In Tampa Bay, Developers Battle for Buyers, Florida Home Mortgage Applicants

Ding-ding!

In the battle to land potential Florida home mortgage applicants for their projects, developers in Tampa Bay are pulling out all the proverbial stops. An assortment of incentives are being offered to buyers and Realtors alike, with pricing specials and commission rate boosts being bantered about.

Joel Cantor has a different idea, however, saying it’s not always how much it costs when it comes to finding a home but where you live.

Incentives to future Florida mortgage loan owners

Cantor Development, which is planning to build Signature Place in downtown St. Petersburg, is taking hopeful buyers on a bus trolley tour of the city the first Saturday of every month.

“I’m a native Floridian, and even I picked up a few things that I really didn’t know about along the way,” said Debbie Newman, sales director for Smith & Associates, who is working with Cantor to sell the more than 203 condominiums and 40 lofts being constructed in the 35-story tower.

Home sales figures are dropping not only across the country, but in the region as well. In Hillsborough and Pasco counties, 1,331 single-family homes and 226 condominiums were sold in July. That’s down from 2,283 single-family homes and 430 condos a year before, according to statistics from the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors.

In Pinellas County, sales also are down. Just 825 single-family homes and 299 condo units were sold in July, compared to 1,314 single-family homes and 648 condo units sold the year before when Florida home loans were more commonly being applied for.

Such changes in the Florida housing market mean fewer dollars are available to purchase new homes and competition to get what is available has been fierce, said GTAR president Brad Monroe.

“A lot of them are offering higher commissions to the agents,” Monroe said. “We just had one where an agent received 12 percent. Normally, the commission is 3 percent.”

State of Tampa Bay housing market

Although the median home price has remained steady, home prices are also slowly declining in response to the market, Monroe said.

“What you need to look at is what did this house sell for two years ago, last year and this year,” Monroe said. “That is a much more true indication. We’re seeing some pressure here. If you’re in a slow market, those that represent the best deals are the ones that sell.”

Many developers are now going the incentive route. U.S. Home, for example, offered a full-house propane-fueled generator for people who bought a home in August, just in time for the busy part of the Atlantic hurricane season. Other developers are offering options at free or reduced rates like flooring and decorating upgrades.

Some are even paying the buyer’s Florida home loan closing costs or providing buy-down assistance.

The goal of all developers remains the same: attract buyers. All buyers. Regardless of their financial situations, once the hopeful owner receives such a sales pitch, the aim is that he or she will apply for a Florida mortgage loan sooner than they would have previously.