Developers introduce $3B 'Water Street Tampa' downtown redevelopment
TAMPA-- The developers who are spending more than $3 billion in private investment to transform downtown Tampa released a new rendering that shows how much the skyline will grow in nine years, and also revealed the name of the project: Water Street Tampa.
Read MoreTAMPA With less than a year to go on construction of the first phase of the Tampa International Airport expansion, we are moving forward with the next phase: a curbside expansion with express lanes for travelers with no checked bags and a 17-acre real estate development. Our third and final phase, proposed for some time after 2020, will be a 16-gate airside.
Read MoreTAMPA BAY, Fla., April 28, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/-- What if there was a day, once a year, when Tampa Bay residents could rally behind local community foundations to support their favorite charity? There is – and on May 2, "Give Day" returns to Tampa Bay for its fourth year. Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) will be among the nonprofits registered to participate in the 24-hour online giving challenge, which is hosted by the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay.
WWP serves warriors through programs that assist them with mental health, physical health and wellness, career and benefits counseling, connecting warriors with one another and their communities, and long-term care for the most seriously wounded. Programs and resources are free of charge to those WWP serves thanks to generous donors. Warriors are empowered to live life on their own terms, mentor fellow veterans and service members, and embody the WWP logo by carrying one another along a path toward recovery
"In many ways, the communities where our warriors live and work can have a significant lasting impact on their recovery," said Gary Corless, WWP chief development officer. "Community members interact with these injured veterans daily and see their needs. That gives them a chance to understand some of the challenges warriors face when returning to civilian life, but also where they can support those Wounded Warrior Project serves. Events like Give Day Tampa Bay can make all the difference; we're extremely grateful for the past generosity of the Tampa Bay community. We're excited for this year's event, with the community once again helping fuel Wounded Warrior Project's mission to honor and empower Wounded Warriors."
To learn more about Give Day Tampa Bay, visit givedaytampabay.razoo.com/story/Wwp. And to see how donors support the programs and services that are connecting, serving, and empowering WWP's wounded warriors, visit http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/.
About Wounded Warrior Project
Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) connects, serves, and empowers wounded warriors.
Read more at http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/about-us.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wounded-warrior-project-challenges-tampa-bay-community-to-give-big-300448117.html
SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project
Read MoreTAMPA Home prices surged 14.4 percent in December for the biggest year-over-year gain of any major metro area in Florida.
Continuing a trend that never slacked during the year, prices rose while the total number of sales lagged behind.
For 2016 as a whole, "the key word was 'low' — as in, inventory levels,'' said Charles Richardson, regional senior vice president for Coldwell Banker. "Buyers showed strong interest and sales were up for the year versus 2015, but there simply weren't enough homes available on the market to meet demand.''
Throughout 2016, that low supply served to drive up the prices for single-family homes, which make up by far the biggest share of the residential market.
Ron Balseiro, a veteran Tampa Bay appraiser, says the tight supply is spurring many buyers to pay what he calls a "premium.''
"My assessment is values have gone up a little bit too fast too quick,'' Balseiro said Tuesday. In south Hillsborough and south Pasco, where hundreds of new houses are being built, homes he appraised a year ago for $220,000 are now selling for $250,000.
"I think the interest rate is the key,'' Balseiro said. "If the interest rates go up too high or they go up too quick, you have some people who will jump in and go higher (on price). But once that settles in at a higher rate, potential buyers are going to have a harder time qualifying so builders might have to lower their prices.''
In December, Pinellas showed the biggest year-over-year jump in single-family prices, up 17.6 percent to a median of $222,250. Next was Pasco, up 12.8 percent to $191,750; Hernando, up 9.5 percent to $139,900; and Hillsborough, up 9.1 percent to $232,575.
Bay area condos and townhomes did even better, soaring 17 percent to a median of $149,500.
One notable statistic about 2016 bay area sales: 50 percent of the listings sold in the first 30 days.
While that indicates demand is strong, it also shows that "sellers are being realistic in their pricing,'' Richardson said.
As of the end of 2016, the bay area had just a 2.9-month supply of homes for sale. A six-month inventory — meaning the time it would take to sell everything currently available — is considered a "balanced'' market that favors neither buyers nor sellers.
Richardson said two factors contributed to the low inventory of homes.
"The housing bubble burst of 2008 is still fresh on the minds of some homeowners, who remain reluctant to list their homes for sale,'' he said. "Additionally, the presidential election consumed people's attention and created a sense of uncertainty, causing some to temporarily delay any real estate transactions, though there was a small surge in activity when it was over.''
Hillsborough had December's top sale with a five-bedroom, five-bath house on Davis Islands going for $3.95 million. Purchased by Tampa Bay Lightning player Victor Hedman, it was also among the 25 most expensive bay area homes sold last year.
In Pinellas, the top price paid was just over $2.9 million for a penthouse at 400 Beach Drive in downtown St. Petersburg. Other top sales were $800,000 for a newly built home in the Wesley Chapel area of Pasco, and $785,000 for a Brooksville home on 35 acres in Hernando.
For December, Tampa Bay's 14.4 percent increase in the median price was several percentage points higher than for the Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville areas.
Statewide, median home prices rose 9.2 percent year over year.
Nationally, sales of existing homes closed out 2016 as the best year in a decade, even as sales declined in December as the result of ongoing affordability issues and historically low supply levels, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The median price nationally for all housing types in December was $232,200, up 4 percent from December 2015. December's price increase marks the 58th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
BY: Susan Taylor Martin
Tampa Times Senior Correspondant
PUBLISHED: January 24th, 2017
Read MoreTAMPA Home prices continued to soar in October, with Hillsborough County recording its biggest year-over-year gain since January.
Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties also showed dramatic increases as buyers vied for an exceedingly tight supply of single-family homes — Pasco had less than a three-month inventory.
And even though interest rates have risen slightly since the presidential election, there is little sign the market is slowing down.
"We haven't noticed any impact yet,'' said Rachel Sartain, managing broker at Keller Williams Realty St. Petersburg. In fact, she said, the possibility of rates going higher will "hopefully increase activity'' by spurring people to buy now.
Pasco had the biggest jump in single-family home prices, up 17.4 percent from October a year ago to $179,900. Hillsborough, meanwhile, had its biggest gain in nine months, up nearly 16 percent to a median of $220,000.
In Pinellas, prices rose nearly 15 percent, to $206,500, and in Hernando, they were up nearly 13 percent, to $141,500.
With demand still high — and prices to match — near downtown St. Petersburg, Sartain said more buyers are looking farther north, in the 33702 and 33703 ZIP Code areas, where houses are more affordable.
"It's the 4th and 9th Street corridors,'' she said. "In the $150,000 to $250,000 price range, that's where we're seeing absorption rates as low as two to three months.''
Related: How long can the good times roll for Tampa Bay's housing market for the bubble pops?
At the other end of the spectrum, the top price paid in October for a bay area home — and the most paid for any single-family house in three years — was $6.875 million for a six-bedroom contemporary estate in Safety Harbor overlooking Old Tampa Bay.
Although the 10 gated acres were bought in the name of a trust, the borrowers on the $4 million mortgage loan are Pers and Svetlana Wickstrom. He is CEO of several drug and alcohol rehabilitation in programs in Michigan, including the 200-bed Best Drug Rehabilitation.
In Hillsborough, October's priciest transaction was a 5,000-square foot waterfront house in Tampa's Sunset Park area that sold for $2.857 million.
The Coldwell Banker listing agents, Mike Hughes and Jeff Shelton, were the selling agents on two other mega-deals in Tampa this year — the $6.625 million sale of former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Coach Greg Schiano's home and the $4.5 million sale of a house purchased as a tear-down.
"The 2016 luxury market in South Tampa has been very active,'' Hughes said. "With the international flights increasing and the wonderful things our mayor is doing — it's multiple things that keep increasing values in South Tampa.''
Meanwhile, Hughes said, the demand for homes under $500,000 has been "extremely active,'' especially from buyers who plan to raze and build new.
"That stuff really flies off the shelves,'' he said. "South Tampa land value really is in the $300,000 to $400,000 range for average (new) homes of $900,000 to a million.''
In Pasco's Trinity area, the Champions Club golf course community continued to be popular, with a home there selling for $912,532 in October's priciest transaction. And in Hernando, a mansion on 20-plus acres in Brooksville sold for $825,000.
Other takeaways from the October figures:
For Florida as a whole, the median price of a single family home in October rose 11.7 percent to $220,000 while the price of a condo or townhome was up 8 percent to $161,000.
"Florida's housing market continues to experience fewer sales of distressed properties and a restricted supply of homes for sale," said Matey Veissi, president of Florida Realtors. "When you look at the state's tight inventory of homes and a decline in the median time it takes for a home to sell, it shows buyers are still in the market. However, they're not finding as many potential options as they'd like."
BY: Susan Taylor Martin
Tampa Times Senior Correspondant
PUBLISHED: November 22, 2016
Read MoreNewest Plans for Downtown Tampa
TAMPA — In the years to come, downtown Tampa streets will be lined with retail storefronts. The city will have at least two grocery stores, more than a half-dozen parks and will be home to two more urban hotels.
Read More4 Reasons to Buy this Fall
KEEPING CURRENT MATTERS: It’s that time of year; the seasons are changing and with them come thoughts of the upcoming holidays, family get-togethers, and planning for a new year. Those who are on the fence about whether or not now is the right time to buy don’t have to look much further to find four great reasons to consider buying a home now, instead of waiting.
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TAMPA TIMES - Orlando and Tampa pulled the equivalent of a gold and silver in financial planner website WalletHub's annual ranking for the best places in the country to retire.
Orlando ranked tops among 150 metros ranked and Tampa was second, with both aided by the combination of a less expensive cost of living and a wide range of recreational offerings.
Florida fared well overall, notching four of the top seven spots. In addition to Tampa and Orlando, Miami ranked fourth and Cape Coral seventh. St. Petersburg ranked 21st.
WalletHub's analysts compared affordability, quality of life, health care and availability of recreational activities. Its 31 key metrics ranged from "cost of living" to "public-hospital rankings" to "percentage of the 65 and older population."
The best marks for Tampa came in affordability (No. 3), activities (No. 17) and quality of life (No. 18) while Orlando's top scores were in activities (No. 6), affordability (No. 7) and health care (No. 11).
Here is the complete report.
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Harrington, Times Staff Writer
JEFF HARRINGTONTampa BPublished on Monday, August 15, 2016
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