September saw sales sizzling in Pinellas County. Both volume and prices were up over +20% vs. September 2012. The median price rose to $160,000. Inventories remained depressed which has put upward pressure on prices. The real estate market is perfornimg very well in the Tampa Bay Area. This in not true of the national market. The National Association of Realtors reports existing home sales contracts dipped by -5.6% from August, and dropped the sales index below the same point a year ago. NAR cited rising interest rates and rising home prices which have made homes more costly to purchase. This could be indicative of sales slowing down in the months to come.  

In this newsletter, I have tried to give you a cross section of interesting reading. My goal is to have you informed on a number of topics affecting the real estate market. These include selling and buying homes, financing, insurance, etc. There also just some "fun" stuff that lightens life's load a little. Flood insurance is the big topic right now. In Pinellas County, there are 45,000 properties affected by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act in June 2012. Premiums could rise 5 to 10 fold for homeowners under the new rate schedules. This past week, a bi-partisian group of legislators began offereing legistlation that could delay these increases for up to 4 years. This would also allow time for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to study suggested rate increases to be sure they are appropriate. See the first article for more information.

Some of the content is just fun to know about...like the sale of Steven Speilberg's pad. Tourism is vital to the health of the local business environment so I have included some very encouraging results about it. The rest of the articles are just meant to inform.

I have 3 listings to tell you about.

Dunnellon retreat... $149,000

3/2 on one acre with room to sleep up to 20 people. Bunkhouse, silo, fire pit, and other featrures at this unique property.

Dunedin pool home... $269,000

3/2 pool home, 2028 SF in Fairway Estates, which surrounds the Dunedin CC, former home of the PGA. This home features a fiberglass pool, large sized rooms, and over a quarter acre.

Clearwater 55+ condo...$34,500

1/1 in Pinewood Village. 644 sf nicely laid out with many new features. Just pay an electric bill on top of the $264 monthly fees. Clubhouse, shuffle Board and year 'round solar heated pool.

Check these out at my link...

http://themanonthemove.com/search/

 Call or shoot me and email and I will send you all the information on these great homes.  

I hope you are enjoying this new newsletter format. Please think about contributing an article and you can then send along the link to your associates and friends.

Thanks for reading,

Jim Chapman, "The Man On The Move"

     Teddy,the real estate dog, is ready to help you sell or buy. Call him today!