While the Tampa Bay real estate market remains strong, in July it was visibly affected by a lack of homes for sale and too many buyer's vying for the same houses. As the number of available inventory homes dropped, so did the amount of home sales and the average home prices. But the time homes stayed on the market went down month-over-month, demonstrating that our housing market is definitely not slowing down.
The total number of home sales in the tri-county area in July was 7,002. Hillsborough had a total of 3,131 sales, Pasco had 1,450, and Pinellas had 2,421. In Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas, the total amount of home sales went down both month-over-month and year-over-year. Across all three counties, the number of homes sold decreased by 14% since June 2017 and 0.1% since July 2016. As previously mentioned, this decrease has less to do with the market slowing down and more to do with the lack of inventory. Additionally, last month was the busiest month of the year with 8,146 homes sold, so it is to be expected that July would see a decrease as a continued increase in home sales is unsustainable and unlikley.
Average home prices saw a 6% increase year-over-year and a 3.2% decrease month-over-month. To be up 6% year-over-year is a sign of a strong market, and a small, one-month decrease does not imply that the market is in trouble. A true turn in the market will be signaled by a pattern of average home prices consistently decreasing over several months. In July, average home prices in Hillsborough county were at $247,420, in Pasco county were at $198,111, and in Pinellas county were at $270,685. Interestingly, Pasco county actually saw an increase in average sales price of 3.2%, from $191,808 to $198,111 month-over-month.
Continuing a year-long trend, the median time a home was on the market before being sold dropped by 1 day since June (to 21 days), so it is still taking the average home less than a month to sell. This is another indicator that there is not enough inventory available for those who are looking to buy and that the Tampa Bay area real estate market is still on fire. Sellers interested in listing their home should do so soon to take advantage of the surplus of current buyers.
Remember, though, real estate is hyper-local and what's happening in your neighborhood could dramatically differ from someone else's. If you're looking for a customized analysis of your home's current value or help in deciding whether it's the right time for you to buy in your dream community, contact me directly and I'd be happy to provide local, expert advice.
Philippa Main 813.317.5556 PMain@KW.com Keller Williams Tampa Properties 5020 W Linebaugh Ave #100 Tampa, FL 33618