2011 Semiannual Wesley Chapel Real Estate Market Report

Nowadays there are three major categories of home sales:  Traditional, REO's/Foreclosures, & Short Sales/Pre-foreclosures.  The last two categories are considered distressed sales with Short Sales/Pre-foreclosures typically being the most difficult to get from contract to close since they require the approval of the sellers' lenders(s) which can take months or even years, and often times those lenders reject the short sale completely even when offered "full list price".  Many home buyers attempt a Short Sale and become exasperated over the process which can be lengthy and uncertain.  (Typically the asking price is not even approved by the sellers' lenders when the home is put on the market.)

In the semiannual analysis of Wesley Chapel single family home sales reported in MLS we see that the actual percentage of "Short Sale" single family homes that sold was the smallest category--at 23% of the total sold.

 It is interesting to note that the actual percentage of "Short Sale" single family homes currently under contract in Wesley Chapel is the highest at 67%!  (It is probable that most of those are waiting for a response by the sellers' lender(s.)  Comparing this high percentage to the actual solds shows that a large number of these will not close and become solds.  This is consistent with analyses by type of sale in the past, reflecting that the volume of actual short sale solds is much lower than those that have gone under contract.

40% of the single family homes listed for sale in our MLS are identified as Short Sales/Pre-foreclosures, 8% are REO's/Foreclosures, and 52% (Traditional) are not distressed sales.

An analysis of the actual sales price to list price ratios for the first six months show little differences in the sales price percentages in the three categories:

Traditional:  95%

REO/Foreclosures:  97%

Short Sales/Pre-Foreclosures:  96%

Currently there are over 300 single family homes listed for sale in Wesley Chapel.

*Information reported from MLS deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Wiregrass to reveal plan for 160 acre park & sports complex next month

The Tampa Tribune reports some details about the park/sports complex that Wiregrass Ranch has proposed:

"A preliminary site plan for the park shows a dozen soccer/multiuse fields, as well as nine baseball and softball fields. It also includes 16-acre and 20-acre lakes for canoeing, kayaking and picnicking. The plan also includes more than 5 miles of nature trails."

The proposed location is northeast of The Shops at Wiregrass and according to the Tribune, the plan unveiling is expected in June

Governor vetoes $6.9 million for Wesley Chapel's Pasco-Hernando Campus

Florida's job killing governor today vetoed over $615 million in the state budget including the $6.9 million designated for the Porter Campus at Wiregrass (Pasco-Hernando Community College) in Wesley Chapel. The $6.9 million was to be the fifth and final installment for construction of classrooms and labs for the yet to be built campus which had planned to start construction this summer.

Pasco County Property Appraiser Wells says we've hit bottom!

Well, the good news this week is that Pasco County Property Appraiser Mike Wells "predicted Wednesday the county's net worth of Pasco real estate will rise in 2012, the first time assessed property values have increased in about five years".  Later Wells was quoted by the Pasco Tribune as saying:  ""We have reached the bottom".  Wells was addressing the West Pasco Board of Realtor members at the time.  Full story

Wiregrass Ranch News

Today the local press has reported updates on two business developments for Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel:

Walmart Supercenter

The Tampa Tribune reports that the 196,000 sq. ft Super Walmart (that has been on the books since 2004) on SR 54 is on the agenda for the Development Review Committee this month. The supercenter will be Pasco's third and according to the Tribune will also have an attached 21,372 sq. ft. garden center. The store won't be built until the widening of SR 54 is completed later this year.

Raymond James Financial

The St. Petersburg Times today reports that Raymond James Financial said Wednesday it has signed a letter of intent for the purchase of property in Wiregrass Ranch and that the campus could be between 300,000 to 500,000 sq. ft. The Times also reports that "the state budget provides $4 million for two new roads at Wiregrass for a business expansion expected to create capacity for 750 corporate service jobs". Previously the Times reported that the future satellite campus would employ 1,000.

The 5,000 acre Wiregrass Ranch development sure is getting a lot of activity and attention these days.  The Wesley Chapel Medical Center is under construction just north of The Shops at Wiregrass on BBD and groundbreaking is expected on the Pasco Hernando Community College Campus at Wiregrass later this year or the beginning of 2012.

May 2011 Real Estate Market Report for Meadow Pointe

Meadow Pointe showed strong single family home sales in April.  Our MLS reported 18 single family homes sold in April with sold prices ranging from $71,000 to $319,000.  One third of the reported sales were pre-foreclosures, 1/3 were REO/Foreclosures and the average reported sold price was $155,080.*

Currently there are almost 70 Meadow Pointe single family homes listed for sale in our MLS with list prices ranging from $100,000 for a "short sale/Pre-foreclosure" sold "as is", to $349,000 for a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom pool home.  39% of the listings are "traditional" sales and  61% are distressed sales.

*Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Pasco County Commissioners likely to slash new home impact fees over objections of Pasco School District Officials

On April 19th, Pasco County Commissioners are expected to approve a "temporary" reduction in impact fees assessed on new homes to promote more home building over the objections of school district officials. The fee generally is used to construct new schools, but according to school district officials the reduction will likely result in additional layoffs in the school district.  (Full Story)  Both Pasco County Commissioners who represent Wesley Chapel are supporting the reduction in new home impact fees.  If you would like to voice your opinion on the matter before the vote, e-mail your local County Commissioner--
Ted Schrader:  tSchrader@pascocountyfl.net ; Pat Mulieri:  pMulieri@pascocountyfl.net
4/15 Update:  St. Petersburg Times editorial on April 15, 2011

Foreclosures rule in Wesley Chapel's 2011 First Quarter Home Sales

The following chart shows the percentages of Wesley Chapel single family homes reported sold in the first quarter of 2011 by our local MLS with foreclosures making up the largest category of all sales.



Pasco may fine banks for noncompliance

Pasco County has put banks on notice that they have until April 1st to register their foreclosed properties or else.  The purpose of the registry is for county code enforcement officers to be able to contact someone in charge of the property when homes are in disrepair or present safety concerns.  Pasco may fine the banks up to $500 per day for failure to register.  Neighboring Hillsborough County has a similar ordinance with potential daily fines of up to $1,000 per day for noncompliance.

Pasco County to slash new home impact fees

Under pressure from the home building industry, Pasco Commissioners unanimously agreed to cut new home impact fees by as much as $10,000. on single family homes.  Examples of a revised impact fee schedule:

Transportation fee currently is $10,302 and proposed is $5,700.
Fire:  Current $248 and proposed is $27.
Library:  Currently at $144 with $15. proposed
Schools:  Currently $4,876 proposed as little as $398.

The final vote by commissioners is scheduled in March.
Additional info. from the St. Pete Times.

Foreclosure sales rule in YTD Wesley Chapel Single Family Home Sales

An analysis* of the year to date sales of single family Wesley Chapel homes reported sold in our MLS shows that distressed sales (Short Sales/Pre-foreclosures & REO's/Foreclosures) made up the majority of the sales with foreclosures leading the three categories.

Considering the general poorer conditions of distressed sale homes, it was not surprising that they sold at a significantly lower price per square foot, with REO/Foreclosures selling at the lowest $/Sq. Ft.:

19% of the YTD "traditional" single family home sales were reported sold at list price or above; 39% of the REO/Foreclosures and 31% of the Short Sale/Pre-foreclosures sold at list price or above.

The longest time it took from contract to close on homes was with two "Short Sale"/Pre-foreclosure homes.  One went under contract in January, 2010 and closed almost a year later in January of this year, and another went under contract in August of 2009 and closed in February of 2011.

There are plenty of "traditional" single family homes listed for sale in Wesley Chapel  and considering the large volume of  REO/Foreclosures & Short Sales/Pre-Foreclosures, it looks like it will continue to be a buyer's market for some time. 

*Information reported in MLS deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

House Renters Beware!

This week the local media has reported on a number of alleged house rental scams in Pasco and Hillsborough, ranging from accusations of forging signatures on deeds to an individual claiming "adverse possession" and renting out homes to unsuspecting renters.


More on the adverse possession "epidemic".  Similar situations have occurred in the past couple of years in New Tampa in 2010 and in Wesley Chapel in 2009.

Underwater homes the new "normal"?

The Tampa Bay Business Journal recently reported that nearly half of homeowners in Florida had mortgages that were underwater (worth less than what is owed). CoreLogic reports that Pasco and Hillsborough counties are in the top 25 counties in the nation with the highest percentage of mortgages underwater.  We are not alone.  CoreLogic, also reports that while Florida had a negative equity of 46 percent, two other states had higher rates of negative equity--Nevada (67 percent) and Arizona (49 percent).  The following video shows the impact on some underwater homeowners in California.

    Government efforts to help underwater homeowners have not yet been well received by banks and homeowners can only hope for an imminent death knell for the housing recession.  That's one bell that can't ring soon enough for any of us.