Daily Real Estate News March 6, 2008
Another Rate Cut Expected SoonThe Federal Reserve is expected to again cut key interest rates – now at 3 percent – at its next meeting on March 18. Futures market investors are betting the cut will be at least a half-percentage point. Some have predicted a three-quarter-percentage point cut, but most analysts believe the Fed doesn’t view the situation as dire enough for that and the Fed has said it fears fueling inflation.The Fed's quarterly Beige Book report, released this week, said housing markets in just about every area of the country were weak, and were characterized by low demand, high inventories, and falling prices. It also found consumers and businesses are growing more cautious.
www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-MLS.com for your Panama City and Panama City Beach Needs
www.Destin-Florida-MLS.com for your Destin Florida and surrounding area needs
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Home Sellers Seek Conversions
Home sellers seeking conversions
More Sarasota property owners want to turn their houses into office space
var ArticleTools_Title ='Home%20sellers%20seeking%20conversions';
By Zac Anderson
Published Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
The house next door could soon become your local doctor's office, as homeowners in high-traffic areas, stung by the housing boom and subsequent slump, look for alternative property uses.
Sarasota County is experiencing an upswing in applications to rezone residential property into office space, with 19 conversions planned in Englewood, Venice and Sarasota.
Three of the six rezoning petitions before the Sarasota County Planning Commission today seek to convert homes into offices.
In most cases, the primary factor driving conversions is the region's explosive growth over the past decade, which has eroded the residential character of some roads, said Crystal Allred, manager of current planning for the county.
The housing downturn may also be playing a role, as property owners unable to sell their homes as residences seek other options.
Some homeowners worry that the trend could add more traffic, bring vagrants and otherwise hurt the character of their neighborhoods. Proponents argue that offices increase property values in blighted residential areas and serve as a quiet, daytime property use.
Sarasota land planner Brian Lichterman negotiated an agreement recently in which the property owners arranged with neighbors to provide increased security around offices planned for two homes on Beneva Road.
"We're trying to make this work for everyone," Lichterman said.
The changing land use patterns and neighborhood tensions are nothing new, Allred said.
High-traffic areas such as along Bee Ridge Road and University Parkway switched to commercial from residential years ago. But more roads have been expanded to accommodate recent growth.
Lichterman said his clients have trouble renting out their homes on four-lane Beneva.
"Nobody wants to live on a busy arterial road," he said. "And we consider office space a step-down land use between commercial and residential."
Sarasota land planner Peter Dailey has a client with two homes on Laurel Road that are not selling. The homes, next to a 7-Eleven on the busy four-lane street, are ripe for office conversion, Dailey said.
"These people are trying to find a good use for their properties, and offices make sense in that area," Dailey said.
As these areas grow, changes in land use are inevitable, Lichterman argues. The decline in the housing market is just speeding the process along.
"With residential development waning, people are turning their attention to things like office space," he said.
Allred said her job is to balance the integrity of residential neighborhoods with changes that are occurring.
"It's a real tough call," she said. "In some areas residential stays workable, and in some areas it doesn't. We have to look at a lot of factors."
www.InvestSmarter.com
www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com
More Sarasota property owners want to turn their houses into office space
var ArticleTools_Title ='Home%20sellers%20seeking%20conversions';
By Zac Anderson
Published Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
The house next door could soon become your local doctor's office, as homeowners in high-traffic areas, stung by the housing boom and subsequent slump, look for alternative property uses.
Sarasota County is experiencing an upswing in applications to rezone residential property into office space, with 19 conversions planned in Englewood, Venice and Sarasota.
Three of the six rezoning petitions before the Sarasota County Planning Commission today seek to convert homes into offices.
In most cases, the primary factor driving conversions is the region's explosive growth over the past decade, which has eroded the residential character of some roads, said Crystal Allred, manager of current planning for the county.
The housing downturn may also be playing a role, as property owners unable to sell their homes as residences seek other options.
Some homeowners worry that the trend could add more traffic, bring vagrants and otherwise hurt the character of their neighborhoods. Proponents argue that offices increase property values in blighted residential areas and serve as a quiet, daytime property use.
Sarasota land planner Brian Lichterman negotiated an agreement recently in which the property owners arranged with neighbors to provide increased security around offices planned for two homes on Beneva Road.
"We're trying to make this work for everyone," Lichterman said.
The changing land use patterns and neighborhood tensions are nothing new, Allred said.
High-traffic areas such as along Bee Ridge Road and University Parkway switched to commercial from residential years ago. But more roads have been expanded to accommodate recent growth.
Lichterman said his clients have trouble renting out their homes on four-lane Beneva.
"Nobody wants to live on a busy arterial road," he said. "And we consider office space a step-down land use between commercial and residential."
Sarasota land planner Peter Dailey has a client with two homes on Laurel Road that are not selling. The homes, next to a 7-Eleven on the busy four-lane street, are ripe for office conversion, Dailey said.
"These people are trying to find a good use for their properties, and offices make sense in that area," Dailey said.
As these areas grow, changes in land use are inevitable, Lichterman argues. The decline in the housing market is just speeding the process along.
"With residential development waning, people are turning their attention to things like office space," he said.
Allred said her job is to balance the integrity of residential neighborhoods with changes that are occurring.
"It's a real tough call," she said. "In some areas residential stays workable, and in some areas it doesn't. We have to look at a lot of factors."
www.InvestSmarter.com
www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Florida Gulf Front Deals are Easier to Find
Daily Real Estate News March 5, 2008
Beachfront Bargains are EmergingIf you’re looking for a beach house, now could be the time to buy, says Fortune magazine reporter Jon Birger.Three years ago, Birger went in search of affordable beachfront property and was largely unsuccessful. This year, he says, beachfront property selling for less than $500,000 is more readily available, especially in Florida.In places like Cape Code and Hamptons that are enclaves for the fabulously wealthy, prices haven’t declined much, real estate practitioners told him. "It's a totally different mentality," Diane Saatchi, senior vice president at the Corcoran Group, says of her East Hamptons clientele. "The value of their real estate is just so insignificant compared with their overall wealth."But Florida is a different story. Prices have fallen 25 percent to 30 percent on the state’s Panhandle with beachfront condominiums widely available for about $400,000, says Kerry McNulty, a practitioners in Destin.Source: Fortune, Jon Birger (03/17/2008)
Hot Deals on Destin Condominiums can be found at http://www.destin-florida-condominiums.info/hot-destin-florida-condominium-deals/
Hot Deals on Panama City Beach Condominiums can be found at http://www.panama-city-beach-florida-condominiums.com/hot-panama-city-beach-florida-condo-deals/
Beachfront Bargains are EmergingIf you’re looking for a beach house, now could be the time to buy, says Fortune magazine reporter Jon Birger.Three years ago, Birger went in search of affordable beachfront property and was largely unsuccessful. This year, he says, beachfront property selling for less than $500,000 is more readily available, especially in Florida.In places like Cape Code and Hamptons that are enclaves for the fabulously wealthy, prices haven’t declined much, real estate practitioners told him. "It's a totally different mentality," Diane Saatchi, senior vice president at the Corcoran Group, says of her East Hamptons clientele. "The value of their real estate is just so insignificant compared with their overall wealth."But Florida is a different story. Prices have fallen 25 percent to 30 percent on the state’s Panhandle with beachfront condominiums widely available for about $400,000, says Kerry McNulty, a practitioners in Destin.Source: Fortune, Jon Birger (03/17/2008)
Hot Deals on Destin Condominiums can be found at http://www.destin-florida-condominiums.info/hot-destin-florida-condominium-deals/
Hot Deals on Panama City Beach Condominiums can be found at http://www.panama-city-beach-florida-condominiums.com/hot-panama-city-beach-florida-condo-deals/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)