The average Tampa Bay home price in June broke through the $200,000 level for the first time since September 2008 and became the highest average sale price in the Tampa region in nearly five years. The last $200,000-and-above average sale price in the Tampa Bay real estate market was registered in September 2008, when the average home price was $205,013. The following month, the average price went down to $186,425 and never recovered. That was the situation of the market over the years until June 2013, when the average sale price reached $204,602.
The June sale price of $204,602 represented an increase of 5.6% from the previous month and a significant increase of 18.2% from the previous year. It’s also tens of thousands up from the average sale price in January 2011, which was $134,856, the lowest average over the past five years. The first quarter of 2011 was the time most buyers got their price wishes, as January, February and March of that year posted the lowest average prices since 2006, the earliest year covered by the My Florida Regional MLS study used.
The Tampa Bay market has become a market of joy for sellers, as they have been getting 97% of what they want with an average of just 65 days on the market. Greater Tampa’s housing inventory has continued to fall, and as of June, there were only 6,501 Tampa Bay homes for sale. This inventory can be wiped out in less than three months if new listings do not come up.
Just like many months in the recent past, the $200,000 to $250,000 price range was again the best-selling price range in the Tampa Bay market in June for single-family homes and villas. It accounted for nearly 14 percent of total sales for the month and nearly 13 percent of total sales for the first half of the year. A total of 253 units were sold in this price range, 51% more than the second most popular price range in June, which was the $250,000 to $300,000 price range.
For Tampa condos, townhomes and co-ops, the top-selling price range in June was the cheapest range, which has been usually the case over the past years. Overall, though, with single-family homes, villas, condos, townhomes and co-ops considered together, the $200,000 to $250,000 price range still bested the other price ranges.
June 2013 was also the first time in almost 5 years that the average listing price reached or surpassed $200,000. Home sellers in June listed their properties for an average of $210,903. In the previous month, the average listing price was $199,996. The breakthrough in the average Tampa Bay home price is just one of the many indicators that the Tampa Bay real estate market is well on its way to rejuvenation.