tallahassee realtor: Tallahassee, FL - Market Report for Largest Selling Subdivision - 09/30/11 03:12 PM
Southwood, a planned community in Southeast (SE) Tallahassee, FL, had 115 sales in the last 12 months - the largest number of sales in any Tallahassee subdivision. This is a very well planned community that has something for everyone.  
In addition to many types of housing options (large estate homes, mid-size homes, townhomes), Southwood has many recreational opportunities, parks, state offices, schools, and shopping. 
Of the 115 sales, 24 were townhomes with an average sale price of $147,448; 91 were detached homes with an average sale price of 289,164.
  

Large estate homes in Southwood
 
Townhomes in Southwood
… (1 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Tallahassee, FL Market Report by Quadrants Sep 2011 - 09/30/11 10:48 AM
For real estate purposes, Tallahassee is divided into geographical quadrants, (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest) each with its own characteristics and market conditions.  The North-South dividing line is Meridian Rd that runs south into Monroe St; the east-west dividing line is Apalachee Pkwy which runs west into Pensacola St. 
Here is a breakdown of sales from Jan-Aug 2011:

The chart above shows that for 2011 YTD, the Northeast (NE) has almost half of all sales in Tallahassee.  
Northeast (NE) Tallahassee is in great demand by families since it has the most A-rated K-12 schools.  Homes are generally more expensive with … (0 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Make a Mat for the Homeless - 09/15/11 07:00 AM
A worthwhile project seems to be sweeping the nation - making mats out of recycled plastic grocery bags to give to homeless people and shelters who serve them. 
The mats are thick and soft and provide protection from the ground. If they get wet, they dry quickly and they provide a measure of warmth if they are wrapped around the shoulders. 
Some of them have a pocket that can hold toothpaste and other small toilet articles.
They are easy to make and the materials are free. There are several videos on Youtube that show how to make them. Here is … (9 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Tallahassee, FL Market report Sep 7, 2011 - 09/07/11 09:34 AM
Tallahassee, like most of FL, has been impacted by the poor US economy, but not hurt as much as south FL.  As the line shows on the chart below, sales have been steadily decreasing since 2005, although the chart also indicates that sales may have started to level off.  
 
The bars in the chart above show the average sale price in Tallahassee since 2003. By the end of last year, values had fallen to 2004 prices, with the average sale price in Tallahassee at $180K.  Prices are still falling and the current average sale price is $170K.  
The … (1 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Are You Thinking of Living in Tallahassee? - 09/01/11 07:47 AM
A conversation with Colleen McConnell, Advanced Realty Group, Tallahassee, Fl
Tallahassee is a multifaceted community rich in history, natural beauty, culture and arts, advanced education, and ongoing scientific pursuits. 
It’s the state capitol & home of the FL legislature, nine universities and colleges, historic landmarks, numerous museums, parks, and natural wonders, yet it maintains a small town atmosphere.
It’s not your typical Florida city – there are few palm trees and the beach is 45 minutes away,  but its rolling hills and live oak trees draped with Spanish moss give it a charm all its own … it’s a great place … (3 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Housing for Homeless Veterans - 07/11/11 10:29 AM
Approximately 275,000 American vets are homeless, with mental health problems (including post-traumatic stress syndrome),  substance abuse problems and other problems that require treatment. While the VA is prepared to provide medical services, they do not address homelessness. 
Soldier On is a non-profit organization that provides housing and support for veterans.  According to their website, "Our mission at Solider On is to offer a continuum of care that includes immediate and long-term housing, treatment and recovery for addiction, food, and clothing, as well as medical, counseling and job-related services."
Soldier On runs a 165 bed shelter in Leeds, MA and a transitional … (6 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Sell a home in 13 minutes - 06/25/11 10:52 AM
The headline above was in the paper recently with an article about  Abal Auctions. It said they will sell a house in 13 min ... for market value.   Oh, not really 13 minutes, that's just how long the auction takes. They market for 29 days first and take bids through the internet the entire time up to the time of the auction.  And by market value, they mean the highest bid.  Doesn't sound so hard when you put it  that way. 

They also do minimum bid auctions, which may be more of a challenge than absolute auctions, but they say … (17 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Facebook Fridays - check out these AR Bloggers - 05/27/11 08:44 AM
Join the AR Facebook Fridays group if you want to be "introduced" to new ideas and help out fellow bloggers at the same time.  There are so many interesting and informed people on ActiveRain that you may never meet unless you're lucky enough to be looking on AR where/when they left a post or their post is featured and stays in view long enough for you to see it.  
Here are some ActiveRain bloggers that you'll want to get to know and then LIKE on Facebook:
Elizabeth Weintraub  
Chris Mayr 
Richard Iarossi  
Pamelyn Meller  
Bob & Leilani Souza 
… (6 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Simplify Your Life to Survive the Selling Process - 05/19/11 03:05 PM
Everyone who's ever had a house for sale understands the stress of keeping the house immaculate, leaving for showings at inconvenient times, and trying to live life as usual in spite of the circumstances.   Your best bet is to get it sold as quickly as possible- your Realtor can advise you on how to do that - and once you've followed that advice, here are a few tips that may relieve some of the burden:
Make do with bare essentials.  Pack and store off the property everything that's not absolutely essential to everyday life. The fewer items in the house, the … (4 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Rising Gas Prices Affect Home-Buyers' Decision - 05/18/11 05:44 AM
Inman News reported today that because of rising gas prices, buyers are looking for homes that are closer to their work. According to a survey of 1,188 Coldwell Banker Associates, 89% said that a shorter commute time is of primary importance in choosing a location, while 77% said that a home office is more important than ever due to rising gas prices.
Buyers should keep in mind that gas prices may go back down and they may be happier in the long run if they select a home based the long-term living needs of their family rather than the price of … (1 comments)

tallahassee realtor: ActiveRainPhotBlogger Contest: My #1 Pick for the 2011 Tallahassee Parade of Homes - 05/15/11 12:23 PM

Today was the last day of the 2011 Tallahassee Parade of Homes.  There were 21 entries this year - at least one in every  quadrant of Tallahassee.  All were new construction homes that ranged in price from $149K to $599K. BTW, the median selling price in Tallahassee is $170K.  Winners will be announced in a day or two,  but I  made my #1 pick on the first day of the parade.   
It's always fun to look at the model homes and stay on top of the latest trends.  Most of the homes  were certified Green, which has become very important … (14 comments)

tallahassee realtor: DIY vs. Desired Results in Preparing a Home for Sale - 05/12/11 03:25 AM
In these difficult economic times, most people are looking for ways to cut expenses for preparing a house for sale and one obvious way is to Do It Yourself (DIY). There are plenty of books written, DIY TV shows on almost every aspect of home repair, classes by local home improvement stores, and tons of internet advice on how to DIY. 

You may be talented enough to get excellent results in several areas, but not many are good at everything and although a task may seem easy, remember that experts spent years perfecting their craft to get excellent results every … (5 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Obama’s next campaign slogan? - 05/11/11 01:10 PM
It's discouraging to hear, only halfway through the presidential term, that Mr. Obama has started his campaign for 2012 and is hoping to raise 1 billion dollars toward that end.  Like most politicians (in both parties), now that the campaign is underway, he's probably going to tread lightly in fear of offending big contributors. There go our hopes for making hard decisions that will help our economy.
Barack Obama touched a nerve and warmed the hearts of many Americans during his last campaign with the slogan "The Change We Need". Most of us are still waiting for that change and since … (6 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Make your Property Greener and more Marketable - 05/09/11 01:07 AM
The Bigger Pockets Real Estate Blog is aimed at investors and makes for interesting reading.  I have it delivered to my Kindle and enjoy reading while I have my morning coffee.  Today, one of the articles was Six Steps to Green Any Property, which provided some fairly easy ways to make a property more energy efficient and therefore more marketable.

… (2 comments)

tallahassee realtor: New Phone App to Solve Traffic Congestion may Exacerbate a Bigger Problem - 05/08/11 03:05 PM
The New York Times and Mashable posted an article this morning about a relatively new app being used in San Francisco called Parking in Motion , which is designed to reduce congestion in crowded cities by helping drivers find parking spaces.  Monitors are attached to parking meters and garage parking spaces that send a signal which translates to blue if there is a vacant spot and red for no vacancies on a city map that is shown on the driver's smartphone.  The driver then rushes to the spot where there are one or more vacancies and viola.
The article cautions that … (7 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Redlining or Hesitant to Make High-Risk Loans? - 05/06/11 12:56 AM
Redlining is a discriminatory practice of targeting specific areas, primarily poor minority neighborhoods, to deny them financial services for mortgages and insurance because of high default rates. In this case, the qualifications and creditworthiness of an individual are not taken into account, but are rejected because of the area in which they live.
Redlining became known as such because lenders would draw a red line around a neighborhood on a map, often targeting areas with a high concentration of minorities, and then refuse to lend in those areas because they considered the risk too high.  The Fair Housing Act of 1968 … (2 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Red flag: Buyer has Seen over 20 Homes - 05/04/11 11:10 PM
There are so many resources available that allow buyers to research and "view" homes from a computer that it's no longer necessary to drive all over town to look at every single possibility. New buyers don't always know exactly what they want, but after they've viewed a few properties, and driven a few neighborhoods, it's easier to fine-tune their criteria.
Buyers' Agents normally spend a great deal of time researching and often previewing properties to help narrow the field for their customer and help them meet their timeline with a minimum of stress and frustration.
After many hours and weeks of … (10 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Tallahassee Builders Association (TBA) 2011 Parade of Homes - 05/04/11 01:34 AM
Thirteen of Tallahassee's finest builders will showcase newly constructed homes in price ranges from $149K to $599K at the 2011 annual TBA Parade of Homes on May 7 & 8 and 14th & 15th , Sat 10am - 6pm and Sun 12pm to 6pm.  There is no charge to tour the homes. You can see the Tour magazine online at www.tallyba.com or get a copy at any Publix supermarket.
This fun-filled event is attended by thousands of homeowners looking for ideas, buyers looking for a great home, window-shoppers drooling at the décor and design features and real estate professionals staying on … (0 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Is Your Lifestyle “Real Simple”? - 05/03/11 02:41 AM

 
Tired of too much stress, I spent years looking for ways to simplify my life:  too much work, too many bills, too much mail, too many telemarketers, too much clutter, too many demands on my time.
Over the years, I've read many articles and books on simplifying your life and was inspired by an article I saw once that was titled, "We live simply, so others can simply live" about a couple who had cut back their lifestyle to bare necessities and gave their surplus to charity. When the magazine "Real Simple" came out, I expected it to be … (4 comments)

tallahassee realtor: Wall Street Planning to use Social Media to Predict Performance - 05/02/11 01:47 AM
Andrew Graham, a media strategist in New York who specializes in finance, energy, and public policy posted an article on Mashable.com saying that Wall Street plans to use raw data available on social networks to "reliably predict how the markets for their investments will trend. One London-based investment manager says it will launch a fund dedicated entirely to using Twitter for investment decisions ... by the use of computer-driven algorithms designed to buy and sell massive volumes of stocks, bonds, options, and other financial instruments on their own".
The article explains that currently computers make most trading decisions (between 46 and 73%) but competition … (1 comments)