How Low Are Prices Now?
Newspapers, magazines, broadcast reports, real estate newsletters all report that real estate prices are moving downward in most areas. They point to the median prices as proof that the value of single family homes is falling.
Recently, I heard a television reporter say that prices in the Tampa Bay area are at 2004 levels. That is, that the price you pay for a house today is at about the same amount as you would pay for the same house in 2004.
So, where are those median prices?
In Hillsborough County, the median price for a single family home in October, 2008 was $165,000. The last time the median price was at that level in Hillsborough County was May, 2004.
In Pasco County, the median price for a single family home in October, 2008 was $140,000. The last time that county saw a median price that low was in February, 2004.
In Pinellas County, the median price for a single family home in October, 2008 was $150,000. I searched records going back through 2003 and could not find a month in which the median price in Pinellas County was down to $150,000, but I would guess that it must have been sometime in 2002.
So, I guess the market really has rolled back to 2004 levels. Even earlier in Pinellas!
What does this all really mean?
If you are a buyer, it means that now's the time to buy. Clearly, prices are at the lowest they have been in years and many sellers are desperate to make a sale.
If you are a seller, you need to get realistic about your prices. If you really want to sell, your price must reflect today's market values. If you are asking a price that is based on what you think you could have received in 2005 or 2006, well, the property may be on the market for a long time because buyers just are not going to pay those kinds of prices today.
For more information about real estate in the Tampa Bay area, please visit my website at www.TheStPeteRealEstateSite.com.
Recently, I heard a television reporter say that prices in the Tampa Bay area are at 2004 levels. That is, that the price you pay for a house today is at about the same amount as you would pay for the same house in 2004.
So, where are those median prices?
In Hillsborough County, the median price for a single family home in October, 2008 was $165,000. The last time the median price was at that level in Hillsborough County was May, 2004.
In Pasco County, the median price for a single family home in October, 2008 was $140,000. The last time that county saw a median price that low was in February, 2004.
In Pinellas County, the median price for a single family home in October, 2008 was $150,000. I searched records going back through 2003 and could not find a month in which the median price in Pinellas County was down to $150,000, but I would guess that it must have been sometime in 2002.
So, I guess the market really has rolled back to 2004 levels. Even earlier in Pinellas!
What does this all really mean?
If you are a buyer, it means that now's the time to buy. Clearly, prices are at the lowest they have been in years and many sellers are desperate to make a sale.
If you are a seller, you need to get realistic about your prices. If you really want to sell, your price must reflect today's market values. If you are asking a price that is based on what you think you could have received in 2005 or 2006, well, the property may be on the market for a long time because buyers just are not going to pay those kinds of prices today.
For more information about real estate in the Tampa Bay area, please visit my website at www.TheStPeteRealEstateSite.com.
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 4:37 AM
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