by admin | Oct 15, 2015 | Market Data
TAMPA — After nearly two years of trying, City Hall appears to have a buyer with a big plan for a high-profile corner in Ybor City.
Source: home.tampabay.com
Ybor City is quietly undergoing a significant amount of development which should prove great for the district. A partnership between home builder Ariel Quintela and Darryl Shaw, the CEO of BluePearl Veterinary, a Tampa-based company with emergency animal hospitals and specialty veterinary clinics in 17 states are planning a $19.6 million project with 100 apartments, 8,000 square feet of retail space and an underground parking garage with about 100 spaces.
But that’s not all they plan. At five different locations throughout Ybor City, including the city’s, they are pursuing projects that encompass more than 200 apartments, some in new construction, but many in historic buildings — the old Oliva Cigar Factory, the Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn, the former Blues Ship Cafe — they plan to restore. They’ve already spent more than $5.7 million buying those properties.
Developing all five projects could add up to an investment of about $34 million in Ybor City.
Ybor City has such great bones and new rental housing, hotels and retail could be the perfect mix to turnaround this diamond in the rough.
by admin | Oct 15, 2015 | Market Data
Filings for unemployment benefits have dropped to the lowest level since mid-July, falling from 276,000 to 263,000 in the week ending on October 3.
Source: www.bisnow.com
Filings for unemployment benefits have dropped to the lowest level in 42 years, falling from 276,000 to 263,000 in the week ending on Oct. 3.
by admin | Oct 15, 2015 | Market Data
The Demand Institute found varying preferences for homeowners moving to new locations.
Source: www.constructiondive.com
The Demand Institute released a report titled “Location Matters: Where America is Moving.” The report found that, unsurprisingly, 75% of people moving homes attributed location-related reasons for their move. Within those reasons, though, are varying desires and motivations.
Jeremy Burbank, the vice president of the Demand Institute, told Construction Dive: “Location continues to be one of the key factors when one moves. Most tell us it’s as important, or more important, than the actual home itself.”
The top reasons related to location people listed for moving were: safer neighborhoods at 30%, closer to family at 27%, change of climate at 26%, closer to work at 25%, and for a new job at 23%.
This flies a bit in the face of conventional wisdom that the majority of people are looking to migrate to infill locations.
by admin | Oct 14, 2015 | Market Data
The owner of Priatek Plaza is considering another high rise in St. Pete’s urban core.
Source: www.bizjournals.com
The owner of Priatek Plaza is planning a new mixed-use tower in St. Petersburg’s urban core. Kucera Properties said Wednesday that it is marketing the site adjacent to Priatek Plaza — bordered by Third Street to the west, Central Avenue to the north and First Avenue South to the south — for office users. The project will be 15-stories and include a 4-star hotel.
This is yet another sign of the resurgence in the downtown St. Petersburg market which already boasts an extremely active restaurant and entertainment scene making it one of the more vibrant downtowns on the gulf coast of Florida.
by admin | Oct 14, 2015 | Market Data
The status of the rental market is buried beneath two seemingly different market indictor reports. However, after a little digging, a new Capital Economics report discovered the likely reason behind the two opposing indicators, noting things are not as bad as they appear.
Source: www.housingwire.com
A recent suggests the rental vacancy rate is currently overstating the true level of market tightness. The reason: A surge in the share of homes, which are vacant, but held off the market. Since the houses are not available to rent or buy, these homes are excluded from the rental vacancy rate calculation. While the numbers are inconclusive at this time, it is worth keeping an eye on to continue to gauge market tightness.
by admin | Oct 14, 2015 | Market Data
Source: www.corelogic.com
Condominium and co-op mortgage originations nationwide rose 31 percent to $39 billion in the second quarter of 2015 compared with $29.7 billion in the same quarter of the previous year. Vertica Partners believes that one of the keys to solving the housing affordability issue is to provide more condo financing for projects.
The last boom saw a massive condo conversion wave where rental apartments were converted to condos at an unsustainable pace. Because loans were virtually handed out to anyone that could fog a mirror it was not uncommon for “investors” to own dozens of units with little to no skin in the game. The problem wasn’t that condo conversions are necessarily a bad thing, it was the manner in which they were completed and the frenzy that ensued.
When done in an orderly fashion with real lending standards in place, condo conversions could be a viable strategy for those just starting out or empty nesters looking to downsize in well located communities offering maintenance free lifestyles.
