Which do you think is the better plan? Which will impact the financial conditions of Americans substantially more and energize the economy faster?

Obama’s proposal would enable underwater homeowners to refinance their privately-held loans through the FHA, which would then guarantee the loans and would assume the risk in case of default. Obama expects to help 3.5 million homeowners with his new plan, and plans to impose a fee on the country’s largest banks to finance this plan. Since this program entails an expansion of the authority of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), it needs to be approved by Congress.

Republican representatives have been knocking down Obama’s plan, arguing that the FHA has its own financial problems and insisting that the additional burden could lead the agency into collapse. They said they’re wondering why the Obama administration continues to pursue expensive housing programs when similar programs in the past have vastly failed.

Expectedly, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan defended his boss’s plan. He said that the main insurance fund of the FHA would be protected and that funding for the program would be sourced from bank taxation. He further explained that the program is offered to homeowners who have kept their accounts current. Administration officials estimate that the program could cost from $5 billion to $10 billion.

According to initial details of the plan, the new home loan refinancing program will target private mortgages – those not backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Eligible borrowers would be those who are occupying the homes they purchased with the mortgage, who have paid their monthly amortizations over the six-month period prior to refinancing, and who have been delinquent only once during the prior six-month period.

Together with this loan refinancing plan are other proposals to further improve the housing market. These include the expansion of the HARP program to benefit borrowers with more than 20 percent equity in their homes, the standardization of foreclosure and loan modification processes undertaken by mortgage servicers, and the conversion of foreclosure properties into rentals through bulk sales to real estate investors.

So, which then is more effective? Home loan refinancing or job creation? Or do we have to choose?

But sadly, it is not so. Mortgage banks do not approve all loan applications and certainly do not give in to all requested amounts, especially now that the banking sector is still suffering the consequences of their role in the housing meltdown. With this mortgage reality, prospective homebuyers should not feel offended when realtors ask them to get a pre-approval first before going deeper into the home search process. It’s nothing about trust or prejudice; it’s asked of all home buyers. It’s not only for the benefit of the agents; it’s much more for the benefit of the homebuyers.

Why does pre-approval benefits you as a home buyer more than the agent?

1.  Early diagnosis of credit problems
A request for pre-approval prompts the bank to verify your credit, so here’s a free opportunity for you to check whether what you think about your credit is what it is. If it is, then it’s good news, and if it’s not, there’s still something good in it since you would be made aware early of the problem before it becomes worse.

2.  Timely resolution of credit problems
If the mortgage lender discovers problems in your credit reports, you can check the sources of these problems and can have them corrected before they lead to further difficulties.

3.   Efficiency of home search
If there’s no problem with your credit, then the pre-approval is issued, together with the amount of loan that can be provided to you. You then have a price range to work with, and you can now narrow down your home search from thousands of homes available for sale to a list that you can manage. You can then focus on items that are important to you, such as a multi-purpose room, access to a body of water, proximity to a good pre-school, pet policy, or HOA.

4.   Less stress
If you already know you’re qualified for a home loan and for the price range you’re hoping for, you’ve got two weights already removed from the back of your mind. You can now confidently make choices and decisions related to your home buying process.

5.   Kindness comes back to you in other forms of goodness
Having a pre-approval letter is exercising kindness towards your agent. Imagine having your agent make appointments with 50 various sellers and listing agents in different locations and then driving you to these homes day after day only to find out you were not qualified to buy even just one of these 50 homes?

If you’re looking to buy a home in Tampa, and you don’t know where to get your pre-approval, contact Tampa4U.com. Your Tampa4U agent will refer you to a reputable mortgage lender or a mortgage consultant, so you can get your pre-approval and buy your home of choice.

Master planned communities are the prime choice of a lot of homebuyers because these offer live, work and play amenities – almost a city or town within a city or a town – but carefully planned.  They offer a lifestyle that usually includes ready access to amenities such as nature parks, recreation centers, open spaces, commercial enterprises, libraries, schools, restaurants, cafes, sports facilities, community centers, pools, trails, and golf courses.

These communities also adhere to certain community rules that will protect the whole community from developments that veer away from the original community plan accepted and supported by the majority of residents.

John Burns compiled sales data from 131 master planned communities around the country, representing almost 23,000 new home sold in 2011, or nearly 7.6 percent of about 300,000 new homes sold around the U.S. in 2011.

Here are the top Florida master planned communities in 2011:

Why do buyers like FishHawk Ranch in Lithia in the Tampa area?

FishHawk Ranch is a growing community of families enjoying together 25 miles of nature trails; the waters of Aquatic and Osprey Clubs; the community games at Hawk Park; summer concerts, farmers markets, movies in the open and other entertainment events at Park Square; banquets and celebrations at the Pametto Club; soccer, football, baseball, lacrosse, softball and cheerleading aat the FishHawk County Sports Complex; and other activities that bring neighbors closer together, making FishHawk a tight-knit community.

FishHawk is also just 25 minutes to downtown Tampa, where residents can enjoy events at facilities such as the St. Pete Times Forum and David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, adventures in Ybor City and games by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Rays.

For families with young children, there are pre-schools right inside the FishHawk community, and there are A-grade elementary schools, middle schools and a high school located either inside or within one-and-a-half miles of FishHawk.

For children going to college or parents pursuing a night-class MBA, FishHawk is close to the Tampa campuses of the University of South Florida, Florida Metropolitan University, and International Academy of Design and Technology, and the Brandon campus of the Hillsborough Community College.

Military families also abound in FishHawk as this community is just 30 miles from the MacDill Air Force Base and there’s a Hillborough Area Regional Transit Commuter Express servicing FishHawk residents.

Find your FishHawk Ranch home.  Contact Tampa4U.com.
Tampa Master Planned Communities – Among the Best Florida Master Planned Communities

In the ACCRA Cost of Living Index report compiled by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), the Tampa metropolitan area remains among the more affordable cities in the country as of the end of 2011. Over the past three years, Tampa’s cost of living index has stayed below the nationwide average index of 100. As of the end of 2011, the metro area’s index was 91.8, far below 218.8, which was the index of Manhattan, the most expensive metropolitan area, and closer to 81.0, which was the index of Harlingen, Texas, the least costly metro area.

The Tampa area was also the least costly among Florida’s well-known cities, as seen in the following table:

The C2ER index considers six categories and various subcategories in its cost of living studies. The main categories are housing, health care, utilities, grocery items, transportation and miscellaneous goods and services. In the Tampa area, certainly housing was a significant factor in the downward drift of the index as prices for real estate Tampa substantially dropped from their high levels over the past years. The area’s housing index in 2011 was 78.7, significantly below the nationwide average.

In the home sales report released by the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors for 2008 to 2011, the volume of residential sales in the Tampa area has been on an upward trend, with some fluctuations, but never dropping to a level lower than any monthly sales level in 2008. The December 2011 sales total of 1,756 units was higher by 31.4 percent than the 1,336 units sold in December 2008. Over the month, the sales volume also increased, with a 12.6-percent jump from the November 2011 sales of 1,559 units.

In the 19 metropolitan markets monitored by Florida Realtors, the Tampa Bay real estate market was again the best-performing in December 2011 and in the whole of 2011, based on sales of existing single-family homes. In December, the Tampa-Clearwater-St. Petersburg area soared with sales of 2,422 existing units, higher than any other metro market in Florida. In 2011, the Tampa area had a sales total of 30,425 existing single-family homes, higher by 11 percent than second best-performing Orlando.

Take advantage of opportunities in Real Estate Tampa. Lower cost of living. Blends of country living, cosmopolitan lifestyle, resort-like lifestyle, urban living. Contact Tampa4U.com.

Increase in Existing Home Sales in December

Nationwide, sales of existing homes increased in December 2011 to an adjusted rate of 4.61 million units, up by 5 percent from an adjusted rate of 4.39 million in November 2011. Compared to December 2010, the December 2011 pace also increased, at a rate of 3.6 percent. This pace includes sales of all types of residential units, including single-family homes, condos, townhomes, villas and co-ops.

Sales of existing condos and co-ops also surged over the month, rising by 8.7 percent from an adjusted rate of 460,000 units in November to 500,000 units in December.

Rise in Existing Home Sales in 2011

Sales of existing homes for all of 2011 also increased over sales in 2010 by 1.7 percent, from 4.19 million units in 2010 to 4.26 million in 2011.

Drop in U.S. Housing Inventory at the End of 2011

The national inventory of existing homes available for sale dropped at the end of December to its lowest point since March 2005 when there were only 2.3 million units listed for sale. At the end of 2011, the nationwide pre-owned inventory dropped year-over-year by 9.2 percent and month-over-month by 7.2 percent to 2.38 million units. This total is almost just a half of the peak volume in July 2007 when there were 4.04 million existing units on the market.

A declining inventory can be seen as a positive sign as it pushes prices to go up. It also means that surges in sales have been moving homes from the market into homeowners’ hands.

Rise in Pending Home Sales in November to 19-Month Peak

The index for pending home sales rose by 7.3 percent to 100.1, the highest point of the index since April 2010 when the index reached 111.5. This was the month homebuyers fastracked their home buying activities to take advantage of the tax credit program. Pending home sales refer to sales contracts signed but have not yet closed. It usually takes four to six weeks from the date of contract signing before a sale is closed.

Take advantage of still low mortgage rates and lovely homes on the U.S housing market. For Tampa Bay homes, contact Tampa4U.Com.

A total of 12,993 existing homes were sold across Florida in November, up by 11 percent from the 11,664 units sold in November 2010. Sales of pre-owned condos surged by two percent to 5,590 units from 5,464 units in November 2010. Market analysts said that the continued improvement of the Florida market was due in large part to lenders’ efforts in improving their systems in dealing with foreclosed properties and short sales.

The 5 metro areas with the biggest rates of increases in existing single-family home sales year-over-year were the following:

As to sales of existing condos, the following areas had the biggest improvements in the Florida real estate market:

The statewide median sales price for existing homes sold in November 2011 dropped slightly over the year from $130,600 to $130,100, but the median sales price for existing condos increased from $83,000 to $86,700. In the condo sector, seven metro areas posted median price increases, with Panama City and Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie both registering the highest rate of increase, which was 24 percent.

In the existing single-family homes sector, five metro areas posted median price increases, with Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fort Lauderdale and Ocala posting increase rates of 20, 18 and 17 percent, respectively.

The Orlando and Tampa areas again surpassed all other Florida real estate markets in terms of sales of existing single-family homes. These metro areas were the only two markets that shot up past the 2,000-unit mark.

View homes for sale in Tampa, among the most popular in the Florida real estate market.

Among others, these homes have all or some the following great features:

•   Views of a lovely lake or river
•   Views of nature
•   Access to a lake, river, pond, or bay
•   Access to a boat dock
•   Access to nature trails
•   Master suite with a walk-in closet
•   Access to community amenities, such as golf courses, pools, and country clubs
•   Access to fishing and boating adventures

In the most recent sales report released by the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, a total of 1,567 units were sold in the price range of $200,000 to $250,000 for the period January to December 2011, the highest sales volume among all price points for owner-buyers.

Here are examples of Tampa homes for sale in the $200,000 to $250,000 range:

Two-Story Townhouse at Marbella Terrace Listed for $204,800

This waterfront home is along the Hillsborough River and has access to a nature trail and to the community’s amenities such as a large pool, a boat dock, and a large deck. It has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, with the master suite having a walk-in closet. It also has hardwood flooring, large windows, ten-foot ceilings and a private terrace.

2-Bedroom Condo along Bayshore Blvd Listed for $224,900

From this condo, you walk out of your front door to Bayshore Blvd and to the best restaurants and bars in the area. You also have panoramic views of the lovely Tampa Bay and the communities of South Tampa.

1.4-Acre Wooded Multi-Family Residential Income Property Listed at $244,000

If you like fishing, camping, horse riding and the peace and quiet of a fenced large piece of land and at the same time have access to modern facilities like the Tampa International Airport and to Gulf beaches, this is a great property for you.

5-Bedroom Single-Family Home in a Golf Community

You not only live in a golf and country club community, you also have great views of a lovely lake and conservation land. The large master suite has a soaking tub and his and hers walk-in closets. The home invites lots of natural light and the spacious lanai overlooks a calming conservation area.

Tampa homes not only give you amenities described above, you also live in the Tampa Bay area, which enjoys a beaufitul blending of everything that is modern and the country life.

View Tampa Homes,  Tampa Condos and  Master-Planned Communities

Housing inventory continued to decline, as the December inventory of 9,328 units was 10.6 percent lower than the previous month’s inventory. The total of 9,328 meant a supply of 5.3 months, lower than the November supply of 6.7 months. Compared to the year 2008, when the December inventory equaled 15 months of supply or 20,098 units for sale, the decrease in housing inventory over the three-year period was a significant 54 percent, more than one half.

Of the 1,756 housing units sold in December, 1,309 or 74.5 percent were single-family homes, 2,895 units were condos, 2,039 were townhouses, 558 units were mobile homes, 490 were villas and 69 units were half duplexes. The rest were planned unit developments, modular homes, and co-ops.

For the whole year of 2011, these were the sales performances of the different types or styles of homes:

Of the 1,756 Tampa homes sold in December 2011, 306 units were in the price range of less than $50,000. This price range has always had the highest sales volume because this meant sale of investment homes to investors often buying in bulk. Among owner-buyers, the $200,000-$250,000 price range was the most popular, which was also the most popular in November and in other months. Next was the $120,000-$140,000 price range and third was the $100,000-$120,000 range. There were 14 units in the over-one-million-dollar price range that got sold.

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Across Florida, sales of existing condos also increased, with 5,590 existing units sold last November, marking a 2.31-percent increase from 5,464 units sold in November 2010. The year-to-date sales also surged by 17 percent, from 69,224 existing units sold over the period ended November 2010 to 80,745 units sold over the period ended November 2011.

Compared to other metro areas in Florida, the Tampa area was fourth in sales volume, as seen below:

Over the year in November, the area with the most improved condo sales figures were Punta Gorda and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, both with an  increase rate of 19 percent, even higher than the statewide over-the-year increase of 17 percent. Jacksonville and Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie also improved, both with a 13-percent surge rate. The biggest drops in sales volume occurred in Lakeland-Winter Haven, at 34 percent, and Tallahassee, at 25 percent.

As to median sales prices, Florida’s metro areas, 12 out of 19 areas dropped in median sales prices over the year, bucking the statewide increase of 4 percent, from $83,000 to $86,700. Sales prices had the biggest drops in Tallahassee, Fort Walton Beach, and the Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay area.

In contrast, the seven areas that posted increases year-over-year in sales prices were Fort Pierce-Port St.Lucie, Panama City, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Lakeland-Winter Haven, and Orlando.

Here are the median sales prices for condos sold in November 2010:

We can see from the list above that the median price for Tampa condos sold in November 2011 was also in the middle of the metro areas’ median prices, arguably the median of the 19 median prices.

Search Tampa Condos  /  Downtown Tampa

Tampa Beachfront Condos  /   FHA-Approved Condos

University of South Florida Rehabilitation Center and Morsani College of Medicine

These two building projects are still in the planning stage, but a seed funding of $20 million has already been committed for the construction of the proposed $60-million six-story medical college by philanthropists Frank and Carol Morsani, principal owners of national automobile dealership chain Automotive Investments. The University of South Florida Foundation is also pursuing efforts to gather funds for the college.

The $20 million seed funding was the biggest health care charitable donation in 2011 in Florida, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. It was also the fourth biggest donation among 34 big donations of all types in the state.

The proposed $160-million ten-story rehabilitation center, meanwhile, is yet to receive its first funding commitment, but proponents hope that they can obtain federal funding as the center would be devoted to the rehabilitation of veterans and their reintegration into society and is close to the MacDill Air Force Base and the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. State and local government funding, together with entrepreneurial sources are also expected.

Moffitt Cancer Center Leases Large Space at Intellicenter One in Telecom Park

Moffitt Cancer Center, the only comprehensive cancer center of the National Cancer Institute in Florida, has leased 128,759 square feet at the four-story office building Intellicenter One in Telecom Park for its administrative and business support functions. The office lease will free up space at the main cancer center for serving patients and mission critical activities. Among the winning features of this Tampa commercial real estate property are its state-of-the-art facilities that can support medical activities and its energy-efficient roofing and glass walls. The building is also close to Moffitt Cancer Center.

University of South Florida Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS)

This $30 million state-of-the-art high-tech simulation and training center features a graduate biomedical training center for USF Health, an interdisciplinary research laboratory, an auditorium, a virtual hospital, and general-purpose classrooms. CAMLS trains surgeons from various U.S. states on performing computer-assisted, image-guided, and robotic surgeries, together with other health professionals such as doctors and nurses.

St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital

This $75 million five-story 125,000-square-foot hospital, located along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is dedicated to serving women and infants. It features 64 neonatal intensive care suites, 36 suites for new mothers and a 16-bed facility for medical and surgical patients. It also operates the Hinks and Elaine Shimberg Breast Center. The hospital is part of the ten-hospital nonprofit BayCare Health System.

There are other health care construction projects in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon and Western Chapel that were either completed in 2011 or are still on-going. Certainly these are energizing the Tampa commercial real estate sector and construction industry.

Tampa Commercial Real Estate / Search Commercial Property
Search Income Producing Property / Commercial Listings Available in Tampa

Here are some great Tampa Bay real estate statistics going into the new year, as sourced from the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, the Florida Realtors and the National Association of Realtors:

Increase in sales of Tampa-area residential sales over the year

Sales of housing units increased year-over-year for 10 months out of 11 months in 2011. In November 2011, a total of 1,523 units were sold, marking an increase of nearly 7 percent from 1,421 units in November 2010.

Continued drop in housing inventory

From 21,073 units in December 2007, the housing inventory continued to decrease month over month and year over year to drop to only 9,779 in November 2011. This marked a total decrease of 54 percent. The substantial drop can be interpreted in a positive way as an indication of a continued demand for homes for sale in Tampa. A smaller inventory can also mean an increase in home prices, as a rising demand for a diminishing inventory would push prices up.

Decline in average days on market (DOM)

In 2011, the highest average DOM was 117, which was in June. The DOM continued to drop month over month until it reached only 103 in November. The drop means that homes are not staying long on the market and are getting sold faster.

Tampa Bay real estate market is the 7th most searched online in the U.S.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area was the seventh most searched real estate market online in November 2011, according to Realtor.com. Compared to other Florida metro areas, the Tampa area was the most searched. The closest Florida markets were the Orlando area, which ranked 11th nationwide, and the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area, which ranked 13th.

Tampa existing single-family homes for sale are the most in demand in Florida in 2011

From January to October, the Tampa real estate market sold more existing single-family homes than any other market in Florida. It was only in November when Orlando had more sales by only 9 units. A total of 2,050 existing single-family homes were sold in November, with the most sold so far in March when 2,782 units were sold.

Explore opportunities in the Tampa real estate market. Contact Tampa4u.com.

Here are reasons that Kiplinger cited as Tampa’s assets in encouraging people to start businesses, including reasons that have been known to people who have invested in Tampa:

Tax Credits

The city of Tampa provides its own tax incentives to new and existing businesses, in addition to those offered together with the state of Florida and the county of Hillsborough, and those provided in partnership with the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. Tampa offers, among others, Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption to businesses that expand in Tampa and create jobs. Hillsborough County offers wage reimbursement of 50 percent of the wage cost of new jobs for three months for small businesses with ten or less workers and that are hiring new employees.

The state of Florida meanwhile offers the following tax incentive programs:

• Rural and urban jobs tax credit
• Qualified target industry tax refund
• High impact performance incentive
• Florida enterprise zone program
• Capital investment tax credit
• Community contribution tax credit
• Brownfield redevelopment bonus

No Personal Income Tax in Florida

The absence of personal income tax in Florida is also an attraction for people planning to start a business or encouraging prospective partners or key employees to come and work in Tampa.

Plenty of Nonprofits helping Tampa businesses

These are just some of many nonprofits helping businesses in the Tampa Bay area:

Tampa Bay Innovation Center. This links entrepreneurs with business mentors and also organizes networking events and conferences.

Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. This organization has been teaming up with the cities of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City in attracting investors to the area and helping businesses in their expansion efforts. One of their specialties is identification of corporate relocation and expansion opportunities.

Small Business Information Center. This helps women- and minority-owned small enterprises in Hillsborough County. It provides business counseling and workshops and offers resource materials.

Tampa Bay Technology Forum. Organizes educational, advocacy, and networking events

Participation in the Startup America Partnership

Tampa is among top cities participating in this nationwide initiative that has allocated more than $730 million to new business enterprises throughout Florida and six other U.S. states.

Small-Business-Friendly City

The following statistics show that Tampa is a small-business-friendly city:

• 52,062 small businesses
• 93.1 is the cost of living score for the self-employed
• $7 million in invested venture capital
• 1.7 patents per 10,000 residents

Come to Tampa. Start a business. View Tampa real estate. Talk to a Tampa4u.com realtor.

An online search for each market means an executed real estate search, with the searcher or potential homebuyer entering a zip code, neighborhood, town, city, or state, and optional criteria such as price range and number of bedrooms. The count includes all property types such as single-family homes, townhomes, condos, co-ops, commercial properties, raw land and multi-family properties.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area was the only Florida metro area in the Top Ten ranking. The next highest ranking Florida area was Orlando, which ranked 11th.

Here’s how Florida real estate markets ranked in online searches in November:

7  Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
11  Orlando
13  West Palm Beach-Boca Raton
15  Fort Lauderdale
18  Miami
35  Fort Myers-Cape Coral
39  Sarasota-Bradenton
44  Jacksonville
49  Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay
53  Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie
56  Daytona Beach
60  Naples
68  Lakeland-Winter Haven
118  Pensacola
121  Tallahassee
125  Ocala
133  Gainesville
134  Punta Gorda

Nationwide, the ten most searched markets in November 2011 were the following:

1  Chicago, Illinois
2  Detroit, Michigan
3  Los Angeles-Long Beach, California
4  Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona
5  Atlanta, Georgia
6  Philadelphia-New Jersey, Pennsylvania
7 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida
8  Las Vegas, Nevada
9  Dallas
10  Riverside-San Bernardino, California

The continued surge in online searches for homes in these metro areas indicate an improving confidence of buyers in the U.S. housing market, particularly in the Tampa Bay real estate market. As a result of increase home buyer demand, home prices continued their rising trend. In many of the 146 metro markets included in the Realtor.com survey, median list prices continued to increase year-over-year. The U.S. median list price in November 2011 was $189,900, an over-the-year increase of 4.05 percent.

The metro area with the highest median list price in November 2011 was San Francisco, California, with a median list price of $625,000. Following was the Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, California area, with a median list price of $539,250. These areas were, however, ranked only 45th and 88th, respectively in online searches in November.

Among the ten most searched real estate markets, the metro area with the highest median list price was
the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, with a median list price of $329,000; the Philadelphia area, with a median list price of $229,900; and the Riverside-San Bernardino area, with a median list price of $199,000.

The Tampa Bay real estate market had a comparatively competitive median list price of $144,200 in November 2011. If you like to find homebuying or investment opportunities in this market, contact Tampa4u.com.

Increase in buyer demand for homes for sale

According to the HousingPulse survey by Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance, the demand for homes for sale increased in November and that the average time spent by bank-owned properties on the market dropped to just a little bit more than 10 weeks, the shortest market time in 15 months.

Substantial Gains by Homebuilder stocks

The stocks of the country’s biggest homebuilders posted substantial gains on December 20, 2011 due to the rise in homebuilder confidence and the surge in housing starts in November. Builders including Pulte Group, D.R. Horton, KB Home, Toll Brothers, Lennar and Ryland Group all experienced gains, pushing up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Based on data from the U.S. Commerce Department, housing starts increased by 9.3 percent in November from housing starts in October. Over the year, housing starts shot up by 24.3 percent from the November 2010 data. The adjusted rate of 685,000 housing starts in November 2011 was the highest figure since April 2010.

Rise in Homebuilder Confidence

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Builder Confidence Index increased in December 2011 for the third straight month. The December increase to 21 was the highest level the index reached since May 2010. Builders have been energized by the increasing number of inquiries for new homes for sale from buyers, particularly those in the South, the West and Midwest.

Analysts said that the homebuilder confidence index is still low, but the upward trend of the index is a positive sign. Builders know that buyers are aware of the abundance of homes listed with substantial reductions and of the significant drops in mortgage rates.

Increase in Existing Home Sales in November 2011

The annualized rate for existing homes sold in November increased by 4 percent to 4.42 million, the highest level since January 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors. This is already the final figure, as the much-commented-about NAR revision of home sales involved only sales figures from 2007 to October 2011. The total existing home sales over this period was revised and reduced from 24.8 million to 21.3 million units.

Drop in Housing Inventory and Rice in Median Price in November

The total number of homes listed for sale in various multiple listing services across the country dropped to 2.01 million units, according to Realtor.com. This represented a drop of 4.8 percent from October 2011 and by 21.3 from November 2010. The drop in housing inventory can be a positive or negative indicator for the U.S. housing market, but if it means a substantial rise in home prices and if it energizes the market, then this is a good sign. Median home prices increased in 94 out of 146 markets in November 2011.

There are still great deals in the Tampa housing market.  Contact Tampa4U.com.

As mentioned in various news reports, Meritage Homes chief executive Steve Hilton described the Tampa area as a place of opportunity for its resources and for its managers in the Southeast. He said, “The Tampa area is one of the most attractive homebuilding markets in the southeastern United States, with the second-largest economy in Florida and strong job growth expected.”

Meritage executives highlighted the large employment base in Tampa and the city’s strong industries, such as retail, medical, energy and technology. The decreasing number of Tampa real estate listings and relatively low supply of existing homes for sale are also among the factors for the company’s expansion into the area.

The decline in listings was also among the positive items in the 2011 monthly reports released by the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors. From 16,644 homes for sale in November 2010 to 9,779 units in November 2011, the over-the-year drop was a sharp 41.25 percent. In November 2008, the inventory was 20,650, posting a substantial drop of 52.64 percent over the three-year period.

According to its investor webpage, Meritage Homes is among the top ten homebuilders in the U.S. based on homes sold and has built over 70,000 homes in 149 communities across the country. It builds homes for various buyers, including move-up, first-time, active adult and luxury. It’s also known for its green homes, having been the first large national builder to become 100-percent Energy Star-qualified in every housing unit built since January 2010.

It’s not only Meritage pursuing the robust Tampa real estate market; community builder NVR has also announced its acquisition of land where to build Ryan Properties homes in St. Petersburg, which is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area.

These home builders will join many other local and national builders who have been building dream homes in the Tampa area. Lennard, Centex, M/I, Ryland, Pulte, GL, David Weekly, KB, Southern Crafted, and more – they’re all here. Contact Tampa4U.com for assistance in finding your dream home.