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THE PINELLAS COUNTY OIL REPORT - COMPILED BY TAMMY

Check The Pinellas Oil Report to get the latest news about the oil spill's impact on our homes, beaches, and economy.

1. BP reports progress on oil cap; Gulf Coast waits
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – July 12, 2010 – Underwater robots steadily assembled heavy metal
pieces Monday as BP prepared to install a tighter cap over its busted well at the bottom of the
Gulf of Mexico, offering hopeful signs that it could soon bring the gusher under control.
(Click here for the entire article)

2. At BP claim center, varying success for applicants
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) – July 12, 2010 – It is a tale of two claims.
In Gov. Charlie Crist’s visit Friday to a BP claims processing center here, he heard from a
business owner who was happy with the movement of her case, and one who tearfully said
she’d received no help. (Click here for the entire article)

3. Oil spill: State officials consider appraisal challenges, tax breaks
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – July 9, 2010 -- Oil flowed throughout state government Thursday as
multiple players chimed in on the worst man-made environmental disaster to befall Florida's
Gulf of Mexico coast. (Click here for the entire article)

4. Florida Realtors holds oil spill recovery forum
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – July 9, 2010 – It was standing room only at the Florida Realtors
Oil Spill Recovery Town Hall Meeting hosted today at the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors.
More than 130 Realtors, business leaders and area officials voiced concerns over the Gulf oil spill
to BP representatives, asking tough questions about the company’s claims process.
(Click here for the entire article)

5. Realtors along Gulf lose contracts, hope as spill halts recovery of fragile market
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – June 28, 2010 – Panhandle Realtor Deborah Orr has lost four
home sales since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill branded the Sunshine State with a tar-spattered
scarlet letter. She’s got the e-mails and canceled contracts to prove it.
(Click here for the entire article)

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GOVERNMENT PROGRAM NEWS

NEW "HOME AFFORDABLE FORECLOSURE ALTERNATIVE"
(HAFA) GOVERNMENT PROGRAM BEGINS APRIL 5TH

Designed to increase and streamline short sales of homes facing foreclosure, the new
government program offers cash incentives to both homeowners and lenders.

Some provisions include the following:
– Up to $1500 cash for homeowners for relocation expenses
– 30-day deadline for lenders to make offer
– $1000 incentive for lenders that complete short sales

(Click here for all the specific details of the program from ustreas.gov)

GOVERNMENT FORECLOSURE HELP PROGRAM
NOW INCLUDES HELP FOR 2ND MORTGAGES (4-28-09)

"The Obama Administration today announced details of new efforts to help bring relief to
responsible homeowners under the Making Home Affordable Program, including an effort
to achieve greater affordability for homeowners by lowering payments on their second
mortgages as well as a set of measures to help underwater borrowers stay in their homes."
(Click here to learn more)

IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BUY!

The Florida Association of Realtors has put together a fantastic website with tons of great
reasons to buy a Florida home right now. (Click here to learn more)

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TAMMY'S TOP FLORIDA REAL ESTATE NEWS
FROM THE FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
(COMPILED AT 12:12PM, FRIDAY, JULY 16TH, 2010)

1. Homes lost to foreclosure on track for 1M in 2010
LOS ANGELES (AP) – July 15, 2010 – More than 1 million American households are likely to lose
their homes to foreclosure this year, as lenders work their way through a huge backlog of borrowers
who have fallen behind on their loans. (Click here for the entire article)

2. Some banks lower appraisals, killing sales
WASHINGTON – July 13, 2010 – It’s a common Realtor complaint: A property going to contract
appraises for less than expected. The buyer cannot put more down; the seller will not lower the price;
the sale falls apart. (Click here for the entire article)

3. Low prices, cheap loans: But where are all the homebuyers?
PHILADELPHIA – July 8, 2010 – On paper, it’s the chance of a lifetime, a golden opportunity not
to be missed. Mortgage interest rates are at their lowest since 1971. Home prices have reached their
lowest point since 2002, says IHS Global Insight Inc. economist Patrick Newport, and appear to be
stabilizing. (Click here for the entire article)

4. NAR: International interest in U.S. homeownership increases
WASHINGTON – July 8, 2010 – International homebuyers are increasingly attracted to property in
the U.S., according to the National Association of Realtors®’ 2010 Profile of International Home
Buying Activity. Several factors, including the strength of the dollar, the value and desirability of U.S.
real estate, and the emerging economic recovery, continue to drive international interest in owning a
home in this country. (Click here for the entire article)

5. Short sales not immune to debt collectors
ORLANDO, Fla. – July 6, 2010 – With more than half of the Central Florida’s homeowners owing
more for their homes than the properties are worth, the question for some has become: How do I get
out of this? Of all the existing-home sales reported by Realtors in the core Orlando market in May,
23 percent were short sales. They are called “short” sales because the sales price come up “short”
of, or less than, the amount owed on the mortgage. (Click here for the entire article)

6. Pending home sales drop as expected
WASHINGTON – July 1, 2010 – Following a surge driven by the homebuyer tax credit, pending
home sales fell, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). To qualify for the credit,
homebuyers needed a signed contract by April 30, 2010. (Click here for the entire article)

7. Foreclosures: One-third of Fla. sales
WASHINGTON – June 30, 2010 – According to a new report from RealtyTrac, foreclosure homes
accounted for 31 percent of all residential sales in the first quarter of 2010. Additionally, the average
sales price of properties sold while in some stage of foreclosure was nearly 27 percent below the
average sales price of properties not in the foreclosure process. (Click here for the entire article)

8. Buyers drive hard bargains in a tough market
NEW YORK – June 29, 2010 – Unrealistic buyers are ruining the deal for sellers who are unwilling
to make extreme concessions, some real estate practitioners complain.
(Click here for the entire article)

9. Home prices rise 0.8% in April from March
NEW YORK (AP) – June 29, 2010 – Home prices in April rose for the first time in seven months
as government tax incentives helped to bolster the housing market. (Click here for the entire article)

10. Florida’s existing home, condo sales rise in May
ORLANDO, Fla., June 22, 2010 – Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 18 percent in May,
marking 21 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to
the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. (Click here for the entire article)

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LATEST HOUSING MARKET INDICATORS

PINELLAS COUNTY REAL ESTATE SALES STATISTICS
JUNE 15, 2010 (MAY 2010 DATA)
(FROM TAMPABAYREALTOR.COM)

Pinellas county existing home sales (units):
(month-to-previous-year comparison)
UP 27.6%

Pinellas county existing condo sales (units):
(month-to-previous-year comparison)
UP 37.7%

Pinellas county existing home median price:
(month-to-previous-year comparison)
DOWN 4.3% TO $138,800

Pinellas county existing condo median price:
(month-to-previous-year comparison)
DOWN 8.6% TO $118,800

(Click here for more detailed Pinellas county information)

STATE OF FLORIDA REAL ESTATE SALES STATISTICS
JUNE 22, 2010 (MAY 2010 DATA)
(FROM FLORIDAREALTORS.ORG)

Florida existing home sales:
(month-to-previous-year comparison)
UP 18%

Florida existing condo sales:
(month-to-previous-year comparison)
UP 40%

Florida existing home median price:
(month-to-previous-year comparison)
DOWN 2% TO $140,400

Florida existing condo median price:
(month-to-previous-year comparison)
DOWN 13% TO $98,700

(Click here for more detailed Florida information)

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LATEST EMAIL FROM TAMMY TAYLOR
(SENT JUNE 19, 2010)
(Click here to send a request to Tammy to join her mailing list)

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