TAMPA, Fla. — If you’ve been trying to buy a home in the Tampa Bay area, you’ve likely felt the pain of people paying for this price of paradise, but experts think home prices are leveling out.
It’s no secret Tampa has been one of the hottest housing markets.
“In the last two years, it’s been like the gold rush,” said Jess Rasemont, a realtor at Sellstate Legacy Realty.
But Rasemont said the market has shifted and home prices are leveling out.
“Over the past four months, we’ve had a shift in the market. That shift really started mid-June,” said Rasemont. “Now, we’ve had a complete shift in the market. It’s still a seller’s market because there are plenty of people still looking to buy. However, the market is now leveling out, so where prices were crazy, crazy high, they’re evening out and getting to something more manageable price-wise.”
That comes as Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage broke 7 percent for the first time since April 2002.
According to September 2022 statistics for the Tampa-St. Pete- Clearwater market from Greater Tampa Realtors, the one-year change in closed sales was down 36.2 percent, while the one-year change in active listings was up 96.9 percent.
“That picture states to me that there are a lot more houses not coming onto the market for sale, but that there are a lot more houses that are staying on the market that are over-priced,” said Rasemont. “We have homes that just aren’t moving because they have been priced probably by a seller and an agent that were looking at comparable sold houses from four months ago, and in a shifting market, you can’t go back in time that far.”
If you’re looking to buy, Rasemont has some suggestions to keep in mind.
“If you are able to buy at these interest rates being where they’re at, if you’re able to do it, and you buy now, and we negotiate well for you,” said Rasemont. “Then if the interest rates stay the same, cool. It’s all a wash. If they go higher, then you lucked out, and you bought at the right time. If they go lower, you can always refinance. We date the rate and marry the house.”