With rates still at their all time low, many clients are interested in refinancing their home, or purchasing a home. The question of what their home is worth comes up almost immediately. It usually becomes a long conversation. Although, I am not an appraiser, I do give a few suggestions to my clients if they are concerned with value:

1)  If you are refinancing it may be a good idea to contact your Realtor that assisted you when you purchased the home. Your agent can provide you with a current updated market analysis.
2)  If you are purchasing a home your lender will require an appraisal, should there be a concern with a value up front, I also suggest having the seller pay for an initial appraisal. Your lender will not be able to use the same appraisal, however your agents can provide this to the lenders appraiser so they have additional information to consider.
3)  Also keep in mind if you are going to your local tax authority website, the market value that is reflected on that site typically is not a true market value of the property.

The best way to go about refinancing or purchasing is to utilize your local Realtors when you are inquiring about the value of your current Tampa home or a new home. We are also here as a lender to assist you with qualifying and determining the perfect and most comfortable financing options available to you.

Have you ever found yourself debating refinancing?  What are some of the questions you would like to see answered by our Mortgage Team?

– Since the company does not have any other lines of businesses, unlike most banks or insurance companies, it can focus all of its resources to residential mortgage financing.
– New Penn Financial has a local operation in the Greater Tampa Bay area with processors, underwriters, managers and regional executives located in our office to provide fast decisions and closing turn times. Smith & Associates Real Estate can now routinely close loans within 21 days or less while our competitors struggle to close loans in 30-45 days!
– Aligning themselves with local experts, they have created a nominated appraisal panel that comprises of the most adept, professional, and knowledgeable appraisers in the area. You never have to lose another deal due to a sub-par or out of area appraiser!
– By working with one of the Smith & Associates/New Penn Financial Mortgage brokers, clients have program options such as Super Jumbo, Asset for Income Qualification, High Debt to Income Qualification, Foreign National, Investors, & Non-Warrantable Condos.

So…What does all of this mean??  More qualified homebuyers achieving the dream of homeownership!

Smith & Associates Real Estate is equipped to assist in the entire home buying experience from the initial search with a Realtor, attaining a lender all the way to having Smith Title at your closing (which we will talk about next week!)  Now to meet our fabulous Mortgage Brokers that make all of this possible:

Bobbie Nader
Smith & Associates’ Tampa Office

With over 20 years experience in the banking Real Estate Industry, consisting of operations, underwriting, closing, marketing, and originating loans, Bobbie Nader is well versed to say the least!  She is a great asset to Smith & Associates and has been recognized as a Top Producer in the field. When asking Bobbie how she feels about her job, she said “I enjoy helping clients with their home financing needs. I love what I do, and meeting wonderful people in the process. I am also excited to work along David Donaldson, my future husband.”

David Donaldson
Smith & Associates’ South Tampa Office

After working with First Union for over 10 years, Dave Donaldson came to Smith & Associates and took over the mortgage department. Not long after, he moved to the Bank of Tampa for 12 years, then eventually ended up partnering with soon to be wife, Bobbie Nader back at Smith. They have happily landed that partnership back where they first met.  A little inside scoop on Dave according to Bobbie, “David loves to cook, plan our vacations (a year in advance!), and spend time with the family.”

Steve Stapleton
Smith & Associates’ Downtown St. Pete Office

Florida licensed mortgage broker, Steve Stapleton has been a loan officer for the past 14 years and is well known throughout the Tampa Bay real estate & lending community as an honest and reputable mortgage banker. Steve has worked hand in hand with his borrowers, lenders, realtors and title companies to make sure all his transactions run smoothly and all those involved are completely satisfied.  He has lived in Tampa Bay area since 1990 & enjoys all the pleasures of the Gulf Coast, including boating, fishing, golfing, and of course…home ownership. He is very active within the community and served four years in the United States Air Force before being honorably discharged as a Senior Airman.

Amanda Stapleton
Smith & Associates’ Belleair Bluffs Office

Amanda L Stapleton is a Licensed Mortgage Broker that has been in the mortgage industry since 2001.  Starting her career as a Mortgage Processor then progressing to Processing Manager and Operations Manager Amanda knows the mortgage process from start to finish.  On her free time you may find her spending time with her husband Steve Stapleton & their dogs or volunteering for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure!

Whether you are looking for Tampa Real Estate, a new St. Pete home or a Belleair home for sale, Smith & Associates has you covered!

Have you ever worked with our Mortgage team?  Which office did you visit and hat did you think?

According to an article by Brent Leary of Inc. Technology (featured on Wikipedia), “Using social media as a form of marketing has taken on whole new challenges. As the 2010 Trust Study indicates, it is most effective if marketing efforts through social media revolve around the genuine building of authority. Someone performing a “marketing” role within a company must honestly convince people of their genuine intentions, knowledge, and expertise in a specific area or industry through providing valuable and accurate information on an ongoing basis without a marketing angle overtly associated. If this can be done, trust with, and of, the recipient of that information – and that message itself – begins to develop naturally. This person or organization becomes a thought leader and value provider – setting themselves up as a trusted “advisor” instead of marketer. “Top of mind awareness” develops and the consumer naturally begins to gravitate to the products and/or offerings of the authority/influencer.”  Essentially, through non-forceful communication we gain trust, through trust we gain relationships and through relationships we gain clients. Easy, right?

This past Tuesday, we were fortunate enough to have Eric Miller, “The Boss” of Stache Creative come in to both the Tampa & St. Pete offices to give us the 411 on Social Media and why it is so important in business- primarily Real Estate.  Eric went over the social media trifecta that we all may know on a personal level but have shyed away from doing business with: Facebook, Twitter and Blogging.

The seminar was fabulous; leaving agents (and myself) wanting to know more, get started right away and smiling for photos with their snazzy stache laden business cards!  If you haven’t sat through one of his presentations and you’re looking to get pumped up about 1/2 nerdy yet completely cool stuff that will significantly increase your clientele, I highly suggest giving him a call to set something up.

I will leave you with a few crazy statistics (also brought to you by Wikipedia) to think about when debating whether or not you should join Lord Palpatine (Facebook), his first apprentice, Darth Maul (Twitter) and the one and only, Darth Vader (Blogging) and head on over to the Dark Side (Social Media Marketing):
- Social networking now accounts for 22% of all time spent online in the US.
- Over 25% of U.S. internet page views occurred at one of the top social networks.
- The number of social media users age 65 and older grew 100 percent throughout 2010, so that one in four people in that age group are now part of a social networking site.
- As of June 2011 Facebook has 750 Million users.

Crazy, right?!

Whether you spend your days adding old friends on facebook, blogging about your confusion on blogging, trying to figure out the new google +, or tweeting your every thought, congratulations-you are participating in social media!  What is your favorite Social Media outlet?  Are you usting these tools for business purposes?  Why or why not?  Tell us your success stories and while you’re at it, add us on facebook!

After some intense searching (& input from a few fabulous St. Pete Realtors), we came up with a list of 11 apps (because I couldn’t stop at just 10) that may be helpful in the busy (and ever so successful) life of an iAgent.

Kurio: Think Nationwide MLS without having to find a computer.  Use the GPS Technology to find nearby houses, send out branded flyers and quickly share listing details right from your phone.  The great thing is, it isn’t only for iDevices.  Agents can register & sign into Kurio from any web-enabled mobile device.  (FREE! Visit Kurio.mobi on your device)

AroundMe: When a buyer wants to know exactly how far from their potential new home they need to trek for a iced quad venti soy latte and a movie, you will want to have this app handy.  Using that convenient GPS technology again, search the 10 categories for businesses closest to you, map them out and email directions within a matter of minutes.  This app is available for both iPhone & Android devices.  (FREE! Visit www.aroundmeapp.com)

MagicPlan: Carrying around a yardstick and sketching out floor plans are officially a thing of the past if you are equipped with the iPhone 4.  To make a long story short, using the phone’s fancy gyroscope technology, you are able to spin around a room to measure, draw and publish a JPEG or PDF interactive floorplan faster than you can say “what happened to my measuring tape?!”  On top of it all, the details you can add are icing on the cake- doors, sinks, refridgerators, the whole 9.  (FREE! Purchase through the iTunes store)

Tour Narrator: Keep track of your listings and type or record showing notes to share with your seller in one little application.  All notes and photos can be easily formatted to a PDF for posting or distribution.  ($1.99 Purchase through the iTunes store)

Dictionary of Real Estate Terms: New to Real Estate or want to stay brushed up on all the tricky terms?  Scroll through in alphabetical order to quiz yourself on what you know or search for that word that has you stumped.  You can also book mark things you tend to forget, send them in an email or post them to Twitter all from the same app!  ($1.99 Purchase through the iTunes store)

Mortgage Calculator: This application was created by Homes.com and has 4 different calculators in one: Buy or Rent, Debt to Income, Monthly Payment, & Refinance Calculator.  This could come in handy with non-pre-approved clients sitting on the fence with buying or renting as well as buyers trying to figure out what price range is right for their budget.  A few screen taps & the entry of some numbers can save hours of unnecessary showings and potential let downs.  (FREE! Purchase through the iTunes store)

My Realty Tool: Keeping track of listings, leads and lockbox codes has never been so straightforward.  The best part of the app is the simplicity of the lay-out:  There are 3 categories & you can enter a few lines of information, and everything you need is at your fingertips.  If only life was this easy!  (FREE! Purchase through the iTunes store)

Property Evaluator: Whether you are working with an investor or sending performance projections to clients, this app will make you look like the pro that you are.  Gain client trust by quickly calculating and tracking monthly and annual expense vs revenue reports, taking into consideration every detail- even inflation!  If their praise & appreciation doesn’t cause a little inflation to that head of yours, I’m not sure what will.  But regardless, you’re allowed to pat yourself on the back sometimes!  ($1.99 Purchase through the iTunes store)

Offender Locator: With this app, you can show potential buyers exactly how safe their future neighborhood is by using the GPS tool or simply entering their address.  This app is in the Top 5 free apps in the US & has been featured on both CNN and NBC.  It is a quick and easy solution to new families curious about local crime.  (FREE! Purchase through the iTunes store)

Foreclosure Search: Whether you have buyers and investors inquiring about foreclosed properties or are looking to gain some new bank-owned listings, this app by USHUD.com can be of assistance.  Search Nationwide for bank or government owned properties and inquire about the listing (by phone or email) with the tap of a screen.  (FREE! Purchase through the iTunes store)

Idea Sketch:  Sellers rightfully want to know why they should choose Smith & Associates Real Estate to list their home.  This app allows you to plan for Open Houses or lay out selling strategies in easy to use mind maps, concept maps or flow charts.  Whether you choose to save them as photos to send to your seller or share them on facebook, it is a quick and simple way to sketch out a master plan of action…now you just need the app that keeps the plan in action.  (FREE! Purchase through the iTunes store)

Well, that’s my list for now- I apologize if these applications consume your once paper and pencil filled life.  If you want nothing to do with the iPhone, please disregard everything you’ve just read.  However, if you are an Apple product lover like myself, what Real Estate relevant apps are you currently using?  Have you tried any of these 11?  What did you think?

By the end of last year, home sales above 1 million were up 18.6%.  As the trend continues, it shows that the people who best understand the principle of cost versus price feel that now is the time to buy.

The first quarter of 2011 has been no less robust, with some new high sales on both sides of the Bay, as well as a steady pace of home sales above 1 million.

52 Ladoga Avenue

Smith & Associates Real Estate participated in the top sale on the Beaches (Pass-A-Grille) at 3.4 million and on the Pinellas mainland at 8 million.

This year has brought Pinellas County 33 closed transactions (including condominiums) with 39 pending sales to close above 1 million in the next 60 days.

In Hillsborough County, there have been 17 luxury sales with 2 above 2 million, 2 above 4 million and a recent sale to close above 5 million.

Smith & Associates Real Estate participated in 80% of these sales and continues to provide the necessary feedback for the consumer to make these purchase decisions.  Although the pending sales have helped push the numbers up, the actual closed numbers are down by about 5% over last year in both counties.  We expect the market has started to steady out as the inventory of the well-priced, well-located houses in the luxury range decrease and as sellers attempt to begin raising values.

Smith & Associates Real Estate is pleased to be a market leader in Tampa Bay with over 40 years of experience in luxury home sales.

So – if you are focused on the purchase price and hoping to see the price reduced over the next six months, you should consider the actual COST of this purchase due to the rising interest rates.   Tampa real estate has never been the bargain that it is today  –  the purchase price combined with historic low interest rates make it a prime time to purchase.   This scenario will not likely repeat itself in your lifetime.     It is time to get “off the fence” and start looking for your piece of the Tampa real estate market!!

For a comparable scenario showing the difference in  monthly payment between current interest rates and projected interest rates, please contact Susie Timmerman, Sr. Mortgage Consultant for FBC Mortgage LLC at stimmerman@fbchomeloans.com, or by calling her office direct at 813.200.8322.  You can also apply online at www.fbchomeloanstampa.com. FBC Mortgage LLC is a full service Direct Mortgage Lender offering expertise in every area of residential lending.  I look forward to working with you to provide the mortgage product to enable you to become a proud homeowner of Tampa real estate!!

Through its participation in a staggering amount of transactions involving South Tampa homes for sale, our brokerage and its team of 150 agents has gathered historically high market shares.  An analysis of South Tampa homes for sale which closed in 2010 shows a 40% plus market share in the $400,000 price range and above, reaching a 50% share over $1,000,000.   In all of Hillsborough County, Smith & Associates Real Estate has a 20% market share in properties over $400,000, which rises to 40% at the $2,000,000 price level.  This growth is attributed to our expertise in the luxury real estate market.

Our office at Beach Drive serves the metro St. Petersburg real estate markets in Pinellas County, where our market share is 45% at the $500,000 price range and increases up to the record high of 87% in other price ranges.  The company acknowledges that all this momentum is attributed to the activities of an experienced real estate team, who work diligently in educating all parties in the changing economy to facilitate accurate and timely decisions.  Because of their hard work Smith & Associates Real Estate closed 1,166 residential units in 2010 with an average sales price of $429,000, selling in some cases 35% of our own listings due to the approach of our associates.  Agents meet weekly to preview and discuss recent listings and then “caravan” together to personally view them.

At the company’s annual meeting the associates with the help of national expert Steve Harney, we discussed the “Big Picture” of the current economic situation. The information discussed will be used to translate to the individual sub-markets that the associates serve. We do not expect the market to be any less challenging for our sellers to determine timing and price, as it is for the buyers.  Smith & Associates Real Estate has identified sub-markets throughout Tampa Bay, as well as trends in sales and pricing.  An individual can view these current market statistics by zip code by visiting SmithAndAssociates.com to assist them in their 2011 decisions regarding real estate.

Marking our 41st year of expertise in the Bay area real estate industry, Smith & Associates Real Estate will be opening a new office in Belleair.  The new office location is planned to open in February 2011, and those agents will assist clients not only with the sale and purchase of Belleair real estate, but also in the areas of Dunedin, Clearwater, and the North Beaches.

We are grateful for the 150 agents, at Smith & Associates Real Estate for their level of performance, cooperation and camaraderie that results in this success. But more importantly, we are grateful for their dedication to their customers and communities, and to seeing to the real estate recovery in their own neighborhoods!

The price per square foot has continued to trend downward as the homes with larger square footage have sold at an adjusted value.  The overall inventory has remained constant, because the absorption of Tampa homes for sale in 33606 has been at an even level with new listings entering the market.  The average days on the market has continued a downward trend to its current overall average of 100 days.  As this zip code includes some very high end luxury homes, it possesses an inventory in a number of price ranges.  This inventory is more than adequate to fit all buyers needs in the months ahead.

Although this is only one facet of the market as it relates to gauging trends, it does show that the inventory level of homes for sale has stabilized.  In addition, adjusted pricing has taken hold and property owners selling homes are now able to adjust pricing strategies with more confidence.  All of these factors can help in the process of developing sales.

The inventory of homes for sale in St Pete, although it had increased in first quarter, is now stabilizing and starting a slow steady decline.  The St. Petersburg market through the balance of 2010 will continue to experience further correction.  Ideally, this year the balance between inventory and price will compliment the number of buyers in the market, which will make a more even approach for both parties.

With the median price hitting a number significantly lower than Tampa, St. Petersburg may find that inventory will continue to decrease as many buyers become educated on the opportunities available within the market.  This is especially true considering many are now aware of how to meet their purchasing goals with continued availability of low interest rates.

The average days on the market for homes has fallen by at least 30 days from its high of 210.  Now at approximately 170, this pace is reflective of a consistent drop in availability in the inventory of Tampa homes for sale.

The market flourished in the first quarter, with sales supported by incentives for first-time home buyers and a large inventory of short sale homes.  As these properties are purged from the inventory of homes in Tampa, and a more consistent and seasonal trend takes hold, buyers and sellers will find a more even balance though the rest of the year.

The inventory of Tampa luxury homes has been affected by the improvement of sales above $1,000,000, which has risen by 15% over 2009.  We are pleased to see that the strengthening of the market is providing the opportunity for sound decisions for Tampa homes for sale.