Out of 179 major US metro areas, 12 FLORIDA metro real estate markets posted the biggest growth rates in the median prices of single family homes sold in the last quarter of 2015, based on data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
With a growth rate of 25.2%, the Jacksonville, Florida metro area posted the biggest rate of increase over the year, with five other Florida metro areas occupying the top ten places in growth rates. All in all, 12 Florida metro real estate markets posted double-digit rates in price increases.
Nationally, price increases also were predominant as 145 of the 179 markets posted increases in median prices. This represented 81% of all metro markets studied.
Here’s a list of metro areas where the biggest rate of year-over-year price increases occured in the last quarter of 2015:
| Rank | Metro Area | Rate of Increase in |
| Median Sales Price | ||
| 1 | Jacksonville, Florida | 25.2% |
| 2 | Toledo, Ohio | 21.2% |
| 3 | Punta Gorda, Florida | 20.7% |
| 4 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida | 18.7% |
| 5 | Topeka, Kansas | 18.5% |
| 6 | Salem, Oregon | 17.5% |
| 7 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida | 16.1% |
| 8 | South Bend-Mishawaka, Indiana | 16.0% |
| 9 | Port St. Lucie, Florida | 15.7% |
| 10 | Ocala, Florida | 15.6% |
| 11 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida | 15.2% |
| 12 | Boulder, Colorado | 14.6% |
| 13 | Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina | 14.3% |
| 13 | Sebastian-Vero Beach, Florida | 14.3% |
| 14 | Orlando, Florida | 13.9% |
| 15 | Naples-Marco Island, Florida | 13.4% |
| 16 | Palm Coast, Florida | 13.3% |
| 17 | Denver-Aurora, Colorado | 12.3% |
| 18 | Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, Florida | 11.7% |
| 19 | Des Moines, Iowa | 11.5% |
| 19 | Mobile, Alabama | 11.5% |
| 20 | Elmira, New York | 11.4% |
| 21 | Chattanooga, Tennessee-Georgia | 11.3% |
| 22 | San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California | 10.9% |
| 23 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, Tennessee | 10.7% |
| 24 | Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina | 10.6% |
| 25 | Fargo, North Dakota-Minnesota | 10.3% |
| 25 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona | 10.3% |
| 25 | Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Oregon-Washington | 10.3% |
| 26 | Florence, South Carolina | 10.1% |
How Has the Tampa Bay Metro Real Estate Market Performed?
The TAMPA-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area also performed well, posting a year-over-year increase of 9.4% in median sales price.
Median Price 4th Quarter 2015 $175.10
Median Price 4th Quarter 2014 $160.00
Median Price 3rd Quarter 2015 $175.00
What About the Other Florida Metro Areas?
All other Florida metro areas studied posted good growth rates:
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 9.4% |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven | 9.2% |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach | 7.9% |
| Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent | 7.9% |
| Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin | 5.7% |
| Gainesville | 3.2% |
| Tallahassee | 1.2% |
Affordability of Tampa Bay Homes
In the 3rd quarter of 2015, the Tampa Bay real estate market was the 85th most affordable market among the 179 major metro areas studied by NAR. In the 4th quarter, because of the big improvement in sale prices, the Tampa Bay metro area moved down to No. 91.
Compared to other FLORIDA metro areas, the Tampa Bay residential real estate market is the 6th most affordable housing market, based on fourth quarter 2015 home prices:
| Rank | Metro Area | Median Price |
| 1 | Ocala | $121,000 |
| 2 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach | $152,000 |
| 3 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent | $164,000 |
| 4 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville | $165,000 |
| 5 | Tallahassee | $172,000 |
| 6 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | $175,100 |
| 7 | Punta Gorda | $178,000 |
| 8 | Palm Coast | $180,200 |
| 9 | Gainesville | $180,600 |
| 10 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin | $185,000 |
| 11 | Port St. Lucie | $187,500 |
| 12 | Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach | $189,900 |
| 13 | Sebastian-Vero Beach | $190,000 |
| 14 | Orlando | $205,000 |
| 15 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers | $220,500 |
| 16 | Jacksonville | $235,000 |
| 17 | Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice | $244,500 |
| 18 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach | $286,000 |
| 19 | Naples-Marco Island | $423,500 |