Marc Vitorillo

Forbes has declared Tampa real estate as the one of the best cities to buy your next home. CNBC followed suit and has just recently reported that Tampa Florida real estate has the number 1 buyers market in Canada right now.

For Forbes, the conclusion was made by assigning score points for the different categories, which includes Singles, Nightlife, Culture, Coolness and Cost of living, where Tampa Bay scored above average, and only low in the Online Dating category. With a wide variety of businesses within the area, as well as Tampa’s proximity to establishments relating to food, entertainment and other leisurely activities, there is no stopping of the job growth in the area.

As a result, unemployment numbers are really low. As an CNBC video stated, the employment in Tampa Bay remains not only strong but also diverse. Tampa home inventory is high, and there have been many new transfers into Tampa Bay.

Here are Forbes' Top 10 in order:

Forbes says that the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater region is a prime bounce-back market. They predict a classic V-shaped recovery, where the real estate market will experience a free fall followed by a strong rebound. Forbes looked for areas that had a lot of seller’s desperate to strike a bargain. This is great for the Buyers.

Unlike its Orlando counterpart, Tampa Bay in Florida is also absent of the typical metropolitan noise, with homes fashioned in beautiful architectural designs. Yet the city is still very much adorned with the indispensable establishments, housing the best of art and entertainment, shops and malls that features the finest goods and services, restaurants for everyday dining and drinking, beaches and sands, as well as other amenities to explore its unscathed natural beauty.

As an investor, the rule of thumb has always been to buy when the market is low, and to sell when the market is high. Starting to earn its reputation from the many different organizations, Tampa Bay is definitely in a stage where there is nowhere to go but up, especially now that more and more businesses have been discovering the lower overhead costs compared to other major cities.

Even more so, the prices of homes in Tampa Bay has been continuously rising in the recent years, far overcoming inflation rates, gains in stock markets and other investment alternatives. So despite the housing problems, Tampa is definitely in for a ride back up soon. So if you are planning to buy now in the Tampa area, get the bargains while you still can!

Here's something different as we usually hear about pork spending from our city government. The City of Tampa Mayor, Pam Iorio, has saved 330 gallons of gas in just ten months by switching from a Lincoln Town Car to a Toyota Hybrid .

In May of 2007, the mayor traded in her city car, a Lincoln Town Car, for a Toyota Camry Hybrid. How has the hybrid performed so far? Here are the comparison numbers for both vehicles for 9,000 miles.

The Town Car used 580 gallons of gas getting 15.5 miles per gallon. The Camry Hybrid used 250 gallons of gas getting 36 miles per gallon - a savings of 330 gallons of gas. The City also purchased hybrid cars for use in Code Enforcement, Growth Management and Solid Waste.

Those vehicles have been in use for a shorter period of time and stats are not yet available on the savings.

If you are really interested, you can get additional information about the hybrid-pilot program by contacting the Public Works Director Irvin Lee at (813) 274-8580.

Foreclosured Tampa home from Lender is back on market. Possible price reduction soon from Lender. Note: This is not a short sale so closing is much faster and expedited since the Lender owns the property. Call for inquiry.

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