You've heard it. "It's a sellers' market." Homeowners everywhere across the country have been taking advantage of home values climbing to almost 9% above asking price in some markets. (And rightly so.) But for months, Round Table Realty broker Howard Flaschen has been saying the market could begin to shift.  Howard doesn't mean that a repeat of 2007/2008 is headed our way, with home values plummeting and millions having to foreclose; not even close. But according to Inman reporter Lew Sichelman, the  number of homes selling above asking price is diminishing with more and more actually selling below asking price. This doesn't mean anything is wrong, necessarily. Market prices have been running way ahead of earnings for several years, and it…

It's a great time to build your own new home! The interest rates are low, you can choose every detail to suit your heart's desires, and you know the bones of your house are strong. We specialize in new construction here at Round Table Realty, so we want you to know why it benefits you to have us on your side!
As our super-agent Alan Levinson tells us in this RTR video:
1. Our agents already know your builders and the real estate agents on site! We know their contracts inside and out, as well as the previously-built homes' timelines. We ensure you're getting fair and equal representation, and that no part of the process is left unexplained. 2. You will have a trained set of eyes watching the building process unfold along with you! With so many…

It’s Thanksgiving and, in addition to prepping and planning the big feast, we’re all counting our blessings and recognizing how very fortunate we are. What better way to get in the holiday spirit than to give back right here in your own community? If you’re looking for ways to spread a little of your own holiday cheer, here are a few ways you can make a difference right here in St Johns and Jacksonville:

Send holiday mail to brighten the spirits of members of our military, vets and their families. Deliver your own card(s) to our local Red Cross, or host a card signing party and deliver a whole sleigh full! Check out the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign by clicking HERE. The Red Cross also needs volunteers to sort and distribute cards (deadline 12/4).

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Love having #FrankWhibley at the Round Table Realty to truly help his customers! #PeopleBeforeProperty.

Posted by Round Table Realty on Monday, May 4, 2015

This sunny October weekend here in Saint Augustine Florida, I decided to take a trip over to Segovia by Mattamy Homes. Segovia is a quiet little community of gorgeous townhomes that will change the way you look at townhomes forever.

Segovia is located in the World Golf Village area near all of the shopping and dining as well as some of the best schools in St. John’s County. Nestled among mature preserve area trees are 220 (once completely built out) townhomes ranging from 1507 sq. ft. to 1667 sq. ft. with 6 different floor plans offered.

What really impressed me with these townhomes was the layout of each one. Anytime I view a new community and the models available I ask myself, “Can I see myself living here?” The answer was YES on all three

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Last night, I had an opportunity to attend a Realtor Event hosted by Richmond American Homes at Julington Oaks and walked away wishing I was building a home there!  What a great location and with such a great national home builder.

The community is smaller with only 33 home sites which I found to be quite nice. They are offering 5 different floor plans starting at 2490sq.ft. and up. Prices start around $282,000 which is a steal for this area and location.

Julington Oaks is located near the intersection of San Jose Blvd and Julington Creek Drive next to all the best shopping and dining Mandarin has to offer.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information about this community or any others in the Northeast Jacksonville area!

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New Construction Walkthroughs

What you should expect and demand

St. Johns County, FL - So you bought a new home from a buiilder and its time for your "First Walk".  This walk is called a couple of different things by different people but in essence its the walkthrough that is done approximately a week prior to closing. This is where the builder has invited you to come to the home, ask questions and point out things that you want fixed or remedied prior to your final walkthrough, which is generally the day of closing.

The reason why the First Walkthrough is where you need to be prepared and have your gameface on is that generally the builder is going to point to this walkthrough as the guide you gave them to satisfy you.  If you try to add things

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Mortgage rates are lower than last year.

Lower Rates = Larger Home!

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.17 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending November 11, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.24 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.91 percent.

• 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.57 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.63 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.36 percent.

• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.25 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.39 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.29 percent.

• 1-year Treasury-indexed

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Just when you thought that your home inspector is someone you can trust!

When we were building our first home, we hired a home inspector to check out the work in progress. We did this because we wanted peace of mind- surely this trained professional would be much better equipped to catch construction errors than we were. It was our first home being built from the ground up, and we wanted to feel comfortable knowing that nothing would go wrong at the final walk through. However, during our frequent visits to the construction site, we would find discrepancies that our home inspector had missed. Things that were missed were problems such as the double sliding door to the patio was installed upside down; there were even doors placed on the wrong side of

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Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist

4.4% increase in single family home production

"Meanwhile, the housing construction market is showing some signs of promise. New construction on one-family homes rose 4.4 percent in September to the strongest pace since May. In addition, homebuilder confidence rose in October to the strongest level since June, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index."