Today, November 10, 2009 I read in the St. Pete Times that the Tampa Bay are home values have dropped according to Zillow 2.2% between June 30 and September 30. Some of the most depreciated values were in Spring Hill, Dade City and Ruskin.
Now, despite this news the report also stated that some of the 110 communities in Tampa actually saw prices increase in their communities. These communities include Feather Sound and Lutz and Odessa which have always maintained high values. Mostly due to the fact that during the boom years, these communities did not experience rapid growth. I would expect more established communities that are closer to employment or commutes to downtown Tampa or Pinellas Gateway area will continue to see prices stabilize and eventually creep up on a more consistent basis.
Back to the rest of the Tampa Bay! Communities that were built during the boom years like Wesley Chapel, Riverview, Apollo Beach and Ruskin will continue to drop slightly before any stabilization can occur. These homes have dropped in value since 2005 nearly 40% on average. Many of these homes were purchased by investors or speculators who entered the market to soon. There is also an increase of strategic walk-aways.
Foreclosures are still areound and will be here for quite awhile but the dooms day predictions of home prices dropping another 20-30% are too high and most like not going to happen. Now could the Tampa market continue decline? Certainly but it will only in certain communites. The first stage of recovery is among us!
Comments(1)