TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — The search for a house with a picket fence might be cooling off around the country, but not in Tampa.
Zillow predicts Tampa's home prices will increase this year.
Tampa's home prices are up nearly 18%, but across the country, it's only 11%.
Realtor Max Powers says Tampa's popularity plays a role.
"We know that home values are going to increase over time. And even if they shot up drastically last year, they might come down a little bit. It's still way higher than what it was a couple of years ago, and is going to keep going up, especially in Tampa," he said. "I mean, now we're living in a whole new world, people can work anywhere. So if I can work anywhere in the world, where would I want to work, it's going to be tablets can be Florida. So even if the market around the rest of the country dips even more, we're kind of insulated here."
Hillsborough County's population is roughly 1.5 million. By 2026, county leaders said it'll tick up to 1.6 million.
Max Powers has personally seen the growth.
"87% of my business last year was from people moving here from out of state," he said.
As more apartments and condos go up, houses aren't meeting the demand as quickly.
Tampa has a one month supply of houses; six is the recommended amount.
However, Powers said right now, it's the best of both worlds.
"Depending on your perspective, it's a seller's market, but also a buyer's market. That you don't see that very often. But the sellers are still selling at a price way higher than what they would have a year or two ago. But the buyers now can get a deal," he explained. "When you look at the list price, this time last year, we had 10, 15, 20% sale price, compared to the list price today, it's 5, 10, 15% lower. So the buyer is getting a deal, but that seller is still happy because they're selling for way more than what they would have a year or two ago.
Brian McCaman is experiencing both sides. He recently sold his home in St. Pete. Now he's on the hunt again, this time in Charlotte. The city that will see the smallest decline in price, according to Zillow.
"What I did notice was real estate was coming down, but it really wasn't in the big chunks that I had seen when I was selling my house in St. Pete, so I had to make several aggressive cuts, not just like a 5,000 or a 10. I cut 25 or 50," he said.
But Charlotte is still looking like a cheaper option than Tampa, at least to McCaman.
"What would be, you know, a $1.5 million home in South Tampa just because of the size of the lot in the house, not to say the house is really anything spectacular, you know that would be a 5 or $600,000 home in Charlotte," he said.
From Powers perspective, the best way to get a deal is to work with experts with negotiating experience.
