Anyone else disappointed with Tampa real estate?

[McBain II]

Originally Posted by by-by-baby

I was told by a realtor that just before the housing market slowed down, a lot of people who wanted to buy in South Tampa but couldn't afford it, started to buy in Seminole Heights. You have your good and bad in there. If your not familar with Hyde Park, it is a beautiful place but very expensive. Years ago Hyde Park was really a bad place to live, but investors went in there and started to build it up and it is a beautiful place to live. Seminole Heights have the same old neighborhood feel. Lot's of large oaks a very quaint place to live. Close to Downtown Tampa. I belive that this area will be making a quick come back once the housing market picks back up. Check in the classified section of CD.
I hope this helps.

What are the house prices like in Seminole Heights. What could one expect to bay for a 2 bed/1 bath house? How about 3 bed/2 bath?

[tjax1000]

Originally Posted by saltzman143

Memo to South Tampa sellers: This is 2008, not 2005! Whatever improvements you made to your house are meaningless. You need to revert back to 1998-2000 prices and add a tiny bit of appreciation (maybe 1% a year), and that's IT!

This seems to be true of much of FL. I disagree on the 1% part, historically, I think real estate has been a slightly better investment than that without creating a bubble- I'm not sure of the numbers, but you'd expect some premium over inflation. So, maybe 5-7% annual?

Regardless, current advertised prices are well about 5%, 10%, 15% + annual gains since 2000, in most all cases.

I've struggled to understand this for months. One one hand, we are supposedly entering the next great depression, says our politicians. On another hand, we hear how properties have been on the market for a year or more, how foreclosures are up, etc. Yes, yes, I know some areas are considering upscale, premium type places. But I can't imagine the demand is that inelastic for those areas. Yet prices have hardly corrected. What are the actual sales numbers for these places? Are homes selling? What are the actual sales prices vs. advertised prices? Are people offering 200K for 350K sticker prices and having their offers accepted or something?

Perhaps, the demand hasn't changed for multi-million dollar homes marketed to sports star and Hollywood types. But I'd say anybody making up to 200K a year lives in the "real world" when it comes to spending money. Remember, even your 200K a year guy should only be purchasing a 400K house, using the 2X rule.