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Tallahassee, FL Real Estate News

By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  3503 Doe Run Road, Tallahassee, FL Click here to Get Directions$900000 4 Beds - 3.5 Baths - Photos Maps & Local Schools Print This meticulously fully renovated home has it all. From the custom coffered ceilings to the shining wood floors, no detail has been overlooked during the renovation process. Each bedroom is not only an en suite, its bathroom has been completely renovated. The master bath now includes new floors, a redesigned Roman shower with multiple heads, and new marble counter tops. The main living area and the kitchen have undergone extensive design changes including wall removal that create an undeniable open and airy feeling. The chef inspired kitchen is perfect for those who love entertaining. This amazing space includes a Thor 6 burner gas stove with an oversized oven,...
Comments 7
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
2801 Chancellorsville Dr #335, Tallahassee, FL Photos Maps & Local Schools Print Click here to Get Directions$239900 2 Beds - 2 Baths - 10890 sqft Lot This sleek updated 3rd floor condo is conveniently located in the desirable NE gated community of Barrington Park between WalMart and Chili's so both are only a few steps away. Condo features 2 BR's and 2 full baths with an upstairs loft perfect for a guest suite or office. The kitchen and baths feature brand new granite, sinks and plumbing fixtures and imported Italian tile flooring. Stainless steel appliances and upgraded light fixtures complement this contemporary home. Publix, Target, many restaurants and shopping are all within one mile of the community and I-10 is within 5 minutes. The neighborhood offers amenities such as a clubho...
Comments 6
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
3043 Cloudland Dr, Tallahassee, FL Click here to Get Directions$220000 2 Beds - 1 Baths - 0.52 acres Lot Photos Maps & Local Schools Print Welcome to your own piece of paradise in Lakeshore! This charming 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom home rests on over half an acre of lush land, offering a serene retreat for nature lovers and garden enthusiasts alike. The property was recently updated with vinyl plank flooring upstairs (2022), a new fence (2022), new appliances (2022-2023) ensuring convenience and style. It also features a 2018 roof, new 200AMP electric in 2022, and 2016 HVAC & Water Heater. The property has an abundance of fruit trees including cara cara navel orange, blood orange, tangerine, peach, lemon, lime, mulberries, figs, olives, persimmon, pear, pomegranate, kumquat, loquat, bananas...
Comments 5
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
528 Truett Dr, Tallahassee, FL Click here to Get Directions$400000 4 Beds - 2 Baths - 0.27 acres Lot Photos Maps & Local Schools Print Coming Soon till 3/14!! Location is top tier on a lot that would be very difficult to find again! Seller will replace roof prior to closing with acceptable offer. Perfect for large family needing extra space. Exterior space with unmatched potential for entertaining large groups or happy pets! Minutes from the Capital, FSU and the highway. Showings start 3/14! Follow This Home
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  Two unrelated events occurred yesterday that really got me thinking about all of the issues and events that affect the Tallahassee real estate market. First was an email from a Tallahassee homeowner who needed advice on her home. She is one of the victims of high unemployment, pay cuts, and lost jobs that have occurred in our area due to the struggling economy. The one chord that really struck with me was when she pointed out that she had worked for the State for 20 years yet had to take a cut in pay to remain employed. This is not the first time that I have seen this occur, and my heart goes out to her. The second and totally unrelated event was an article that was published on the Opinion Page yesterday in the Tallahassee Democrat. Mr. Erwin Jackson has raised a question of the lega...
Comments 6
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Every so often, I like to delve into my web site analytics package to see how many people have been visiting our Real Estate Blog and from where these people are coming. While the top origination points are not so surprising, I am always amazed that many of our visitors come from all over the world. It really underscores the importance of the global nature of real estate. The map above shows that visits to the Tallahassee real estate blog have come from all around the world, with the countries colored in various shades of green leading the field in the number of visits they have made to Tallahassee (on the web of course). Real Estate Marketing Has Moved To The Internet With over 85% of all home buyers starting their search for homes on the internet, it is a wonder that some real estate ...
Comments 12
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  Forty is on my mind today. Yesterday, we celebrated the 40th birthday of my “little” brother Danny, and this month we celebrate the fact that 40 tough months of real estate is most likely behind us. Today, we begin to make the climb up from the bottom of the worst housing market since the Great Depression. Incentives are ripe for home buyers, with federal income tax dollars, low interest rates, and some great buys in the housing market. Sometimes you have to look backwards to see where you are going. Understanding the cyclical nature of the real estate market gives us a long-term perspective on what we should be expecting. REMINDER: The 16th Edition of the Tallahassee Real Estate Newsletter goes out today to subscribers. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s free and you can do so in th...
Comments 2
By Carol Palacios
(Century 21 Manausa & Associates)
Often times I deal with sellers who know of others that are going through the short sale or foreclosure process. My clients find themselves taking advice from those other short sellers and start to formulate ideas or conditions to their own short sale approval. For example, I went on listing appointment to meet with a short sale candidate. The sellers had been attempting to negotiate a loan modification for the last 8 months with Citi Mortgage. The terms of their loan had been modified without any written documentation for them to sign off on or to inform them of the change. When they received the bill they paid it using their retirement funds and later contacted the mortgage company to ask that they send them written confirmation of the modification for their records. Citi Mortgage dec...
Comments 2
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  A friend of mine asked me the other day “what’s the real deal in Southwood?” I responded “The real deal?” He said he heard all kinds of rumors about what is going on in Southwood, that taxes are up and values are down. I told him that I would do a thorough analysis of the real estate market in Southwood, as I knew it would make great material for the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog. So today we’ll take an analytical tour of the supply and demand of homes in the Southwood neighborhood. This post is packed full of information, including four (4) color graphs as well as two (2) important lists of homes. Make sure that you click the continuation link below, where it says  "[click to see market graphs and list of homes in Southwood]" There is a list of the homes that are currently on the mark...
Comments 4
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  Yesterday, I received a great comment by a Destin, FL REALTOR® who pointed out that the shadow inventory of homes has many more components than just the defaulted mortgage pool. His example was of homes in a new neighborhood, developed in 2005, where all of the home owners are now upside-down on their mortgages. As he explained in his comment on the Tallahassee real estate blog, Jim noted Until that whole neighborhood turns over, it is going to have downward pricing pressure. We are talking about hundred of homes within a small radius. So what this means, in a nutshell, is many homeowners in these types of neighborhoods become part of the growing shadow inventory because even though they might want to move, they are not in a position to sell their home. Another Example Of The Shadow I...
Comments 8
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
The Tallahassee area logged 163 single-family existing-home sales in October, down 5 percent over a year ago which is not as good as many other areas in Florida that seem to show gains in every market measured. Of course, those measurements are from REALTOR® MLS reports, which typically do not show much more than 1/2 t o 2/3rds of the entire market activity. The median price for those local sales gained 1.2 percent to $174,000 from $172,000 in October 2008. Fort Walton Beach was the only other market in October to see prices rise, up 1 percent from a year ago. Graph Of Home Prices In Tallahassee, Florida The real estate graph above shows that the average price continues to drop, while the median price has actually been recovering. Unfortunately, the graph does not depict appreciation or...
Comments 6
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
We have been keeping an eye on home foreclosures in Tallahassee for several years now and have warned that a log-jam of homes has been accumulating in the shadow inventory. In today’s foreclosure update, we’ll look at the location trend of homes that are being added to the “distressed properties” list in the Tallahassee real estate market. The foreclosure process begins with a lis pendens filing, so we make sure that we track not only the final foreclosure sale, but also the monthly lis pendens filings in Tallahassee. When we construct a real estate graph of these two important concerns, we find the following picture of foreclosures in Tallahassee. In the graph above, we see that every month there are hundreds of lis pendens filed in Tallahassee, yet the number of foreclosures rarely re...
Comments 2
By Carol Palacios
(Century 21 Manausa & Associates)
Joe Manausa | Century 21 First Realty | 850.523.6118 2398 Continental Ave, Tallahassee, FL 2BR/2.5BA Single Family House offered at $112,500 Year Built 1982 Sq Footage 1,280 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 1 partial Floors 2 Parking None Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION You can enjoy all the benefits of townhome living with out sacrificing yard space, because this townhouse sits on a very generous size lot. The fenced back yard is big enough to grow a garden, put up a swing set for your little one(s) or let your dog run around outside. It doesn't end there other features include 4 parking spaces, oversized bedrooms with their own bathrooms. Master has a sliding glass door that leads to a big balcony where you can watch the sun rise & set. New carpet throughout, newe...
Comments 2
By Carol Palacios
(Century 21 Manausa & Associates)
Joe Manausa | Century 21 First Realty | 850.523.6118 8208 Little Terry Circle, Tallahassee, FL 2BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $134,900 Year Built 1991 Sq Footage 1,228 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 1 Car garage Lot Size .35 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Vacant - show anytime. Home is move in ready. New vinyl floor in kitchen & utility room. New ceramic tile in hall bath. Range & diswasher replaced in 07, refrigerator 02, & range hood in 08. Large fenced back yard. Cartus relocation. Must use Cartus contract Seller willing pay first 6 months mortgage payments with a full price offer. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES - Central A/C - Central heat - Fireplace - Living room - Dishwasher - Refrigerator - Stove/Oven - Yard ADDITIONAL P...
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By Carol Palacios
(Century 21 Manausa & Associates)
Wondering how to write an effective and compelling hardship letter? A hardship letter is your opportunity to appeal to the mortgage company to give you another chance. This should NOT be used to complain about what they have or have not done to make your situation worse. This letter must be honest and represent the facts clearly. If you are pursuing a short sale, the goal is to prove to them that the situation that caused you to fall behind is not temporary and you are not in a position to continue making your payments. However, if you are applying for a loan modification, your hardship letter must prove just the opposite; the situation that caused you to fall behind on your payments was temporary and you are now in the position to make payments and maintain them up to date. You must al...
Comments 2
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) last week announced that the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages originated in 2010 will remain unchanged from the list provided in 2009. The maximum loan limits for Tallahassee and all other areas in the United States can by found in a download-able format in the right sidebar of the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog, or by clicking this link to the list of FNMA loan limits by county. So why does it matter what the FHFA says about loan limits? Because the Federal Housing Finance Agency regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks. These government-sponsored enterprises provide more than $6.3 trillion in funding for the U.S. mortgage markets and financial institutions. The ability of our market to recover and get pe...
Comments 2
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
If you have been following the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog over the past few weeks, you know that we have sporadically reviewed some neighborhoods in Tallahassee, and lately have done the first three units in Killearn Lakes Plantation. Today we’ll take a final look at Killearn Lakes, with a review of its 4th unit of homes. Killearn Lakes Unit 4 is also know as “Grandview” and features homes on lots that range from 1 to 10 acres. As you will see from the following real estate graphs and analysis, home values have held much more stable in this neighborhood than many others in the Tallahassee real estate market. Average Home Prices In Killearn Lakes Unit 4 The first thing that I noticed when I looked at the existing home sales in Grandview was that the trends were not as seamless as Talla...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
All across America this morning, people will be grabbing their morning paper (online most likely) and reading an article that was circulated through the Associated Press about the new home construction industry. As a matter of fact, the article features a picture of a home being built in Tallahassee (and that is how this feed caught my attention). Unfortunately, the article is grossly misleading. The authors of this article apparently do not consider “supply and demand” in real estate to be a factor that home builders should consider when deciding what to do. In the real estate equation, the supply side is filled by: New home builders building homes Existing home owners selling their home Banks and asset managers liquidating their inventory On the other side of the real estate equation...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  I have heard the rumors, have you? Tiger Woods joins the Tallahassee Real Estate Team At CENTURY 21 First Realty? It’s not enough to hear the rumors, but do we have photographic evidence as well? Of course, the picture of Tiger Woods could just be the one where he is wearing the victor’s Gold Jacket after winning the Australian Masters golf tournament this past weekend, but who knows…. Speaking of golf tournaments, I was fortunate to play in a charity golf tournament at Golden Eagle on Monday. The tournament was created to support Christmas Connection and our Winning CENTURY 21 team was sponsored by Stan Kupiszewski. Christmas Connection Serves Basic Needs Of Families This is the time of year when many great charitable groups are raising money to help people who are down on their luck...
Comments 4
By Carol Palacios
(Century 21 Manausa & Associates)
Have you fallen behind on your mortgage payments? Were you successful in negotiating a loan modification with your lender and find that you are still struggling to make that monthly payment? If the answer to any of these questions is YES then you are probably realizing that the best option you have to avoid foreclosure is a short sale. How do you prepare for a short sale? The first step in negotiating a short sale is to list the property for sale. Your lender requires that the property be listed with a Real Estate Brokerage as a condition to short sale approval. Why? Because they want to make sure the property was marketed properly to qualified buyers at the appropriate market value.   Next you'll need to gather all the necessary documents required for review. The documents needed are; ...
Comments 3
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
Many people are wondering just exactly where this crazy real estate market is heading and how to anticipate its next move.  Unit sales have dropped and prices are continuing on a downward spiral. In the past three years, we have seen a very hot sellers’ market change to a very cold buyers’ market, but many people do not realize that there are five distinct stages that we must move through to  transition from a buyers’ market back to a sellers’ market. After posting yesterday’s Tallahassee Housing Report, I received a  comment from a colleague who wanted me to cover this very issue, and she wrote: Hi there, been doing this since 1981 and do have lots of past and present clients really interested in your wonderful information. What is hard to convey for me is that even though sales are c...
Comments 6
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  The Tallahassee Housing Market is undergoing a pleasant change right now. Most of the key indicators signal that we might be starting a recovery. Is it due to the fact that we have spent two years selling roughly 50% of the number of homes that our market history sells? Or is it due to the Home Buyers Tax Credit (both the extension of the First Time Homebuyers Program as well as the extension into a program for all)? I think it most likely is a combination of both of these. I also think it is wise to keep track of what is occurring, as we know that there still exists several reasons why our market is not going to “return to normal” for quite some time. Pending Home Sales In Tallahassee Continue To Rise Maybe the most important trend that we can track from the Tallahassee MLS is the da...
Comments 6
By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
  Home sales in 7 Oaks (Killearn Lakes Unit 3) continue their steady decline from the height of the boom market several years ago. Consisting of 3 and 4 bedroom, single-family detached homes, Seven Oaks has been a very popular family neighborhood in Killearn Lakes for the past 20 years. This seems to be a fairly consistent theme as we perform more of our Tallahassee Neighborhood Reports, both average home prices dropping as well as signs of roughly 20% depreciation in home values since the top of the market. Killearn Lakes Unit 3 Home Sales Decline 71% More and more, we see the number of homes sold in a Tallahassee Subdivision down well over 60%, and in the case of Seven Oaks, home sales are down 71% since the peak of the market. With less than 2 homes sold each month (current trend), i...
Comments 2
By Carol Palacios
(Century 21 Manausa & Associates)
Joe Manausa | Century 21 First Realty | 850.523.6118 4409 Wigeon Way, Tallahassee, FL 3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $150,000 Year Built 1986 Sq Footage 1,950 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking None Lot Size .39 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION This house has so much to offer! Features include grand size foyer that leads to large family room with vaulted ceiling and stone lay fireplace/ New Roof/ Gorgeous wood flooring in most areas/ Good size bedrooms, master has huge walk-in closet and shower/ Spacious dining room with decorative chandler/ Kitchen with new appliances/ Screened patio with built-in ceiling fan/ Gigantic back yard has a huge deck with built in outdoor lamps/ Living room is big enough to be a recreation room and a man cave. The list g...
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