A lesson in reading the fine print

A contract error may keep condo buyers from moving into the Water's Edge. The condo towers are one of the Bay Area's most luxurious projects. Owners are in line for a full refund.

Federal law requires HUD to be provided with a property report detailing the project. Lawyers for the project felt that the language in the original contract did not have enough clarity. 109 of the 153 units have been sold since going on sale in 2005. Owners can still move in approximately eight months from now at a discount or get paid to walk away.

The error came as a shock to city officials who were hoping that the project would help revitalize downtown Clearwater.

There are three condo projects set to open in downtown Clearwater in 2008 and 2009.
"Surprise obviously that the law firm had made a mistake on the contract and then obviously some dismay but um... the more that I've thought about it and talked to other individuals I think that maybe we'll squeeze out some of the speculators and hopefully get permanent residents faster than we normally would," said Frank Hibbard the mayor of Clearwater.

Source : http://www.tampabays10.com/

Florida's Existing Home Sales Slower in December 2007

Sales of existing homes and
condominiums in Florida continued to reflect the impact of a sluggish
economy and mortgage financing issues in December. Statewide, sales of
existing single-family homes totaled 8,828 last month while 12,758 homes
sold in December 2006 for a decrease of 31 percent in the year-to-year
comparison, according to the Florida Association of Realtors(R) (FAR).

But some industry analysts see signs that the housing market may be
starting to turn around, with increasing stability in the mortgage sector.
National Association of Realtors(R) Senior Economist Lawrence Yun notes in
NAR's latest market outlook that consumers appear to be waiting for
"additional signs of market stabilization. There are more people with
financial capacity now than in 2005, but many are trying to market-time
their purchase" - which makes the exact timing of the housing recovery more
uncertain, he says. Still, Yun says that 2007 should be the fifth highest
year on record for existing-home sales.

Florida's median sales price for existing single-family homes last
month was $208,900; a year ago, it was $239,900 for a 13 percent decrease.
The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. In
December 2002, the statewide median sales price for single-family homes was
$145,300, for an increase of 43.8 percent over the five-year-period,
according to FAR records.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in
November 2007 was $208,700, down 3.7 percent from a year ago, according to
NAR. In California, the statewide median resales price was $488,640 in
November; in Massachusetts, it was $330,000; in Maryland, it was $293,421;
and in New York, it was $215,000.

Sales of existing condominiums in Florida also decreased last month,
with a total of 2,693 condos sold statewide compared to 3,912 in December
2006 for a 31 percent decline, according to FAR. The statewide median sales
price for condos last month was $187,100, down 8 percent from December
2006's condo median price of $202,500. NAR reported the national median
existing condo price was $221,100 in November 2007.

Last month, interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged
6.10 percent, down from the average rate of 6.14 percent in December 2006,
according to Freddie Mac. FAR's sales figures reflect closings, which
typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

Among the state's larger markets, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) reported 467 existing homes sold last
month compared to 607 homes sold a year ago for a 23 percent decrease. The
market's median sales price for homes was $337,900; it was $368,200 in
December 2006 for an 8 percent decrease. A total of 419 existing condos
changed hands in the MSA last month, down 18 percent from the 508 condos
sold the previous year. The existing condo median sales price in December
was $161,400; a year ago, it was $215,700 for a 25 percent decrease.

"Our area is a great place to live, with beautiful beaches, diverse
businesses and numerous cultural and leisure activities," says John Mike,
president of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches and a Realtor
associate with Prudential Florida WCI Realty. "In December, people are
ready to buy because they want to be able to take advantage of Florida's
homestead exemption for the year. As prices have adjusted to more realistic
levels from the highs at the peak of the boom years, it's opened up housing
opportunities for many more people. And with plentiful inventory, it means
that buyers are able to find exactly what they're looking for from a wide
range of options."

Among the state's smaller markets, the Gainesville MSA reported a total
of 179 homes sold in December compared to 237 homes a year ago for a 24
percent decrease. The existing home median sales price was $188,300; a year
ago, it was $194,200 for a 3 percent decrease. A total of 48 existing
condos sold in the MSA last month compared to 66 condos the previous
December for a 27 percent decrease. The market's existing condo median
price was $135,000; a year ago, it was $161,500 for a decrease of 16
percent.

J. Parrish, president of the Gainesville Alachua County Association of
Realtors and president of Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish, Realtors, notes the
area's diverse business and employment opportunities continue to attract
new residents. "At the height of the real estate boom years, two to two and
a half years ago, the Gainesville area posted more realistic, sustainable
sales and price gain figures," he says. "Our colleges, the university
system, extensive healthcare industry and other governmental entities
really drive the local economy and provide a strong underlying economic
foundation."

Two charts showing statistics for Florida and its 20 MSAs are attached.
One chart compares the volume of existing, single-family home sales and
median sales prices price in December 2007 to December 2006 based on
Realtor transactions; the other compares the volume of existing,
condominium sales and median sales price December 2007 to December 2006
based on Realtor transactions.

The Florida Association of Realtors(R), the voice for real estate in
Florida, provides programs, services, continuing education, research and
legislative representation to its 150,000 members in 67
boards/associations.

Source : http://www.prnewswire.com/

Clearwater Beach Recreation Center may get makeover

On Jan. 17, the City Council is expected to award a $600,000 contract to Oakhurst Construction of Seminole for the renovation of the Clearwater Beach Recreation Center, including the addition of 1,200 square feet of library space.

If everything goes as planned, the library will open in late April and the entire project will be finished by August.

“We’re going to have to phase it in,” Kevin Dunbar, the city’s director of parks and recreation, told the City Council at its Jan. 14 work session. “Our number one priority is to get the library in. The other things in the rec center will be secondary.”

Since the municipal auditorium building that housed it was torn down several years ago, the beach library has been in search of a permanent home. Suggestions have ranged from combining it with a firehouse to closing it. Until recently, it has occupied rented quarters in Pelican Walk.

“The Beach Library has moved out of Pelican Walk and is currently operating out of a temporary trailer in the parking lot west of the recreation center,” a staff memo to the council explained. “This is a priority project and staff is attempting to have the renovations completed as soon as possible in order to move the library from its temporary location to the recreation center no later than May 2008.”

The project was put out for bids and Oakhurst Construction was the lowest of the five qualified bidders. In addition to the construction of the new library area, whole sections of the existing structure will be gutted and refurbished, the fitness room will be upgraded and the kitchen and storage areas will be expanded.

“Twelve hundred square feet of library space will be added but the entire building, which is about 9,000 square feet, is going through various stages of renovation,” Dunbar said.

An additional $64,000 is expected to be allocated to upgrade the glazing in all the windows to bring them up to code and flood-proof them, and add additional windows to the multi-purpose room to take advantage of its waterfront views. Two features that should have been included in the original bid, but weren’t, were millwork for a front counter area in the library, and a separate air conditioning system for the library to protect its books from mildew.

Councilman George Cretekos said that he was told in October that a street sign, directing people to the combined recreation and library, would be ready in five weeks, but it’s still not up. Dunbar promised to look into the matter.

Mayor Frank Hibbard said that he hopes that library patrons will discover the beauty of the refurbished recreation center and rent it for weddings or other events.

“It’s about serving the beach and continuing to have a library out there,” said Hibbard.

Source : http://www.tbnweekly.com/

Name gives motel a Florida feel

The city of Clearwater's first motel is celebrating the beginning of its 61st year.

Tucked between the Belleview Biltmore and Morton Plant Hospital on South Fort Harrison Avenue, Gangelhoff’s Summerside Inn, formerly known as “Gangelhoff’s Delux Motel,” is one of the few family-owned establishments in the city.

It is an old-time Florida motel with shuffleboard, pool and clean, well-kept rooms and it offers visitors a rich mix of friendly accommodations and local history.

The story goes that Fred and Hilda Gangelhoff left the bitter Minnesota cold in 1947 for sunny Clearwater. Daughter Lil Howard remembers the beginning.

“My parents had traveled in the west and they had seen new types of hotels for motorists called ‘motels.’ They noticed that there were no motels in Clearwater, just cottage courts. So they bought this property, moved out all the cottage courts that were here and moved the family – six children – down here.”

Howard said that the family spent their summers at their family owned resort in Minnesota, but the six young Gangelhoffs spent fall and winters at the Clearwater motel working around the property and attending South Ward Elementary and Clearwater High Schools.

“I’ve got lots of happy memories,” she says. “We had people coming from all over the country year after year. Once one of the golf pros from the Belleview Biltmore who was waiting for the hotel to open for the season was staying here. He lost his big diamond ring. Everyone looked all over for it, but I was the one who found it. He was very grateful. It was a big thing in my life,” she said.

Yvonne Silcox, a Gangelhoff granddaughter and her husband Joseph, are the new owners. She said they changed the name to give the old motel a new, fresh and modern sound.

“‘Summerside Inn’ sounds warm, friendly and Florida like,” she said.

Silcox notes that regulars still come every year to take advantage of the location, short distance to the beach, restaurants and shopping.

“Our typical customers are families and people from about 40 to 70 who are snow birds, visiting in the area or have someone at Morton Plant,” she said.

There are also new touches at Gangelhoff’s Summerside Inn. The owners have renovated the rooms and now have high speed Internet and cable. Other plans include a grill area around the pool and possibly a Jacuzzi. They are also considering the feasibility of shuttle service to the airport and to the hospital.

Silcox said that her children are following in the family tradition.

“We’re into the third generation. Just like my generation and their grandmother, our kids help out at the motel and attend local schools.”

Source : http://www.tbnweekly.com/

Strong Buyer’s Market Continues in Florida

A recent report by the Florida Association of Realtors suggests that for the month of November 2007, Orlando saw a 35% decline in sales of single-family homes compared with November 2006, while condo sales plumeted by a massive 55%. Orlando condo sales were a meagre 125, down from 276 sold in November 2006 (already a bad year!). Condo VultureMedian condo prices fell 18% from $172 to $140.5

Statewide, sales dropped by 29% with a median sales price of $186,700, a drop of 9% from $204,500 in November 2006.

All of which suggests that the strong Florida buyer’s market is likely to continue at least into the first half of 2008. Something I’m noticing for 2008 that has the potential to drastically reduce inventory, is the trend for desperate developers to sell off their entire inventory at 50-60c on the $$ to investors who convert the conversions back to rental - and hold. Our business in this area grows daily and I expect it to have a serious impact on the number of condos available for sale by the end of 2008 - which will start to drive prices up again. 2008 could go down as the year of the Great Condo Sell-off. If you’ve been waiting around for rock bottom pricing - I’d start moving, because when the vulture-investors start grabbing condos by the bucket load, you know that’s exactly where we are.

Source : http://www.condometropolis.com/

Boca's Eden condo project may become homes for seniors

Boca Raton - The much-troubled and partly built Boca Raton Eden condo project, once billed as a luxury development, may turn into homes for seniors and an assisted living facility.

Ceebraid-Signal Corp. teamed with Atlanta-based Parc Senior Communities to finish the project that's years behind schedule and has faced financial difficulties. They submitted a plan to City Hall on Dec. 21 showing that they want to change the four-building, 248-unit condo project into 193 senior residences and 82 assisted living units.

That has the residents who moved into the project's one finished building fuming.

"This is not what I spent a half-million dollars for," said Seid Bernard, who attended a city meeting Wednesday to review the developer's latest plans.

Adam Schlesinger, vice president of Ceebraid in West Palm Beach, declined to comment Wednesday.

Angry residents have turned to City Hall for help even though the city can't control what the builders do with the project as long as they follow city rules.

For the developers to build the assisted living facility, they need city approval for a rule change since it's not allowed under current zoning regulations. That may give the city some leverage in wringing added concessions from the developers.

In September, skeptical City Council members granted a two-year extension on Eden's building permits. They agreed to a third extension as long as the developers stick to a stringent schedule. So far Ceebraid and Parc have complied with the city's requests.

Bernard lives in the five-story building that stands next to three hulking, gray building skeletons that the developers boarded up on city orders. He said he would move if Ceebraid paid him today's market price for a downtown Boca Raton condo. The developers have offered those who closed on their units what they paid plus some money for closing costs.

Source : http://www.ccfj.net/

Condo crash burns big, sophisticated investor, too

It's not just schoolteachers, bartenders and other real estate amateurs who got burned by the condo crash. Some big, seemingly sophisticated investors are taking hits, too.

Condo converter Tarragon Corp. (Nasdaq: TARR) of New York just unloaded the 311-unit Floresta Apartments at 400 Via Royale in Jupiter for a hefty 28 percent loss.

Tarragon bought the complex for $83.95 million in February 2006, just after the condo boom ended. It sold the apartments this month for $60.25 million, according to property records.

The buyer was TGM Associates, which paid Tarragon $71 million for an apartment complex in Abacoa in October.

Tarragon has been in the midst of a nationwide fire sale. It said last month that it expected to write off $350 million as a result of the falling values of its properties.

Shares in Tarragon have plunged from more than $20 in early 2006 to less than $2 now.

***

More evidence of a slowing commercial real estate market: An $80 million deal for Vista Business Park west of West Palm Beach has fallen through.

When owner Steve McCraney contacted institutional investors this summer about selling the 500,000-square-foot industrial complex and two smaller warehouse parks, the offering was expected to be a home run that would net $100 million, thanks to a white-hot industrial market. What a difference a few months make.

"We're back to a real market," McCraney said last week.

The winning bidder's financing recently fell through, and McCraney said he's talking to other bidders. Belvedere Business Park in Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast Commerce Center in Martin County no longer are part of the package.

McCraney described himself as "an ambivalent seller." After all, he bought the land cheap and enjoys high occupancy rates.

"If it doesn't sell, we're great with that," he said.

But with residential real estate faltering, brokers say potential bidders are taking a harder look at McCraney's tenants and realizing that many of their fortunes are tied to the housing market.

The housing slump "is affecting everybody," said Randall Greene of Palm Beach Gardens-based Catalfumo Construction and Development. "There's even a spillover into the Class A office market."

***

When German firm Biotest Pharmaceuticals paid $185 million for Nabi Biopharmaceuticals on Dec. 4, it also bought Nabi's real estate at Arvida Park of Commerce in Boca Raton.

Biotest paid Nabi $30.3 million for 23 acres at 5800 and 5900 Park of Commerce Blvd., according to property records. That price was part of the $185 million deal, Nabi told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

***

Has Callery-Judge Grove's 3,500 acres in the middle of Palm Beach County escaped the plunge in property values? One appraiser thinks so.

Gyrodyne Co. of America (Nasdaq: GYRO), the St. James, N.Y., company that owns 10.93 percent of Callery-Judge Grove, said this month that an appraiser it hired valued the land at $205 million as of June 2007.

That's down only 0.36 percent from a 2006 estimate by the same company, Pinal Appraisal Services, Gyrodyne said.

Source : http://www.palmbeachpost.com/