" includes family members, associates, the elderly, those experiencing illness, those in our geographical, social, or church community, or the less fortunate.

So . . . what do you give away? Are we talking big money to charities or an endowment to the local university? Nope! What you give away is up to you. It might just be your time - something as simple as taking your grandchild for a walk, offering to take an aging neighbor grocery shopping, or donating a Saturday to Habitat for Humanity. On days when you lack ideas, just give away a smile, a compliment, or some encouragement.

Maybe you give away some of your material possessions. That might include a piece of furniture, an antique, a piece of family heirloom jewelry, or the like-new clothing in your closet that never fit right. Why not donate some of the kids' toys to a day-care center?

Whatever you decide to give away, do it quietly - and anonymously when possible. Make it a habit. It will bring you the special joy of knowing you've made a difference.

Every once in a while there comes along a rare find in real estate.  This is one of those.  This is an original Victorian home, built in 1892 in Dunedin, FL.  It has spectacular Gulf front vistas of Honeymoon Island.  It has a private fishing dock.  All told, there are 10 bedrooms, a couple of fireplaces, original wood floors throughout this incredible home.

The craftsmanship in this Victorian home is rarely seen today, mostly due to the cost to create the added features, hand-carved woodwork on the stairways, stained glass windows and more.

If you are the type who loves history and restoring homes, this is the house for you.  Some tender loving care and this house will be the crown jewel of Victorian homes in the entire area.  On top of its stunning location with the unparalleled Gulf front views of Honeymoon Island, not to mention the daily nature show of sunset over the Gulf, this home is located just a short walk from historic downtown Dunedin.  This means lots of festivals, crafts fairs, good restaurants, and many, many activities for all interests.

You really have to see this house to believe it.  Come, feel the Gulf breezes, admire the craftsmanship, and most of all, re-live the lifestyle of a bygone era. 

We've skipped a little time with our Palm Harbor real estate updates, however we are back.  Today we'll go over Autumn Woods and Indian Trails, Palm Harbor.  In the last 30 days, there has been one houe sold: in Indian Trails, Palm Harbor.  It was bank owned real estate and had 198 days on market.  It sold for $180,000.  It is a 2,082 square foot house, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, with a pool.

Currently, there are three houses in Indian Trails that are under contract and three houses in Autumn Woods that are under contract.  Of these, three houses are short sale real estate, all three in Indian Trails.  The houses are listed for $255,000 for a 2,796 square foot, 4 bedroom pool home with 140 days on market; $215,000 for a 2,599 square foot, 4 bedroom pool home with 724 days on market; and $199,900 for a 4 bedroom, 3 bath non-pool home.  This house went under contract after only 38 days on market.

One of the homes under contract is bank owned real estate and is in Autumn Woods, Palm Harbor.  It is a 3,213 square foot home, 4 bedrooms with a pool and is listed for $199,900.  This house had 123 days on market.

There are now five houses actively for sale in Autumn Woods and Indian Trails, Palm Harbor.  One is short sale real estate.  This one has 967 days on market and is priced at $245,000 in Indian Trails.  One home in Autumn Woods, Palm Harbor is listed for $845,000, is a 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath pool home with a 3 car garage and has 160 days on market.For more information on Palm Harbor real estate, visit our house 

to find Palm Harbor real estate, or anywhere else in the greater Tampa Bay area.

Happy House Hunting!!