HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, whose largest city and county seat is TAMPA, was the second hottest residential real estate market in Central Florida in the first two months of 2015, based on data from My Florida Regional MLS.
Of the 18,930 residential units sold in 17 Central Florida counties in January and February 2015, Hillsborough sold 2,907 units, representing 15.36% of the total number of units sold.
No. of Units Sold January and February in Central Florida in 2015
| COUNTY | NO. of UNITS SOLD | MARKET SHARE |
| Pinellas | 2,935 | 15.50% |
| Hillsborough | 2,907 | 15.36% |
| Orange | 2,770 | 14.63% |
| Sarasota | 1,628 | 8.60% |
| Pasco | 1,569 | 8.29% |
| Polk | 1,268 | 6.70% |
| Manatee | 1,203 | 6.35% |
| Seminole | 999 | 5.28% |
| Lake | 879 | 4.64% |
| Osceola | 864 | 4.56% |
| Charlotte | 844 | 4.46% |
| Volusia | 649 | 3.43% |
| Sumter | 154 | 0.81% |
| Marion | 108 | 0.57% |
| DeSoto | 56 | 0.30% |
| Lee | 50 | 0.26% |
| Brevard | 47 | 0.25% |
| Total Sales | 18,930 | 100% |
Based on Total Sales Volume in January and February 2015, Hillsborough was the 3rd hottest market in Central Florida:
| COUNTY | SALES in DOLLARS | MARKET SHARE |
| Orange | $593,755,858 | 16.13% |
| Pinellas | $584,916,854 | 15.89% |
| Hillsborough | $556,557,761 | 15.12% |
| Sarasota | $451,606,949 | 12.27% |
| Manatee | $321,384,579 | 8.73% |
| Pasco | $210,879,856 | 5.73% |
| Seminole | $196,386,568 | 5.33% |
| Polk | $160,645,866 | 4.36% |
| Charlotte | $151,574,848 | 4.12% |
| Osceola | $143,633,496 | 3.90% |
| Lake | $141,263,557 | 3.84% |
| Volusia | $82,144,693 | 2.23% |
| Sumter | $29,425,315 | 0.80% |
| Lee | $28,470,050 | 0.77% |
| Marion | $15,681,187 | 0.43% |
| DeSoto | $7,395,081 | 0.20% |
| Brevard | $5,670,311 | 0.15% |
| Total Sales Volume | $3,681,392,828 | 100.00% |
Hillsborough Is an Affordable Real Estate Market
Based on average sales price, Hillsborough is in the middle of the list. This shows the affordability of housing and the cost of living in the Tampa Bay area. According to The Council for Community and Economic Research, TAMPA’s Cost of Living Index, based on a report for the third quarter of 2014 is 91.3. That’s 8.7 points below the US average.
| COUNTY | AVERAGE HOME SALES PRICE |
| Lee | $569,401 |
| Sarasota | $277,400 |
| Manatee | $267,153 |
| Orange | $214,352 |
| Pinellas | $199,290 |
| Seminole | $196,583 |
| Hillsborough | $191,454 |
| Sumter | $191,073 |
| Charlotte | $179,591 |
| Osceola | $166,242 |
| Lake | $160,709 |
| Marion | $145,196 |
| Pasco | $134,404 |
| DeSoto | $132,055 |
| Polk | $126,692 |
| Volusia | $126,571 |
| Brevard | $120,645 |
| Average Sales Price | $194,474 |
Based on a study by Florida Realtors, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater was the 2nd hottest metro housing market in the entire state of Florida in 2014. It was second only to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area.
A total of 53,879 Tampa Bay homes were sold in 2014, of which 40,095 were single-family homes and 13,784 were condos and townhomes. Total Tampa Bay home sales were 48% more than the sales of the 3rd hottest metro area, which was Orlando with total home sales of 36,519.