was asked by a reader why I felt so strongly about now being the right time to buy a home in Tallahassee. My response is a bit long-winded, but simple to understand.
Unless you are one of the fortunate few who can buy a home in Tallahassee without borrowing money, the cost of the money that you borrow is one of the greatest costs that you pay. In order to see this better, I created a simple scenario. Let’s assume that you want to buy a home in Tallahassee for $250,000. Let’s say you sell your previous home and use the proceeds of $50,000 as your down payment, thus financing $200,000 in the new home. Your monthly payment (principal and interest), would be as seen in the table below (payment changes for different interest rate):
In this example, we can buy a $250,000 home with a monthly payment of $1,136.
So why is now such an important time to buy? Because rates are going to go back up. In the early 1980s, we saw rates at 20%! So what does this mean to a family wanting to buy a home in Tallahassee? Let’s take a look at the purchasing power of that $1,136 per month at different rates. Today, it buys a house of $250,000. When rates go up to 9%, that same payment will only buy a $176,400 house!
So, even if you think home values might come down (even as much as 20%), your monthly cost of ownership is cheaper now than it would be. I do not believe that properties in this price range will come down 20%, but even if it were true, and you plan on living in the home for more than five years, you will save money by buying now.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe by Email.
Joe Manausa is the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached by clicking on the comments button below, via e-mail through his company website at www.manausa.com, or by calling (850) 386-2001.
In yesterday’s blog about the Tallahassee real estate market, we published our numerical report on how each area of Leon County was doing. This report is particularly useful to Tallahassee real estate agents in helping to determine the competition for somebody wanting to sell a home in Tallahassee.
One of the first bits of feedback we received was “how do I use this” and “can you make this into a graph,” so we decided to use this opportunity to do both. Today’s Tallahassee Real Estate Blog will use the Northeast Quadrant of the Tallahassee real estate market to explain how to use this report. If you would like to download the free Tallahassee Real Estate Market Report so that you can use it as we go along, just click the link and print the form.
The picture below represents the Northeast Section of Leon County. The price ranges are featured on the left, and then 9 columns with data fall to the right of each price range. Those 9 columns are actually three sets of three columns. The first set of three are homes for sale in Northeast Tallahassee (All, New Construction, Resales), the second set of three columns are homes that sold in Northeast Tallahassee in the past twelve months, and the final column displays the amount of homes for sale in Northeast Tallahassee (measured in ‘months’ of supply).
So, to use this information, let us assume you want to sell a home in Northeast Tallahassee worth somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000 (see the red circles in the picture above). This report tells you that you have 205 competitors, of which 168 are resales just like yours. We can see that there is 5.9 months of supply of homes in your price range. 385 homes sold in this price range last year, so the current trend is about 32 homes per month are selling. I would make sure that this home was positioned as one of the best 32 in this price range in order to accomplish a quicker sale.
Finally, we were asked to turn our numbers into a “Picture.” The graph below makes the numbers come alive. The red bars are homes that sold in Northeast Tallahassee over the past twelve months, while the blue bars are the current homes for sale in Northeast Tallahassee. The yellow bars are months of supply. The $200,000 - $250,000 price range looks the way we like to see a healthy, balanced market. As prices go higher, the over-supply of homes becomes more apparent.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe by Email.
Joe Manausa is the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached by clicking on the comments button below, via e-mail through his company website at www.manausa.com, or by calling (850) 386-2001.
Recently, we began a new feature on our Tallahassee real estate web site with the intent of providing Tallahassee Real Estate Market Data to our visitors. We have requested input from our visitors and from our blog subscribers to help us make this page valuable to everyone in the Tallahassee real estate market.
We have received numerous requests and are now determining the best way to “deliver” on the Tallahassee Real Estate Market Report. I would like to say “thank you” to all who have sent us recommendations and I would encourage everyone to keep the recommendations coming. The easiest way to do that is with a comment on this blog!
One reader asked us to provide a regular update on Tallahassee residential real estate inventory, so we have made the report below something that we will update monthly. Additionally, anyone can download the Tallahassee Real Estate Market Report from this blog link at any time.
march-inventory-report-2008.pdf
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe by Email.
Joe Manausa is the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached by clicking on the comments button below, via e-mail through his company website at www.manausa.com, or by calling (850) 386-2001.
During my most recent Tallahassee Real Estate Blog in the series of blogs on different Tallahassee Subdivisions, a reader asked if I could profile the Lakeshore Estates Neighborhood.
Lakeshore Estates is located at the intersection of Timberlane Road and Meridian Road and is an excellent example of a "Tallahassee Neighborhood." It is situated in a highly desirable location, yet the prices fall right on the median pricing line in the Tallahassee real estate market. I went to the Tallahassee Board of Realtors MLS and reviewed the most recent sales figures in order to create the following chart:
Here we see a graph that is very different from ones we have seen in the past. The gold line, which forms a "V," shows us that homes are on the market for a lower price than have sold (and failed to sell) in the past 12 months. This is not too surprising, as there are 16 months of supply of homes on the market in Lakeshore Estates subdivision. After seeing this "V," the next thing I want to see is the average home size comparison between what is available and what has left the market in Lakeshore Estates. If they are all similar, we can deduce that prices are dropping. If we see another "V," then we know that the homes on the market are just smaller than the ones that have recently sold. The next chart shows just that:
It appears that the current homes for sale in Lakeshore Estates are a bit smaller (9.7% smaller) than the ones that sold in the past twelve months. This would account for the lower price being asked by the current homes on the market. So finally, if we really want to see the relative pricing, we look at how each status category is priced per square foot. The next chart shows the normal type of progression that we see in a stable market, where supply and demand are in balance.
Unfortunately, supply and demand are not in balance. We should expect to see the sale prices remain stable or come down slightly (the Lakeshore Estates neighborhood is priced very close to the median, so we won't see the larger price drops that we will see in the higher priced homes). This tells us that the homes for sale in Lakeshore Estates are most likely slightly-overpriced, creating an opportunity for homeowners in this neighborhood to successfully market their home against the competition. Finally, let's take a look at the past 17 years of the Lakeshore Estates neighborhood in Tallahassee and what it looks like.
A home buyer could have purchased a home in Lakeshore Estates in 1991 for $95,600 and sold it in 2007 for $193,800. This would represent a 4.5% annualized appreciation rate and a significantly good investment return. Is there a neighborhood in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market that you would like reviewed? If so, add a comment with your name attached below and I'll endeavor to make a blog of it in the near future.
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe by Email.
Joe Manausa is the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached by clicking on the comments button below, via e-mail through his company website at http://www.manausa.com/, or by calling (850) 386-2001.
I was visiting my parents yesterday at their "new home" (they built it in 1987) and I got to thinking about the home in which I was raised. I believe my parents came to Tallahassee in 1964, a year before I was born, and ended up buying a home in Town 'N Country Park. Situated off of Old Bainbridge Road, between the Tallahassee Mall and Godby High School, Town 'N Country Park was a great Tallahassee neighborhood to grow up in. All the kids in the neighborhood played in the streets all day.
So I was wondering how home values were doing in the Town 'N Country Park subdivision. A quick look in the Tallahassee MLS yielded the following chart:
With nine months supply of homes on the market, the Town 'N Country Park neighborhood is doing a little better than the average Tallahassee subdivision. Prices seem to make sense, though a little bit down from the boom, and the average home for sale is just around the median price in the Tallahassee real estate market. Extracting the "blue line" from this chart yields a chart that demonstrates that the homes for sale in Town 'N Country Park are priced as if the market were appreciating.
This is the type of chart we would normally expect to see in a normal market, one weighted neither to the Buyer nor to the Seller. Due to the fact that Town 'N Country Park is full of homes near the median price point in the Tallahassee real estate market, this does not really surprise me. I suspect the really motivated sellers will be reducing their asking price a little bit though.
Taking a quick peak at home sizes, it seems that the sales in the past year were for larger homes (roughly 7% larger). I doubt that means much, but we'll take a look at that again when we next review Town 'N Country Park. Finally, let's take a look at the 17 year history of the Town 'N Country Park subdivision. In 1991 you could buy a home for $60,000, and today it would sell for $180,000. That is an average annual increase of 6.7%! Looks like the long-term resident in the Town 'N Country Park neighborhood are very happy!
If you like this Article then please subscribe to my full RSS feed. You will be able to stay informed about the happenings in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market. You can also subscribe by Email.
Joe Manausa is the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached by clicking on the comments button below, via e-mail through his company website at http://www.manausa.com/, or by calling (850) 386-2001.
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Serving the Needs of everyone regarding Tallahassee Real Estate and Homes in Tallahassee. The Customer is our primary focus, using technology and Great People to serve your needs. Come check us out!
Century 21 First Realty is in Tallahassee, Florida and serves Leon County and the surrounding markets.
Our Mission:
To establish and maintain an organization whose people, systems, technology and agents provide professional service second to none. We will use our cross-synergies to increase profits to our office, business to our agents, as well as increasing the benefits to our clients. There shall be no better company with whom to buy or sell a home than Century 21 First Realty.
Furthermore, we will establish the premier company of choice for the real estate professional: to create an environment that is positive, professional, cheerful, energetic and productive. We will maintain the best support systems, the best staff, the best technological tools, and the best training programs for our associates. The union of the best office with the best professionals shall result in a profitable relationship to all parties.
Century 21 First Realty is a Lead Generating Machine! Do you need to sell your home? Do you want to expose your property to every potential buyer? Nobody has web presence an international distribution channels like Century 21 First Realty.
Constantly updated Tallahassee information: Real Estate Blog at Real Estate Tallahassee FL
Great Information About Real Estate: Really Better Real Estate Blog
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My Detailed Profile On LinkedIn: Joe Manausa - Profile
The Best Real Estate Web Site In Tallahassee: Tallahassee Real Estate Information
Full Service Brokerage From large commercial developments to first time home buyers.
At Century 21 First Realty, we feel that one of the best ways to ensure customer service is to train our Agents. In order to be the best coming selling Tallahassee Real Estate, we feel it is necessary for the Agent and the Company to constantly train, because if you aren't getting better, you are getting worse! We conduct 8 different training sessions each week. Four are focused on our newer associates, and four are focused on advanced training topics. All of our training is taught by Owners or by the General Manager.
The primary intent of the training is to ensure that our agents are providing a high level of service to their customers. The secondary intent for the training is to provide the tools to the Associate to assit them to increase their business to a level that they are happy with. We individually consult with our associates and develop a business plan with them to achieve their goals. We find that no matter how talented a person is, they can always use some coaching. Just ask Tiger Woods
Anybody can claim to have a training program, but you must measure training in terms of the results generated. In a market where the average agent closes five transactions per year, our First Year agents are averaging over 12 transactions. We are selling Tallahassee Real Estate! They are better trained than most of the experienced agents in the market, and their performance shows. If you feel that you could be doing more business, or even if you just want to do more business, come talk to us and let's see if you are a "fit" for our program. You'll be glad you checked us out!
Probably the greatest trait of our company that distinguishes us from the rest of the Real Estate Companies in Tallahassee is our commitment to generating business. This serves a dual purpose. First, it helps us better serve our clients by having a large lead pool of buyers and sellers (a needs and wants list of over 3000 active customers for Tallahassee Real Estate!), and secondly, it allows us to feed our agents' business streams when they feel like they can handle more business. This is truly a win-win for our agents and customers.
Being a full service company also lets us better-serve the investing customer. They can buy properties, sell properties, have us manage their properties, all without having to try to coordinate the varying services among different companies with differing goals and operational procedures. Our investors know that we are constantly seeking to find more properties to acquire, as we service hundreds of investment-property owners already in our portfolio. Knowing that we have a hand in the market and are always finding new properties lets them know that when they are ready to grow their portfolio, we are ready to help. Whether you want a single property or to acquire a portfolio, we can help! Please call us today at (850) 386-2001
Here is a list of some of the Subdivisions in the Tallahassee Real Estate Market that we serve:
Adiron Woods Apalachee Ridge Arbor Hills Astoria Park Autumn Woods Avondale Baker Place Betton Hills Betton Woods Blairstone Forest Bloxham Heights Bonaventure Bond Bradford ManorBrittany Estates
Brockswood Park Buckhead Bull Run Callen Woods Camellia Gardens Camelot Park Camp Crossing Campbell Park Capital Hills Carroll South Cedarbrook Centerville Conservation Commu Chemonie Crossing Copper Creek Cottages Of Miccosukee Crawfordville Trace Crescent Hills Cross Creek Unrec.Dry Creek Run
Eastgate Elberta Empire Evening Rose Fairview Forest Heights Foxcroft Foxwood At Old Bainbridge Gardenia Gardens Gardens Of KillearnGolden Eagle The Reserve
Goose Creek Governors Inn Hadley Crossing Court Hampton Creek Harbinwood Estates Hartsfield Village Holly Hills Huntington Woods Indian Head Acres Killearn Acres Killearn Commons Killearn Estates Killearn Lakes Killearn Lakes Plantation Lakeshore Estates Lakeside Lakeview Lakewood VillageLaurel Trace
Lexington Woods Lexington Woods Condominiums Liberty Park M&B Mabry Manor Magnolia Hills Meadows At Woodrun Melody Hills Merrivale Midyette Oaks Condominiums Morningside Heights Natural Wells Oak Park Oakdown Oakwood Osceola Heights Ox Bottom Manor Park Brook Crossing Park Charleston Parkside Pebble Brooke Pine Hill Pine Lakes Pine Tip Hills Piney Z Plantation At Heritage Oaks Plantation Of Tallahassee Pecan Plantation Woods Plaza Tower Pointe East Pointe North Renegade Condominiums Residences At Whispering Pines River'S Edge Rockbrook East Royal Oaks Russell'S Pond Sandstone Ranch Savannah Crossing Settlers Springs Sierra Woods Sleepy Hollow Southwood Spring Valley Stonebriar Summer Lake Summerbrooke Summerchase Sweet Water Oaks Talco Hills Tallahassee CenterThe Cloisters
The Plantation At Heritage Oak The Ridge At Velda Dairy The Tennyson The Timbers The Timbers Phase 5 The Villages Of Summer Lake Township One North University Green Vason Lane Villas Of Westridge Walden Place Waverly Hills Weems Plantation Westwood Condominium White Acres Wilson Green Winewood South Wolf Creek Woodbriar Woodrun Garden Homes Woodside Heights Yons Lakeside EstatesPlease see my Real Estate Blog at http://www.realestateblogtallahassee.com/
7/11/2007
Hello Mr. Peeples (General Manager at Century 21 First Realty),
First of all I wanted to say thanks for meeting with me yesterday. I really enjoyed talking with you. It was nice to have someone talk straight to me about this business. I was emailing you to say that I am not going to be able to make it to the training session today. I have a schedule conflict that I forgot about until today. I know you will be devastated without me there, but the show must go on! Just wanted to let you know that I will not be there today, but I do plan on being there tomorrow. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow and showing you that I'm not a "phantom!"
Sincerely,
Stewart Waters
Please see my Real Estate Blog at http://www.realestateblogtallahassee.com/
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