HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, fla — The price to live in paradise may be dropping as the Tampa Bay housing market starts to cool. In January, the Tampa housing market dropped 19 spots on Zillow's hottest housing market list.
Now, inventory in the area is increasing and more homes are selling below the asking price. Local real estate experts said this will be a year of price correction, and it may be time for you to make a move.
“We are in a year of correcting, so the market has been correcting. Florida was hot for so long so it was inevitable to have to slow down a bit,” said Emma Pardo with Compass Real Estate.
Pardo said the Tampa Bay region is officially in a buyer's market, which means there is more inventory available than there are people who want to buy.
“I think there’s more options for buyers more options means more competition for sellers. So sellers have to be a little more realistic on pricing and take a lower price than what they are asking,” Pardo said.
She said that is good news for people looking to buy. We have heard from viewers who are waiting for interest rates to drop before they buy. That is understandable, but when will those rates fall, if ever?
“I don't think you can ever time rates. I don’t think people ever know when rates will ever be at their lowest,” said Rob Pinion of Guild Mortgage.
With that being said, he thinks rates will fall this year. So should you wait to buy?
“If you are buying now and there are fewer buyers in the market because they are waiting on rates to go down - you have less competition," Pinion said. "When rates go down, you are going to have more competition.”
That means the sellers could then be more competitive with their pricing, but Pinion shared some advice comparing mortgages to dating.
“Marry the house, date the mortgage. What that really means is the home is forever; the mortgages are not,” Pinion said.
He said if you buy at the current rate, that does not mean you are locked in forever. If rates drop - refinancing is an option to get a lower rate. There is also plenty of help available to first-time home buyers.
“There's stuff from no money down, bond loans to no money down...VA loans, probably the best loan ever. My favorite is three percent down FHA loan,” Pinion said.
He suggested sitting down with a mortgage professional to go over your options and find what fits your budget best.
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