Market Report

Panhandle

Hendricks-Berkadia, one of the nation’s largest and most active multifamily investment banking and research companies, recently negotiated the sale of Pine Terrace, a 148-unit apartment community located in Panama City for $4,810,000.

David Oakley, partner, and Royce Emerson, senior vice president, in Hendricks-Berkadia’s Alabama office, and Southeast partners Cole Whitaker, Hal Warren and Jason Stanton in Hendricks-Berkadia Florida offices, negotiated the sale of Pine Terrace representing the seller, ABACO Partners, LLC.

Built in 1983, Pine Terrace is a garden-style, one-story community situated on approximately 9.58 acres of land with a density of 15.45 units per acre and an average unit size of 603 square feet. The 11 buildings house a total of 93,000 rental square feet offering a well-balanced unit mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom floor plans, ranging from 288 to 864 square feet in size.

The buyer was Pine Terrace Investors LLC, based out of New York.

Central Florida

Florida's housing market reported more new listings, increased median prices and an uptick in inventory in June, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors. Closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 23,013 last month, up 3.6 percent over the May 2013 figure.

"Inventory levels continue to improve in Florida, and the months' supply of homes for sale remains stable – all good signs for the housing market," said 2014 Florida Realtors President Sherri Meadows, CEO, and team leader Keller Williams, with market centers in Gainesville, Ocala and The Villages. "Right now, the market offers a great opportunity for sellers, who are seeing nearly 93 percent of their asking price at the closing table. And mortgage rates, though rising, remain historically low, giving consumers more buying power."

New listings for single-family existing homes in May rose 13.1 percent year-over-year, while new listings for townhouse-condos rose 3.9 percent over the previous year.

The state-wide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $180,000, up 4.3 percent from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis (IDA) department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in May was $145,000, up 13.7 percent over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the national median sales price for existing single-family homes in April 2014 was $201,100, up 4.7 percent from the previous year; the national median existing condo price was $205,500. In California, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in April was $449,360; in Massachusetts, it was $320,000; in Maryland, it was $256,608; and in New York, it was $215,000.

Looking at Florida's townhome-condo market, statewide closed sales totaled 10,558 last month, down 7.0 percent compared to May 2013. The closed sales data reflected fewer short sales last month compared to the previous year: Short sales for condo-townhome properties declined 61.2 percent while short sales for single-family homes dropped 54.3 percent. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo said, "Ordinarily, a market that is flattening out after a rise can be of concern. But this market has been in recovery mode and is now catching its breath after a long run-up. We are still seeing improvement in sales and prices, and are continuing to see drops in days on the market, cash sales and short sales. All of these are signs of a market that has stabilized.

"Going forward, we're concerned about affordability. In particular, the difficulty of first-time buyers to access mortgage financing and the lag in providing a much-needed supply of new homes may hold back Florida's housing market."

Inventory was at a 5.7-months' supply last month for single-family homes and at a six-months' supply for townhouse-condo properties – the same level as the previous two months, according to Florida Realtors.

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.19 percent in May 2014, up from the 3.54 percent average recorded during the same month a year earlier.

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Alice Tanchel, Francis Chow and Will Gorman have been appointed to the board of advisors for SightPlan, an Orlando-based software company focused on modernizing multifamily resident service and asset management with its approach to managing work orders, solving resident issues and enhancing asset value.

Tanchel, managing director at Trammell Crow Residential; Chow, chief strategy officer at Renter’s Voice and Ellis Partners; and Gorman, chief architect at Pentaho, are all respected experts in their fields who bring distinct value to SightPlan, according to Joseph Westlake, co-founder of the company.

Westlake said Tanchel’s familiarity with multifamily operations and property development will provide insight as the company expands its footprint. Chow brings financial expertise and platform building to help measure resident loyalty, and Gorman’s technical background makes him an incredible resource to SightPlan’s development and product teams.

The three join two other advisory board members: Nyla Westlake, president of asset management for Trammel Crow Residential, and Stephanie Brown, former vice president at Riverstone Residential.

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Meridian Capital Group, LLC, a leading national commercial real estate finance and advisory firm, negotiated a $31 million mortgage for the refinancing of the RIS portfolio, composed of seven unanchored shopping centers located in Orlando, Tampa, Kissimmee, Sanford and Sarasota.

The 10-year, non-recourse loan, provided by a CMBS lender, features five years of interest-only payments and a fixed-rate of 4.88 percent. This transaction was negotiated by Meridian Managing director Michael Brown and underwriter Adam LeBlanc, who are both based in the company’s Boca Raton office.

The seven-property portfolio totals 200,000 square feet and includes 80 tenants comprised of a mix of restaurants, bank branches, medical offices and retail stores. The portfolio includes West Chase Town Center located in Tampa; The Gateway located in Kissimmee; The Shoppes of East Colonial located in Orlando; Hunters Creek Shoppes located in Orlando; Osceola Gateway Center located in Kissimmee; Sanford Town Center located in Sanford; and Sarasota Palms Plaza located in Sarasota.

Bay Area

Marcus & Millichap, a real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, announced the sale of Townview Apartments, a 46-unit apartment property located in Zephyrhills, Fla., according to Richard D. Matricaria, regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset sold for $2,100,000.

Jason Hague, an investment associate, Michael Donaldson, associate vice president investments, and Nicholas Meoli, senior associate, all in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the local seller, a limited liability company. The listing agents procured the buyer of the property, a foreign purchasing entity, from Canada.

Townview Apartments is located at 38140 Townview Avenue in Zephyrhills. The property consists of four, two-story buildings on approximately 2.83 acres of land. The buildings are comprised of 18 one-bedroom/one-bath units, 12 small two-bedroom/one-bathroom units and 16 large two-bedroom/one-bathroom units. The complex is constructed of concrete block and stucco and was built in four stages between 1986 and 1993. Amenities include on-site laundry facilities in each building and a swimming pool.