Tampa Bay Area Home Prices Still Falling
In the last year, I don't know how many home owners have told me that they have decided to wait for the market to recover before placing their homes on the market. In their mind, its just a matter of time.
Well, time is not on their side.
By waiting, their Tampa Bay property is most likely going to be worth even less than it is now.
Want proof?
The latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price index reports that Tampa Bay homes fell another 7.4 percent for the twelve months ended January 2010. Only Las Vegas saw a deeper decline in home values -- a whopping 17.4 percent loss. Tampa Bay currently ranks as the second biggest loser behind Las Vegas.
Many economists and real estate gurus are predicting further price softening as the government's home buyer tax credit program of $8,00 or $6,500 comes to an end after April 30th. In addition, interest rates on home mortgages will probably move upward since the Federal Reserve will stop supporting mortgage markets. Moreover, in the Tampa Bay area, nearly half the homes sold are short sales or foreclosures which are sold at less than market value and further drive down real estate prices. Finally, the area suffers some of the worst unemployment in the nation, with an unemployment rate of about 12.5 percent of the available workforce -- and unemployed people don't buy homes.
None of these things bodes well for real estate markets to rebound anytime soon. So, the longer you wait, the less valuable your property becomes.
See why I say that time is not on the side of the seller?
Yes, there was a slight rebound in housing prices last fall. But recent bad economic news has virtually destroyed any gains that might have been seen then. As an overview, Tampa Bay prices have dropped 42 percent since reaching their peak in July, 2006. Prices today hover at about the same level as they were in May of 2003 -- seven years ago!
So, what's the moral of this story? Well, you can probably draw a lot of conclusions but here's the one I like: If you need to sell your property, put it on the market now. If you are waiting for prices to return to some high level, well, you might be waiting for a very long time.
So, sell it now. Take your financial lumps. Get on with your life. Waiting for prices to come charging upward may prove to be a very bad strategy.
Happy selling!
-30-
Well, time is not on their side.
By waiting, their Tampa Bay property is most likely going to be worth even less than it is now.
Want proof?
The latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price index reports that Tampa Bay homes fell another 7.4 percent for the twelve months ended January 2010. Only Las Vegas saw a deeper decline in home values -- a whopping 17.4 percent loss. Tampa Bay currently ranks as the second biggest loser behind Las Vegas.
Many economists and real estate gurus are predicting further price softening as the government's home buyer tax credit program of $8,00 or $6,500 comes to an end after April 30th. In addition, interest rates on home mortgages will probably move upward since the Federal Reserve will stop supporting mortgage markets. Moreover, in the Tampa Bay area, nearly half the homes sold are short sales or foreclosures which are sold at less than market value and further drive down real estate prices. Finally, the area suffers some of the worst unemployment in the nation, with an unemployment rate of about 12.5 percent of the available workforce -- and unemployed people don't buy homes.
None of these things bodes well for real estate markets to rebound anytime soon. So, the longer you wait, the less valuable your property becomes.
See why I say that time is not on the side of the seller?
Yes, there was a slight rebound in housing prices last fall. But recent bad economic news has virtually destroyed any gains that might have been seen then. As an overview, Tampa Bay prices have dropped 42 percent since reaching their peak in July, 2006. Prices today hover at about the same level as they were in May of 2003 -- seven years ago!
So, what's the moral of this story? Well, you can probably draw a lot of conclusions but here's the one I like: If you need to sell your property, put it on the market now. If you are waiting for prices to return to some high level, well, you might be waiting for a very long time.
So, sell it now. Take your financial lumps. Get on with your life. Waiting for prices to come charging upward may prove to be a very bad strategy.
Happy selling!
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 3:56 AM
1 Comments:
Terry thanks for the update I agree with your information
Robyn
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