More prospective homebuyers in the Tampa Bay area are getting disappointed to learn that the homes they would like to see are already under contract. Realtors are ready with similar listings, but most often these “similar” properties do not have the features that buyers found attractive and unique in the first properties they inquired about.
And the most discouraging of all is that there are not many similar listings available. Tampa homes are getting snapped up fast!
In the April 2013 report of the My Florida Regional MLS and the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, the available housing inventory has become worth only 2.9 months based on current selling pace. That’s equivalent to only 6,562 units of homes available for sale as of April.
| Months Worth of Housing Inventory | |
| April 2013 | 2.9 |
| April 2012 | 5.6 |
| April 2011 | 6.9 |
| April 2010 | 8.0 |
| April 2009 | 11.7 |
| April 2008 | 16.1 |
| April 2007 | 14.8 |
| April 2006 | 6.7 |
| Units for Sale | |
| April 2013 | 6,562 |
| April 2012 | 10,434 |
| April 2011 | 14,206 |
| April 2010 | 15,786 |
| April 2009 | 18,363 |
| April 2008 | 21,477 |
| April 2007 | 21,871 |
| April 2006 | 15,068 |
Since 2006, which is seven years ago, the biggest number of houses available for sale in the Tampa area occurred in May 2007 when there were 22,035 units listed for sale. It was within the May 2007 to February 2008 period when the top ten months in housing inventory in Greater Tampa occurred.
Here are the months in the past seven years when the biggest volumes of inventory were listed:
| May 2007 | 22,035 units |
| June 2007 | 22,028 |
| July 2007 | 21,987 |
| October 2007 | 21,960 |
| August 2007 | 21,937 |
| September 2007 | 21,916 |
| April 2007 | 21,871 |
| November 2007 | 21,833 |
| March 2008 | 21,621 |
| February 2008 | 21,547 |
Additionally, here are the months when the highest number of months worth of housing inventory occurred in the Tampa area:
| January 2008 | 25.1 months |
| February 2008 | 22.1 |
| November 2007 | 20.3 |
| November 2008 | 19.1 |
| January 2009 | 19.0 |
| September 2007 | 19.0 |
| December 2007 | 17.8 |
| March 2008 | 17.8 |
| October 2007 | 17.5 |
| April 2008 | 16.1 |
When Did the Inventory Drop start?
Obviously, the drop started the month after reaching the peak in units, which was in May 2007, and in the peak of months worth of inventory, which was in January 2008. Over 2007 and 2008, there were months of inventory recovery.
But the actual continuous slide started in February 2011, when there were only 15,654 Tampa houses to sell, equivalent to only 9.3 months worth of inventory. From this month in 2011 over the years to the present month, it was down, down, down.