TAMPA, FL -- Ask a real estate agent where the hot real estate areas are these days and they’re likely to answer "in my dreams". In a market that has suffered an historic pounding from coast to coast, "hot" is relative.
But then there’s Kristen Pogorzala of Riverview who thinks she got a smoking deal. The 2,400 square foot, 5-bedroom home she and her husband snapped up on Tarragon Drive for $168,000 dollars (including closing costs) was once on the market for $300,000.
"You're paying essentially the same amount of money buying a house that you are for renting", said the enthused first time home buyer.
Real estate broker Sally Bodner has been selling real estate for 31 years and has never seen a market like this. Bodner specializes in one of the faster selling areas of Hillsborough county, ZIP code 33569 in Riverview. She believes the area's proximity to job centers and easy access to freeways explains why houses here are moving.
"Transportation is key today" says Bodner, which may explain why 33647 in the New Tampa area is the king of sales in 2009, with nearly 800 done deals so far this year.
33626, which covers Westchase, is also a sales leader with over 350 sales completed this year. Average time on the market for the Westchase ZIP code, which averaged $282,000 dollars, was a fairly typical 122 days.
Overall, single family home sales in the Tampa Bay Area are headed in the right direction, up 11 percent this year over last, though that increase lags behind the state average. Condominium sales are a whole different story, up 98 percent over last year. Some realtors say when condominiums start to sell, the rest of the market follows.
Pinellas real estate broker Victor Adamo believes sales now are driven less by location, location, location and more by price, price price. He also believes home prices, which have dropped precipitously to an average of $134,000 dollars in Pinellas County, are at or near the bottom.
"We’re still coming down, but you know what? We’ll be right back where we should have been," he says.
The fastest selling ZIP codes in Pinellas County cover many price ranges. The luxury homes of Tierra Verde (ZIP code 33715) are averaging $320,000. The more modest and sometimes gritty neighborhoods of South St. Petersburg (ZIP code 33705) have average home prices of $110,000. Well located homes in good condition that move the fastest are priced somewhere in the middle. Adamo says a quality home priced around $150,000 will not last long in this market.
One of the drivers of this increasingly active housing market is the $8,000 dollar federal tax credit for first time home buyers. The rebate expires December 1st, but the government is expected to extend the deal. The one time rebate that can be applied to the down payment was a big reason Kristen Porgorzala and her husband in Riverview made their move.
Against this backdrop of higher sales are dropping prices. No ZIP code is likely to earn the title "hot" until those buyers waiting in the wings sense that their investment will at least hold its value.
