One thing I attempt to do with this bit real estate in cyberspace is to keep anyone who may be interested informed of the Tampa real estate market conditions.
And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, here are the latest results from the Bank of America monthly housing survey. First, a little background:
Bank of America surveys real estate agents across the country on a monthly basis. The questions are related to buyer traffic, home prices, seller incentives, inventory, and days on the market, etc. Bank of America uses this survey to give those who may be investing in companies whose bottom line is affected by the housing industry a gauge on where things are going.
As real estate agents, we are on the front-line so to speak, and any changing trends should be noticed by us early-on, so the thinking goes.
So let’s look at the most recent survey results for Tampa, Florida:
The headline pretty much sums it up. Nothing new here really. It should be noted however, that relatively speaking, buyers are pretty scarce in the last 6 weeks of the year anyway. “Unfortunately, we expect the turmoil to continue in Tampa as prices continue to spiral lowerâ€, is BofA’s take, based on the Tampa respondents answers.
And that’s how I see as well. The few buyers in the market are making mostly lowball offers in an effort to stay ahead of the trend in downward home prices.
“There is no trafficâ€, was one of the responses. And while that may be true of many listings, we are getting some level of traffic on most of our listings. In fact, 611 properties have gone under contract in Hillsborough County since November 1st, 321 of them in the City of Tampa. So, yes, there is traffic and there are buyers.
How about supply? The number of homes for sale in Tampa has remained stable since I last reported a few weeks ago. But we still have a great supply of homes for sale with little demand for them, a fact that points to downward pressure on prices of course.
But all of this is very general. Real estate is much about location and much about the product as we know. Some locations and some property types are holding their own, while other property types in other locations, are taking a beating. A blanket generalization, gives a blanket picture.
We have a great tool for our website visitors to use to get a more detailed picture of the market conditions in a specific neighborhood, for a specific property type. It is called Market Snapshot and is easy to use. The data is grabbed directly from our MLS, and the process is automated. Give it a try.
But there is no better way to get a more accurate estimate of value than by getting a professionally prepared appraisal, or by getting a professionally prepared Comparative Market Analysis or CMA. If you are interested in selling or need to sell, don’t hesitate to contact us to get the ball rolling, or to just discuss the market. That’s what we do.
Some data used is from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, all brokers/agents included (does not include private sales or “For Sale by Owner†properties).
Hi –
I’m a commercial real estate appraiser and working in the real estate appraisal review department at Fifth Third Bank. I find your blog really helpful, so thanks for the data. Would you please send me a copy of the entire Bank of America study? I think you included one as a link last month, so hopefully you can give me a copy. If not, thanks anyway.
Also, I like your balanced approach and it seems to me like maybe sales volume is back to the 2002 levels, before the drop in interest rates sent the market flying. And, even though prices have dropped, I think they’re still far higher than 2002. What’s your opinion? Since I’m on the commercial side, I’m not as tuned in as you are. But, to me it’s not all bad, so I’d like your take. Thanks!
Liza,
I’ll send you a copy of the B of A survey results. As for the rollback on pricing: I’ll post on that topic next with some numbers to make comparisons. Thanks!
[...] A visitor commented on a recent post and asked how about how Tampa home prices compare to 2002 levels. We know that prices have rolled back substantially in some areas, with some experiencing more of a correction than others. But just how far have they rolled back in South Tampa? [...]