City Trends

Waiting until the bottom of the before you buy Tampa Bay real estate?

As Warren Buffet says, “if you wait for the robins, spring will be over”. Recoveries are more quiet and subtle than crashes. Once everyone realizes that things are “back to normal”, it will be six months too late. Maybe we’ll all be at a cocktail party or barbeque saying something like, “I wish I had bought back when…”.

The residential market trend charts for cities show: Median Price, Average Price Per Square Foot, Days on Market and Months Supply of Inventory.

The Big Picture

The cumulative value of residential real estate increased by 92% from 1996 to 2006, more than three times the 27% cumulative increase from 1890 to 1996 according to economist Carmen Reinhart. In “This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly”, Ms. Reinhart shows that real estate cycles are protracted affairs. After boom periods, declines average 35% and stretch out over six years. U.S. home prices are already down over third below their 2006 peak and 2012 is fast approaching, but recoveries in real estate prices are seldom V-shaped. The Tampa Bay metro market has been amongst the Top 5 Hardest Hit markets in the USA, but prices will eventually recover.

Annette, Doug and Dale Bohannon have enjoyed playing a role in the lives of over 4,600 families who bought and sold real estate in the Tampa Bay area, and we look forward to helping you.