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Tallahassee, FL Real Estate News

By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Do people who report on real estate market activity actually think about what they are doing? I understand the concept of sensationalism in reporting, where a newspaper can sell more copy with an exciting headline. Today's Business Section Of The Tallahassee Democrat In the real estate report pictured below, a reporter's message is that the market improved.   Today's Real Estate Blog - Tallahassee Democrat In the real estate blog pictured below, I report the actual activity in Tallahassee. Still declining, though not as bad.     Do Not Mislead With Real Estate Reporting I get the fact that confident consumers buy more. I really do. But I also think that the average consumer has a brain and will only fall for fictitious reporting for a while. That garbage needs to be in the past, and rea...
Comments 94
By John Stehmeyer
(Pro Players Realty)
The key to a successful real estate agent, and any business really, is being remarkable. Remarkable is all about exceeding expectations. You do this by endearing yourself to clients, by doing something original. People talk. Impress them enough and your business will go viral. The best part about viral is that it quickly becomes your best advertiser. If you, your business, or your product generate buzz that buzz will do more for your profit margins than any TV, print or radio advertisement ever could.  Be original. Be remarkable. You’ll be remembered.   For more insights and ongoings please check out our Tallahassee Real Estate blog.  
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  You will never find me writing or speaking as an expert in politics. As a matter of fact, I will go on record saying that I have a hard time paying attention to politics at any level, even though it has tremendous implications on the health and wealth of my family, my business, and my investments. But I do know about real estate. I have never found anybody that studies the Tallahassee housing market any harder than I do. I am not the smartest guy in the world, but I have done my homework when it comes to the real estate market. So consider this my “up front disclosure” when I talk about politics, leadership, and the Tallahassee real estate market. Tallahassee Lacks Leadership If you have a solid job, you might not be feeling the pinch that many others have been working through over th...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
I was helping one of our CENTURY 21 real estate agents explain current market conditions to a customer the other day and I was locked into a debate on current and future trends in the Tallahassee housing market. This customer is very intelligent and has been a builder in the Tallahassee housing market for many, many years. He expressed that “all of his friends in real estate” believed the market was rebounding and that homes were already starting to appreciate. Obviously, I disagreed. Like his friends in real estate, I wish the housing market had returned to appreciation, but it is simply not true. This is something that we can (and do) measure. As a matter of fact, this real estate blog and our Tallahassee Real Estate Market Report are dedicated to the study of the Tallahassee housing...
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By John Stehmeyer
(Pro Players Realty)
A few weeks ago we shared our list of 20 ways to add value to your home. What if you want to sell that home? Today we’re sharing 5 easy steps to take if you want to sell your home. 1. Clean like a fiend. It’s next to godliness right? This is something that absolutely must be done if you want anyone to take a serious look at your home. It’s cheap, around $10-$20 in cleaning supplies, and the benefits are enormous. 2. Depersonalize. Remove those family photos, dry erase boards with wacky stuff written on them, etc… You may think it’s unnecessary because it adds a personal touch but believe me it takes concentration away from the house when buyers spend time looking at your photos. We want them concentrating on your home! 3. Professional Staging. This step isn’t for everyone but if you ca...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Lately, we have identified the fact that it appears that we’ve reached the bottom of the housing market and in fact, we are seeing signs of increased home buyer activity. Yesterday’s blog included real estate graphs that showed a rise in closed home sales as well as an increase in the new pending contracts., so I received a few comments and feedback from our regular readers. One such comment/question about real estate in Tallahassee, Florida came from “Buddy” who wrote: Joe…. Many of the Real Estate agents I talk to are experiencing an up-tic in activity, but most of them say it is in the $400K and below market on housing, and little or no activity in finished lot sales. I wonder if the data stream you are looking at can shed any light on the higher priced ranges for house sales, and ha...
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By John Stehmeyer
(Riverking Custom Painting)
Better Homes & Gardens   Update the Furniture   If the wood surface is already painted or varnished, remove dirt or wax buildup with a household cleaner and rinse. Sand rough areas and wipe away dust with a tack cloth. Apply two coats of stain-blocking primer and allow it to dry between coats. Roll or brush on two coats of latex paint in the direction of the wood grain. Use a brush to finish the surface with smooth strokes.   Painted Rugs Base-coat your rug material if desired. After the base coat dries, use a straightedge to guide your stencil placement. Apply your design in a contrasting color with a stencil brush and stencil, cleaning the stencil before moving it to a new section. When the paint is dry, seal and protect the design with clear polyurethane.   Redo a Cabinet Spray paint...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
We have been monitoring the daily home sales in the Tallahassee MLS for many years now, watching first in shock as the numbers climbed to unprecedented levels, and then in horror as they fell well below anything we had every seen in over 20 years of tracking the Tallahassee housing market. Daily Home Buyer Activity Seems To Have Stopped Falling By tracking daily closed home sales, we can identify the unit home sales trends nearly to the day of a cycle change. This first real estate graph shows us the 365 day trend of daily home buyer activity. Daily Home Buyer Activity Bottomed, Heading Higher? In order to really see the change that has occurred in the daily home sales trend, we can look to the zoom of the graph above. The graph below shows daily home buyer activity for the past ten mon...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Yesterday’s blog post regarding non arms length home sales in Tallahasseedistressed properties in the Tallahassee housing market. We saw that the ratio of arms length home sales to non arms length home sales continues to grow, thus creating concern that the shadow inventory of homes in Tallahassee is also growing. With this in mind, I started digging around the recorded home sales with the hopes of finding something that might be useful in gauging this growth. highlighted some serious concerns about the growth of Finding Ways To Track Distressed Property Levels The first thing I thought about is worthy of today’s entire blog post. I figured that we should take a look at the trend of people who are giving their homes back to the lender. There is a legal way to do this and it is called su...
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By John Stehmeyer
(Riverking Custom Painting)
Tallahassee Commercial & Residential Painting Services Tallahassee Painters RiverKingPainting.com   Tallahassee Painting Services, RiverKing Custom Painting, RiverKingPainting.com 3 year written guarantee & 100% satisfaction guarantee, references available RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee residential painting & staining, interior & exterior RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee commercial painting interior & exterior RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee pressure cleaning, soft washing, window cleaning RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee cabinet painting & refinishing RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee wallpaper removal & installation, custom trim installation, remodeling RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee Paint Contractor RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee Commercial Painting Contractor RiverKingP...
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By John Stehmeyer
(Riverking Custom Painting)
Make Room to Move Extend your deck in one or several directions, add a level up or down, or curve an edge for visual interest.   Eat Out Create an outdoor kitchen, complete with grill, sink, undercounter refrigerator, wine cooler, and eating area. Got money left over? Add a tiki bar!   Light It Up Solar or low-voltage post-top lights create ambience when your dinner guests linger into a summer evening.   Hold Still Tucked into your deck flora, statuaries can be tasteful and even mysterious -- real conversation starters.
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
The time has come again to look at Tallahassee neighborhoods to see what is happening. We like to do this every month or so in order to identify the hottest selling subdivisions in Tallahassee, as well as see if any trends are occurring. We compiled all of the existing home sales in Tallahassee (meaning no new home sales, only resales) and separated them by whether or not they were “arms length” sales or not. As a reminder, arms length sales are home transfers which are freely entered into by parties who don’t have a special relationship or control over one another. Arms Length Home Sales Are Fair Market Sales An arm’s length sale is indicated by the fairness of price, conditions, and other terms of the agreement. For example, an agreement between relatives or sales involving a deal on ...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Reader feedback is the heart and soul of the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, and today we’ll focus on a lengthy reply to perhaps the most trafficked real estate blog that we have posted in over a year. A little more than a month ago, I wrote an analogy of the current real estate market entitled “Real Estate and Lemonade” and we have seen over four thousand visitors to this article thus far. Recently, reader “Lopez” wrote a long comment to “Real Estate and Lemonade” which can be viewed by clicking on the link and then scrolling to the bottom of the page. Rather than list the comment in its entirety, I have copied a few clips and provided my thoughts. Respectfully, I think Sr. Lopez and I operate off of two very different sets of beliefs. So, by the numbers, let’s see where we agree and dis...
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By John Stehmeyer
(Pro Players Realty)
At Pro Players Realty, we're taking Tallahassee Real Estate to a whole new level. Our Tallahassee Realtors analyze multiple strategies to help our clients find the most advantageous solutions that benefit all parties involved. We have an extensive list of Tallahassee homes for sale. Let us find that Tallahassee Property that's right for you. We're located in the City of Tallahassee.  Please visit our Tallahassee Real Estate website for more information and access to free MLS Search. Or call us today at (850) 942 - 7653. ***Buy now and receive a FREE home warranty or home inspection valued up to $450*** John Stehmeyer - Tallahassee Realty  
Comments 1
By John Stehmeyer
(Riverking Custom Painting)
Tallahassee Pressure Cleaning, Painting, & Building Maintenance RiverKingPainting.com   Tallahassee Pressure Cleaning Services, RiverKingPainting.com RiverKing Custom Painting, RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee pressure cleaning, soft washing, window cleaning RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee decks, driveways, walkways, houses, soft washing roofs by RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee Paint Contractor RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee Commercial Painting Contractor RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee Residential Painting Contractor RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee Paint Store RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee wallpaper removal & installation, custom trim installation, remodeling RiverKingPainting.com Tallahassee wood & drywall repairs, fire & water restoration, wood sealing, garage floors ...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
We’ve been watching the lis pendens filings stack up for quite some time, knowing that foreclosures would eventually have to follow. It appears that the time is upon us. Banks now seem to be making the decision to follow through on the foreclosures that were previously just being shelved. Tallahassee Year Over Year Foreclosures On The Rise There were 56 foreclosures in Tallahassee that were posted during the month of August, which is up 273% compared to the 15 that were closed in August of 2008. To get an idea of what Tallahassee foreclosure activity looks like in a real estate graph, the blue field below shows it quite clearly. Additionally, Tallahassee lis pendens filings were up 21% with 160 lis pendens filed in August compared to the 132 that were filed in August of 2008. Just as a ...
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By John Stehmeyer
(Riverking Custom Painting)
Better Homes & Gardens Wire for Sound A weatherproof outdoor sound system is a soothing finishing touch for any deck.   Furnish and Forget It Consider all of your furniture options: hardy wood such as teak, aluminum, steel, and recycled plastics. An outdoor rug completes the scene.   Spring for Upgrades Replace wooden rail spindles with wrought-iron ones and the deck boards with rot-resistant composite planks.   Make a Splash Dedicate a corner or add on to the deck to accommodate a hot tub.   Polish the Edges Add skirt boards or trellis material around your deck perimeter between its surface and the ground. This lends a finished look to the project and can let the space below the deck serve as handy storage.
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Last week, I reported that we had seen an uptick in the daily homes sales in the Tallahassee MLS, and we had seen a significant 5 week uptick in the pending sales in the Tallahassee MLS, so I was anxiously awaiting the sales data to see how we did in August versus 1 year ago. If you have followed the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog for any period of time, then you know that we consider this the next major move in the market, year over year home sales improving. Unfortunately, August will not be the first month to show improvement, rather it will be the 38th consecutive month of declining year over year home sales in the Tallahassee housing market. Year Over Year Home Sales Decline For 38th Consecutive Month In the real estate graph below, each month is shown as a percentage change compared...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
    FHA Loans – FHA Mortgages Non Occupanying Co-Borrower loans - Kiddie Condo loans       FHA loans have many features that still aren't talked about as much as one would think, because they are still fairly new to more than have of the loan originators out there. Now, some might argue half is very extreme, even though this is my opinion, I will still stick to this statement for many reasons. As a loan officer with more than 17 years of mortgage experience, the non-occupant co-borrower program is very simple to understand. FHA will allow a co-signer that is not living in the house to actually be on the mortgage and co-sign for the loan. Keep one important thing in mind, they must be a family member/relative. And this can be great for first time homebuyers. One thing that so many get co...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  It is hard to believe today is the 8th anniversary of 9-11. I can vividly remember that day, as those of us in the office gathered around a tv set and watched in horror as the terrorists guided the aircraft into key targets in the Northeast. These tragic events marked the end of an era for our Country, and the beginning to the war on Terror. I have many classmates still fighting this fight, and I thank them and all of our Women and Men in uniform. Some are in Iraq, others in Afghanistan, and others in places that we are not even aware that U.S. forces are committed. My thoughts are with them and I want them to know that I have not forgotten. Tallahassee Real Estate Remembers 9-11  
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