Real Estate Views from St Pete

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Now's a great time to remodel or add on to your home

One very positive aspect of our current market is that it's a great time to remodel. Local contractors here in St Pete and Pinellas County Florida who ordinarily would be backed up for months are available, and often will do much smaller jobs than they've done in the past. Subcontractors are readily available, and material orders aren't backed up. According to the Wall St Journal today, many prices on materials have come down significantly:

  • OSB (a plywood substitute) down 40%
  • Drywall down 35%
  • Framing lumber down 24%
It's not often we can cheer dropping prices, but this is one of them!
8 comments • Sharon Simms St Pete FL - CRS CIPS CLHMS RSPS • November 23 2007 11:27AM

Comments

Supply and demand strikes again. This news about materials' cost is good news. I'm considering a home project or two. 
Posted by Rosario Lewis, GRI ~ DDR Realty, Orange County, NY (DDR Realty) over 2 years ago
Rosario - thanks for your comment. By all means, take advantage of current availability and cost!
Posted by Sharon Simms St Pete FL - CRS CIPS CLHMS RSPS (ALVA International, Inc.) over 2 years ago
I wish the price of copper would come down!  My husband is an electrical contractor and it seems like copper wire is ridiculously expensive...the price really skyrocketed about a year ago.
Posted by Erin Attardi, Realtor - Sacramento, CA 916-342-1372 (Lyon Real Estate ) over 2 years ago
Erin - you're right. Only SOME of the building materials have come down in price. Is your husband as busy as last year there in Sacramento?
Posted by Sharon Simms St Pete FL - CRS CIPS CLHMS RSPS (ALVA International, Inc.) over 2 years ago
Well that's a silver lining. Have kitchens gone down ?
Posted by Missy Caulk-Ann Arbor-Realtor® Ann Arbor Real Estate (Keller Williams-Ann Arbor) over 2 years ago
Missy - the labor probably has, and granite and floor covering probably have, but the best kitchen appliances are certainly holding their own.
Posted by Sharon Simms St Pete FL - CRS CIPS CLHMS RSPS (ALVA International, Inc.) over 2 years ago
Sharon - Once again great information! I had no idea the prices were down so much!!!
Posted by Bill's Blog - Florida Realty Professional - AHWD (Charles Rutenberg Realty) over 2 years ago
Barbara Jo - we get so busy, it's hard to keep track of other things.
Posted by Sharon Simms St Pete FL - CRS CIPS CLHMS RSPS (ALVA International, Inc.) over 2 years ago

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