Tampa Area Home Prices - Where Are They Headed? (Riverview: short sales, real estate)

[FloridaKash]

I was thinking about renting when I first got to Tampa but started looking at the prices of homes in the Riverview area. It would be much cheaper to buy a home than it would be to rent. Not to mention, it seems like there are more single family homes to pick from when Buying than Renting.

Where do you think Home prices will be a year from know in the Tampa area? Do you think we Tampa has hit bottom and the prices are going to stay here for awhile? Do you think they will continue to drop? If so, how much and when?

I read an article on Yahoo! that 33% of Real Estate Agents believe home prices will continue to go down though 2010 into the first quart of 2011. The article stated that banks have many properties on their books that they have not released into the marked (I believe they called it Shadow Inventory) and will do so in October before their fiscal year ends. The thought is, the influx of inventory of Short Sales and Foreclosures will drop the prices of homes further.

Just curious what others are thinking what the housing market will do.

[Pragmaticus]

Home prices will go down IMHO. Recently bought myself and I am ready for the ride down. The fact that we thought we hedge a bit by what we thought was a great deal combined with no intention of selling soon forced as to jump in. If I were you, I would come down and study the market for sometime in the area you are interested in before jumping in to buy as the way out appears to be difficult for the time being.

Good luck.

[RedJacket]

High unemployment will force more and more people into foreclosure. There's already a glut of houses being foreclosed on. Until the economy picks up, which won't be this year, then expect housing prices to continue to go down. At least another 10-20%.

Patience is a virtue.

[lavender]

If you are going to buy, I would not buy where there is a huge amount of overbuild, like Pasco/Hernando/south East Tampa (inc riverview) anywhere that has had a ton of newbuild in the last few years during the boom.
Where demand has always been, then its worth considering, but as others say, could go some more yet...

[eureka1]

Have the pythons made it to Tampa yet? Serious question. We spent a couple of days in Tampa last Dec and it looked pretty nice

[Ga Jerk]

Originally Posted by eureka1

Have the pythons made it to Tampa yet? Serious question. We spent a couple of days in Tampa last Dec and it looked pretty nice

I think Tampa is too far north for pythons to set up permanent residence. There may be a stray here or there (that could find a warm place for cold nights) but that would be an exception.

[lavender]

I think you dont need to worry too much about pythons, but they do like our climate, and sadly there are too many idiots who buy creatures without thinking of long term consequences (for themselves or our environment)

[58robbo]

it's difficult to tell. most of the people selling have very little say in how much they'll sell for because they are underwater. the selling price on these homes is ultimately the decision of the bank who owns the mortgage. the sad reality is that when the banks were bailed out, the pressure on them to liquidate dissappeared, and this has had the effect of leaving the market distorted and in limbo.

i started looking 4 years ago but with every passing month, something better comes onto the market for the same money. i hardly look nowadays because with unemployment what it is with no sign of it abating i don't see how real estate can go anywhere but down.

having said that, if you find something you really like and find it affordable, don't envisage moving for a long time and don't want to move around all the time, by all means buy.

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by lavender

If you are going to buy, I would not buy where there is a huge amount of overbuild, like Pasco/Hernando/south East Tampa (inc riverview) anywhere that has had a ton of newbuild in the last few years during the boom.
Where demand has always been, then its worth considering, but as others say, could go some more yet...

Hernando's available inventory is down almost 50% to a level very close to pre-boom numbers and the median has been relatively stable for 5 months and previous to that had come down 8% year over year from Jan 09 to Jan '10.

The drop in prices was about 43% for Dec 2006 till now so all the factors taken into account I don't think it will be dropping much more if at all. Certainly not another 10-20% as another poster stated.

That being said I also don't see the prices going up any time soon so a buyer would have plenty of time to rent and check out all areas before jumping into a purchase.

And eureka1, the climate gets too cold for pythons to start breeding and expanding their territory as far north as Tampa. There will be strays that are released now and then but I don't think we will see a growing problem with them.

[bentlebee]

IMO the prices have bottomed out and will stay for a little while low and then go up. Most of the foreclosures have taken place and the ones that will foreclose in the near future are homes that were kind of forgotten by the banks and empty for years. I wouldn't buy a house like that in a million years...but that is JMO!

In the better communities like Seven Oaks (Pasco) the house prizes are already rising and incidentially you will find a huge discount if you are able to either fix it up your self or know some one who can do it for a good prize, because the reason the prize is very low is due to the house completely guttered out and perhaps even the plumbing is ruined...

The county has$ 30 million to buy foreclosed homes and fix them up and behind me they just finished fixing one of the homes and they did a very nice job, and I think the county is not selling it for a lower amount after having used a construction company fixing inside and outside.