Whether you are in Riverview, Clearwater, or anywhere in the greater Tampa Bay area, real estate always seems to come up at holiday gatherings. Friends and family want to know if now is a smart time to buy, sell, or just stay put, and the opinions can get loud and confusing fast.
Here are 3 of the biggest housing questions people are asking right now, along with clear answers to help you make better decisions for your next move in Florida.
In short, yes. You have more choices today than you did a year or two ago.
Over the past few years, the number of homes for sale has been climbing. National data shows that active listings have stayed above 1,000,000 for several months in a row, something we had not seen since before the pandemic. That shift matters for both buyers and sellers:
In our local Hillsborough and Pinellas markets, it does not feel like the “shelves are bare” anymore. You still need to be prepared and move quickly on the right home, but you are not competing for the same tiny handful of listings like you were during the frenzy years.
More inventory also means homes typically stay on the market a bit longer. That gives you:
If you pressed pause on your home search because nothing fit your needs, it may be worth taking another look. The mix of available homes and the pace of the market in Tampa Bay today is very different from what buyers faced a couple of years ago.
Affordability has been a real challenge, especially in popular Florida areas. The good news is that the math is slowly moving in the right direction.
Two key shifts are helping:
Together, those changes can translate into a monthly payment that is hundreds of dollars lower than it would have been not long ago for the same price range.
Buying a home in our region still takes planning and sacrifice, but it is becoming more realistic again for many households. If you are worried about affordability, focus on these practical steps:
The goal is not to stretch yourself to the limit. It is to use updated numbers and today’s options so you can decide if a purchase fits your budget and timeline.
Many people are still hoping for a big price drop or a “crash” before they make a move. Current data does not support that idea.
Yes, there are more homes for sale than there were at the peak of the shortage. Even so, supply is still too low for prices to fall significantly on a national scale. On top of that, most homeowners today have strong equity positions and much healthier finances than we saw before the 2008 downturn. That makes widespread forced selling much less likely.
Of course, every local market behaves a little differently. Some parts of Tampa Bay are seeing prices hold steady or climb modestly, while a few pockets that surged earlier may be flattening out. But when you zoom out, the bigger picture is clear: major forecasting groups expect home prices to keep rising over the next several years, just at a slower, more normal pace.
That is why trying to “time the market” perfectly is risky. If you wait for a large drop that does not happen, you can end up chasing higher prices and missing out on years of potential equity growth. Historically, people who stay in the market over time tend to build more long-term wealth than those who wait on the sidelines for the perfect moment.
In Florida specifically, long-term demand from jobs, lifestyle, and population growth continues to support housing values. While there will always be short-term ups and downs, the long-range trend has been positive for owners who buy prudently and hold.
