Steve Eckhardt's Tampa Area Blog

We see our share of expensive homes in Florida, but I wanted to give a glimpse of the most expensive homes nationwide.

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Steve Eckhardt, Broker, Luxury Real Estate Professional

Contact me at (813) 765-1182

www.TheFloridaAuthority.com

www.SearchForTampaHomes.com

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Senate Health Care Bill Threatens Home Building Industry December 21, 2009 - In a rush to pass a massive health care overhaul before Christmas, Senate Democrats have included a last-minute provision targeting the construction industry that is certain to derail the fragile housing recovery and threaten the solvency of countless small home building firms. In order to find the 60 votes needed to pass health care reform, a provision was slipped into the health care bill that unfairly targets small construction industry firms by mandating that they provide health insurance if they employ more than five workers. That is the same mandate required for big businesses. Meanwhile, all other small businesses - with the exception of the construction industry - would be exempt from providing mandatory health coverage if they employ 50 workers or less. "This narrow provision is an unprecedented assault on the construction industry and unjustly targets an industry trying to keep its doors open during the worst housing downturn since the Great Depression," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. "If this provision were to be enacted into law, it would prove to be catastrophic for the home building industry. In short, this is a true jobs killer. Thousands of small builder firms struggling to stay afloat could go under. We strongly urge the Senate to reconsider and pull this onerous provision that threatens the viability of small home builders across the nation."

This is simply another blow to the construction industry and further threatens its recovery. For the national economy to recover the homebuilding industry must recover.

Reprinted with the permission Of Jim Deitch, COO Southern Crafted Homes                                                                 

www.southerncraftedhomes.com

The Sarasota real estate market remained hot in November 2009 with overall sales nearly 86 percent higher than November 2008. Total sales stood at 578 in November, mirroring last month's total of 574 and much higher than the 311 sales reported in November 2008. The breakdown was 417 single family homes and 161 condos sold last month.

Pending sales stood at 793 in November, just below last month's total of 839, and far higher than last November, when only 504 pendings were reported. The statistic is a strong indicator for the next two or three months of sales, as pending sales are an indicator of current buyer activity.

Steve Eckhardt, Broker, Luxury Real Estate Professional

Contact me at (813) 765-1182

www.TheFloridaAuthority.com

www.SearchForTampaHomes.com

Check Out Steve Eckhardt's Other Social Networking Profiles

Facebook    http://www.facebook.com/CornerstoneProperties

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Tampa Bay home sales were 34 percent higher in November.  Sales rose from 1,701 in November 2008 to 2,282 in November 2009, according to the Florida Association Of Realtors.  The Greater Tampa Association of Realtors had already announced a 52 percent sales surge in November.

Greater Tampa Home Sales Statistics Can Be Found Here

Steve Eckhardt, Broker, Luxury Real Estate Professional

Contact me at (813) 765-1182

www.TheFloridaAuthority.com

www.SearchForTampaHomes.com

Check Out Steve Eckhardt's Other Social Networking Profiles

Tampa Bay home sales were 34 percent higher in November.  Sales rose from 1,701 in November 2008 to 2,282 in November 2009, according to the Florida Association Of Realtors.  The Greater Tampa Association of Realtors had already announced a 52 percent sales surge in November.

Greater Tampa Home Sales Statistics Can Be Found Here

Steve Eckhardt, Broker, Luxury Real Estate Professional

Contact me at (813) 765-1182

www.TheFloridaAuthority.com

www.SearchForTampaHomes.com

Check Out Steve Eckhardt's Other Social Networking Profiles

Homeowners with mortgages of more than $1 million are defaulting at almost twice the U.S. rate and some are turning to so-called short sales to unload properties as stock-market losses and pay cuts squeeze wealthy borrowers.

 Read More About Luxury Real Estate Short Sales Here

View All The Luxury Homes For Short Sale In Tampa and Sarasota

 If you are searching for luxury homes and estates in the Greater Tampa Bay (Tampa, St. Petersbug, Clearwater) or Sarasota, please contact Steve Eckhardt at (813) 765-1182.

www.TheFloridaAuthority.com

www.SearchForTampaHomes.com

According to comScore, 5.5 percent of ALL time spent online in the U.S. during the month of November was spent on the social networking site Facebook.  Users spent more time on Facebook than any other website, including Google, YouTube and Yahoo.  In addition, Facebook passed 100 million unique visitors in the U.S. for the first time (in comScore's reporting) during the month and moved up one spot to become the fourth most popular website in the U.S. in terms of traffic.

With so many people using Facebook, fan pages and neighborhood pages that contain news about your area will become increasingly important to marketing your listings and your real estate services.  The ability to choose a user name and automatically post your fan page information to your Twitter account will help define and target your chosen market.    And like Activerain, it is a free resource that will help you keep in contact with your sphere of influence.

Facebook, Twitter, and Activerain can make you the preferred agent in your area AND boost your search engine rankings if you take a few minutes every day to post relevant news about your area or real estate in general.  If you're short on ideas, just reference stories already being reported by local sources.  Set up Google Alerts on your preferred terms and areas and you'll have a neverending supply of stories.

Check out our Facebook sites at:

www.facebook.com/cornerstoneproperties

www.facebook.com/newtampa

A St. Petersburg waterfront mansion that was once home to Perry Snell, a prominent developer in the early 1900s, has been listed for sale for $18 million.

View The Listing Information By Clicking Here

Read The Tampa Bay Business Journal Story About The Home By Clicking Here

If you are searching for luxury homes and estates in the Greater Tampa Bay (Tampa, St. Petersbug, Clearwater) or Sarasota, please contact Steve Eckhardt at (813) 765-1182.

www.TheFloridaAuthority.com

www.SearchForTampaHomes.com

Listing Information Courtesy of Realty Executives

Home sales moved up 52 percent from November 2008 to November 2009, according to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors. About 1,641 homes sold last month compared with 1,081 in the same period a year earlier.

Read The Full Article At TampaBay.com

A recent report commissioned by Barclays Wealth and written by the Economist Intelligence Unit shows a renewed confidence in residential real estate.  The United States was ranked as the most attractive global real estate market with China and India close behind.  Despite economic and financial turbulence, high-net-worth individuals have confidence in real estate as an investment and plan to increase their residential real estate portfolio allocations in the near term.

We are seeing this trend play out in the coastal markets around the Sarasota and Tampa Bay regions.  Properties on the water that would have commanded upwards of $5 to $8 million dollars just 3 years ago can now be purchased for $2 to $3 million.  Our firm has seen very strong interest from Canada and the UK.  One Canadian investor that purchased a waterfront property told me he was ready to invest up to $10 million on waterfront property in Sarasota because he believed that he could double his investment in 5 to 7 years. 

Among the key advantages for investing in residential real estate, respondents of the Barclays/EIU report cited: potential for rental income (38.3 percent); capital gains potential (28.6 percent); long-term performance track record (27.1 percent); overall portfolio diversification; and tangibility of brick-and-mortar investments (19.2 percent).  Investors were less enthusiastic about commercial real estate, due to rising unemployment rates worldwide.

Read more details about the report at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wealthy-Investors-Call-Bottom-bw-2667684067.html?x=0&.v=1

If you'd like to receive more information about real estate investment opportunities in Sarasota or Tampa Bay Florida, please contact me (813) 765-1182 or e-mail me at steve@TheFloridaAuthority.com .

Steve Eckhardt, Broker/Owner

www.TheFloridaAuthority.com

www.SearchForTampaHomes.com