last updated 10/11/09

Home buyers and sellers hear the same grim "news" reports about the housing  market as those of us who are real estate agents.  The media has a bigger megaphone and there are a lot of gloom and doom experts.  Some of those experts just 4 years ago were saying "what bubble?" as prices kept climbing.

Today the tune they are singing is prices will keep falling.  But whether you are talking about houses, dog food, or wigets the laws of supply and demand are the same.  Too much inventory will bring down prices and tight inventory will lead to a rise in prices.  (You can get an idea of the number of homes on the market in areas like South Tampa, Seminole Heights, Riverside Heights, Carrollwood, and Temple Terrace with the searches on those specific pages on this site) 

Real estate is about local conditions. Florida and a few other states took a real beating over the past 3 years.  Those days are coming to an end. I am not going to tell anyone that we will see 2006 prices anytime soon but when you look at inventory in Hillsborough County it already below mid-2006 levels.  The local news has begun to report of sales above asking price with multiple offers, that hasn't happened since around the spring of 2006.

Hillsborough County sales 2009
January 2009	749
February 2009	858
March 2009	1078
April 2009	1120
May  2009	1153
June 2009	1338
July 2009	1397
August 2009	1219
September 2009 (incomplete)	1283
October 2009 (Incomplete)	235

Below are snapshots of our Hillsborough County residential inventory (Condos, townhouses, single family, etc).  As of September 2009 our inventory is below 10,000. A figure not seen since the spring of 2006.  

Market inventory in November 2008 it was still nearly 15,000. 

The last week of February 2009 saw our housing inventory at just over 13,000.

Early April saw an inventory just over 12,400.

The inventory on May 31st was at 11,254 (7,554 single family homes) Pending (under contract) residential sales were 3560.  

 The inventory on June 27th was at 10723  (7,279 single family homes) Pending (under contract) residential sales were 3847.