As Tampa’s housing inventory continues to fall, buyers have been snapping up
what is available in the market, not letting properties stay on the MLS for
long.
Average No. of Days on the Market
For the second consecutive month this January 2013, homes for sale in Tampa stayed on the market for an average of only 78 days, just a few days more than the average in 2006, a year when the Tampa housing market was at one of its peaks. This 78-day average was also achieved in December 2012, the lowest average since February 2007 when Tampa residential properties stayed on the market for an average of 76 days.
From October 2007 to March 2012, Tampa homes had been staying on the market for 100 days or more, with just a few months posting a number below 100, making the 78-day average a significant indicator of Tampa housing market recovery.
What’s also encouraging for the Tampa housing market is that the fastest-selling price range in January was the $500,000 to $599,999 price range. Homes in this price range stayed on the market for an average of only 55 days.
Fastest-selling Price Ranges:
$500,000 to $599,999 — 55 days
$50,000 to $59,999 — 59 days
$140,000 to $159,999 — 65 days
$400,000 to $499,999 — 67 days
$70,000 to $79,999 — 71 days
$160,000 to $179,999 — 70 days
$180,000 to $199,999 — 70 days
$250,000 to $299,999 — 72 days
Falling Housing Inventory
One reason for the faster pace of home sales is the declining Tampa housing inventory. From the nearly-6-year peak of 22,035 housing units for sale in May 2007, the number of available homes for sale in the Tampa Bay area has gone down to only 6,525 units in January 2013. That’s a big fall of 70.39%. It was also an 11.6-percent-drop month-over-month and a 40.52-percent drop year-over-year. Inventory has been dropping by the hundreds month-to-month since 2007.
Rising Home Prices
Another reason for the increasing pace of homebuying is the continued increase in home prices. In 2012, Tampa home prices increased month-to-month, with just 3 exceptions. The average sale price for single-family homes, condos, co-ops and townhomes in January 2013 was $169,354, an increase of 16.6% compared to the average price of $145,273 in January 2012. Although the January 2013 price was a few thousand lower than the average in the previous month, prices are expected to continue their upward trend. The year-over-year increase in average listing price was 15.6%.