Real Estate Trends and Tips

March Decline in Bay Area Home Sales: According to a recent article in the Tampa Bay Times (4/9/2014), investor purchases and fewer short sales led home sales to sputter last month. About 2,900 homes sold in March, down 7 percent from a year ago, extending the losing streak not seen in Tampa Bay since 2007. But the drop-off is largely due to climbing median home prices which hit $157,000 last month and which have beaten their year-ago levels for 27 months in a row.

The climbing prices have turned away bargain-hunting investors who helped fuel last year’s housing market.  Approximately 1,200 homes sold last month in all-cash deals, which investors prefer, compared with 1,500 in March 2013. The rising prices have helped underwater homeowners who owed more than the value of their home resurface with equity.

It is safe to say the real estate market is stabilizing, the last of the short sales are pretty much gone and foreclosures have slowed.  Now is the time to sell and buy!