Real Estate Information Archive

Some of the Michael Green and Associates team is in Austin, Texas at a Luxury Real Estate training this week. Our team will be able to continue to implement the latest tools and techniques in Real Estate for our clients in the Tampa Bay area! Training consist of marketing techniques for listings and new programs and opportunities for buyers. Training is just one of the many ways our team stays up to date with the best real estate practices! 

Buyers are taking advantage of the extremely low mortgage rates that are currently available and we are thrilled to report that home and condo sales are increasing! With all of the economic uncertainty that we are facing throughout Tampa Bay and Florida, it is very exciting to report that Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales rose in July, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 12 percent last month with a total of 15,517 homes sold statewide compared to 13,874 homes sold in July 2010, according to Florida Realtors.

We hope to see this trend continue throughout the Tampa Bay communities. You can find helpful tips for buyers and sellers by visiting our website at www.MichaelGreenAndAssociates.com. We are looking for more luxury properties to list, so if you want your property advertised on nearly 200 websites and in every major luxury publication contact us today to list your home.

Michael Green and Associates has recently hired Christie Klammer as their director of marketing, public relations and client relations. Christie will work closely with our clients to assist with promoting their properties and also continue to strengthen our brand and name recognition throughout Tampa Bay, the United States and Internationally. Christie will be creating an extensive individual marketing plan for each of our clients to ensure maximum exposure of their properties as well as increase showings for potential buyers.  

Christie joins Michael Green and Associates following an extensive career in marketing and public relations. She has spent over a dozen years in the advertising and media industry and has worked with major private clients such as Anheuser-Busch as well as government agencies such as the Florida Department of Transportation and the City of Tampa.

"It feels like an exciting time to be joining the team," Klammer said. "Michael Green and Associates is a leader in the luxury real estate market, and I look forward to helping to raise its profile to potential clients and other industry professionals."

Michael Green, owner of Michael Green and Associates, said Klammer brings experience, enthusiasm and vision to a new position charged with helping our company grow. "The combination of Christie’s professional experience gives her insight into how to effectively reach our various audiences," he said.

Thanks to the explosion of mobile devices in today’s fast-paced, high-tech world, we can do more things from more places than ever before. As such, many traditional businesses are able to adapt and grow in non-traditional ways. Michael Green and Associates will be joining the many businesses that utilize QR codes as part of our marketing communications to allow for our clients to access specific information pertaining to the Tampa Bay luxury real estate market. 

For those of you that are not familiar with QR codes, QR codes can be read anytime, anywhere with mobile phones – This makes them so easy to decode and convenient since special scanners are not required and the camera of mobile phones can scan and present the information contained in the codes. Applications are available and can be downloaded for your smart phone users at no cost. These codes can be utilized for many purposes and simplify access to information because the consumer does not have to type anything in. Some areas that we can incorporate into the QR code is taking our clients directly to our website, displaying text and images, sending emails and messages and obtaining digital telephone numbers. 

Stay on the lookout for QR codes in our upcoming advertisement and communication materials!

Follow the link http://youtu.be/U_LBb-TMmEU to view this magnificent French Provincial lakefront estate, located in Odessa's gated Northbridge community, delivers the very finest in professional design, craftsmanship, luxury materials, & accoutrements throughout its natural sunlight-drenched interior, as well as absolutely spectacular elevated panoramic views of Lake Pretty, highly-regarded by skiers, boaters, and fisherman alike.  This impressive residence offers a grand foyer w/beautiful high dome ceiling, crystal chandelier, & suspended sweeping staircase; extensive polished Cappuccino marble & Brazilian cherry flooring; extensive Venetian plaster walls; gourmet center island kitchen w/granite counters, top-of-the-line appliances, breakfast bar, & adjacent pool/lakeview dinette & adjacent family room with custom built-in entertainment center; super-luxurious master suite & sitting room; tray ceilings; crown moldings; rare custom exterior & interior columns; gold-leaf finishes; custom cabinetry; 400-bottle temp/humidity-controlled wine room; elegant panelled elevator; 5 bedrooms; 5.5 baths; study w/built-in cabinetry; 2 laundry rooms; exercise/craft room; Jeld-Wen double-paned windows; 2 fireplaces; & circular, pavered drive & motor court leading to 4 & 1/2 car garages. Exterior entertainment highlights include a massive travertine deck, stone balustrades, infinity pool, spa & waterfall w/nearby gazebo, summer kitchen, pool bath, & outdoor fireplace,& covered boat dock w/boat & jet ski lifts. Reduced $700K from original price!

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates go up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.