Tampa Real Estate Market Update – March 2015

Tampa Real Estate Market Update – March 2015

 

Tampa Real Estate:  Up, up, and Away?

Well, it would appear so, looking at the data released for March 2015.  Of course, never is everything exactly as it seems.

First, the good news.  And it is very good news indeed.

Looking at the actual number of sold homes, March 2015 registered 2,071 properties sold.  This is an excellent number, the highest in more than five years, or since the real estate recovery began. In fact, looking back to January of this year there were 1,254 sales.  The March figures reflect an increase of 65%, by any measure, a remarkable increase.  This is great to see, because it tells us that housing demand is strong.  See the chart below for a graph depicting the data for the last 3 years.

On the other hand, Active Listings rebounded from the Winter lows and in March 2015 stood at 5,754 up from the January low of 5,324 but well below the recovery high if 6,692 seen in August of 2014.

And this is the not so good news.  The inventory of properties listed for sale is not meeting the demand.  Using the March data of 5,754 listed for sale and the actual sales of 2,071 results in what is known an Absorption Rate of 2.78 which by any measure is s strong Seller’s Market.  Bottom line:  for longer term continued strength of the real estate market the interest of the buyers and sellers need to be more in balance.  See chart below:

Lastly, it is not surprising, given the low inventory numbers and the high housing demand, that prices continue to rise.

As seen in the chart below, the current Median Price stands at $187,500 up 15% from $162,500 in January of this year.  However that figure still stand below the recovery high of $195,000 reached in July of 2013.  See the chart below for the price trends of the last 3 years.

To recap, the overall real estate market in the Tampa area remains healthy and strong, with the only kink in the armor being the low housing inventory numbers.  At some point down the road, this will change.  Either demand will slow or more folks decide to sell.  In the end, it will probably be a combination of both, prompted by external factors.  For now though, all is good!

Search for any Tampa Bay area home or area here.  If you want to know what is happening in your particular neck of the woods, get in touch with us, we would be happy to bring you up to speed.  You can reach us by calling/texting Mary at 813-245-9677 or via email at Mary@TampaTodayRealEstate.com.