Affordable Homes in Florida

Of the 19 metropolitan markets in Florida, the Tampa Bay real estate market was the most popular among buyers of existing single-family homes from 2008 to 2011. This market posted the highest sales volumes over this four-year period, and also in other previous years, but this article focuses only on this four-year period because of data availability.

Sales of existing single-family homes in the Tampa Bay area continuously increased year-over-year, by 21.3% in 2009, by 0.45% in 2010 and by 5.74% in 2011. The following charts show the sales performances of the Tampa Bay real estate market for existing single-family units, including those of four other popular markets from 2008 to 2011.

Year 2008

1. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater -- 23,615

2. Orlando -- 16,659

3. Jacksonville -- 9,914

4. Fort Myers-Cape Coral -- 8,272

5. Sarasota-Bradenton -- 7,661

Total Florida Sales -- 124,168

Year 2009

1. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater -- 28,645

2. Orlando -- 23,994

3. Fort Myers-Cape Coral -- 16,260

4. Jacksonville -- 12,022

5. Sarasota-Bradenton -- 8,956

Total Florida Sales -- 162,873

Year 2010

1. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater -- 28,773

2. Orlando -- 26,808

3. Fort Myers-Cape Coral -- 15,148

4. Jacksonville -- 13,092

5. Fort Lauderdale -- 11,548

Total Florida Sales -- 172,462

Year 2011

1. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater -- 30,425

2. Orlando -- 27,400

3. Fort Myers-Cape Coral -- 14,134

4. Jacksonville -- 13,807

5. Fort Lauderdale -- 12,817

Total Florida Sales -- 185,921

The Tampa Bay real estate market maintained its popularity over the four-year period while Jacksonville dropped from third to fourth place in 2009 and the Sarasota-Bradenton dropped from fifth to sixth in 2010. It was Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers- Cape Coral that improved their sales performances.

The Tampa Bay real estate market is the country’s seventh most searched online market in November 2011, according to Realtor.com. Rankings were based on all types of real estate searches, with searchers entering a town, city, zip code or neighborhood, and the state, and one or more optional criteria such as price range and number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

Among the 146 metro areas studied, the ten most searched real estate markets in November were the following:

1 Chicago, Illinois
2 Detroit, Michigan
3 Los Angeles-Long Beach, California
4 Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona
5 Atlanta, Georgia
6 Philadelphia-New Jersey, Pennsylvania
7 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida
8 Las Vegas, Nevada
9 Dallas
10 Riverside-San Bernardino, California

In Florida, the Tampa Bay area was the most popular among online searchers. It surpassed other well-known cities such as Orlando, Miami and Jacksonville. Here are the rankings of Florida real estate markets based on online searches in November 2011:

7 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
11 Orlando
13 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton
15 Fort Lauderdale
18 Miami
35 Fort Myers-Cape Coral
39 Sarasota-Bradenton
44 Jacksonville
49 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay
53 Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie
56 Daytona Beach
60 Naples
68 Lakeland-Winter Haven
118 Pensacola
121 Tallahassee
125 Ocala
133 Gainesville
134 Punta Gorda

Why does the Tampa real estate market continue to attract interest from prospective home buyers? Among the many reasons could be the inclusion of Tampa in many best cities lists, such as Best Cities to Start a Business, Best Cities for Small Businesses, and Best Cities for Retirement. Most recently, Tampa was cited by Kiplinger as one of the 10 best cities to start a business. Kiplinger mentioned the city’s incentives for business start-ups and local nonprofits’ programs geared towards small businesses.

Another could be lower home prices. Much has been said about the drastic fall in home prices in Florida, and the publicity about this must be benefitting Tampa. Indeed, there are plenty of opportunities for cheap investments in the Tampa Bay real estate market.

Other reasons could be the commonly mentioned assets of the Tampa area, which include access to beaches, lakes, and entertainment facilities, lower cost of living, fishing and boating activities, the University of South Florida, the McDill Air Force Base, the cruise ships, and the city’s blend of the urban and the rural.

Come to Tampa. You can explore Tampa homes on Tampa4U.com.

The popularity of higher-priced homes for sale in Tampa Fl among owner-buyers is one indication of the continued strength of the Tampa housing market amid economic uncertainties. From January to October this year, the price range of $200,000 to $250,000 had the biggest sales volume for single-family homes and villas sold to owner-buyers, according to data compiled by the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors (GTAR). A total of 1,298 units were sold over the ten-month period, peaking in August when 164 units were sold.

Overall, the price range of below $50,000 had the biggest sales volume, but this range involves purchases by investors who typically buy in bulk for resale or rental purposes. The other in-demand price ranges among owner-buyers were the $120,000 to $140,000 range, the $100,000 to $120,000 range, and the $140,000 to $160,000 range.

In 2010, the $200,000 to $250,000 price range also had the biggest sales volume, with 1,538 units purchased by buyers. In 2009, a total of 1,828 units in this range were sold, but this range was surpassed by the $120,000 to $140,000 range by 53 units.

Another good data item in the GTAR report is the high demand for three-bedroom homes. This means that homebuyers are still going for the best homes they can afford in the midst of findings that houses are getting smaller and that more and more families are downsizing. A total of 7,954 three-bedroom units were sold in the ten-month period, accounting for nearly 42 percent of all units sold. Two bathrooms were also the most ideal for most homebuyers, as almost 65 percent bought homes with two bathrooms.

The continued drop in housing inventory in Tampa month over month is also a strong indicator of the strength of the Tampa real estate market. In October this year, the number of homes for sale in Tampa Fl fell to 9,857 units, the area’s lowest level in many years. Inventory fell by nearly 10 percent over the month from 10,927 units in September and by more than 40 percent over the year from 16,543 units in October 2010. Compared to 21,799 units in October 2007, the drop is a sharp 55 percent.

With the housing inventory falling every month, the home prices have been recovering. This should encourage prospective homebuyers waiting for further price drops to pursue their homebuying now. Listings of all homes for sale in Tampa Fl are available at Tampa4U.com.

One major reason why families with young children consider the city of Tampa as a serious relocation option is the presence of good universities in Tampa. Good schools nearby are a major attraction for families choosing a place for relocation as they won't need to pay for student accommodation or won’t need to pay for expensive air fares for vacations.

For participants in the Tampa real estate market, the presence of good Tampa universities is a blessing as these institutions attract buyers and investors. University professors, staff and students who don’t want to live in college dorms and staff houses add to the pool of motivated renters or buyers of Tampa homes.

These are the top universities in Tampa:

University of South Florida

The University of South Florida is a public university currently serving more than 46,000 students on nearly 1,600 acres of campus land. Its tuition and other fees total only $5,198 for residents and only about $16,000 for out-of-state students.

USF is widely known for its fast growth into one of the country’s top public research universities, getting more than $300 million in research funding annually from other institutions that include the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

In the U.S. News National University Rankings for 2012, USF is ranked 181st and is recognized for the nearly 10,000 degrees that it has been awarding yearly to its seniors at its campuses in Tampa, Sarasota-Manatee, Lakeland and St. Petersburg.

The most popular USF courses are those related to biomedical sciences, psychology, continuing education and teaching, criminology and finance.

University of Tampa

The University of Tampa is a private university currently educating more than 6,000 students with each of them paying an average of $24,056 in tuition and other school fees and $8,830 for room and board.

The most popular courses at UT are those related to business administration and management, communication, marketing, marketing management, finance and criminology. In the US News & World Report Rankings for Regional Universities in the South for 2012, UT is ranked 23rd.

UT, founded in 1931, sits on 100 acres of one of the loveliest Tampa real estate sites, beside the Hillsborough River and just two blocks from the center of Tampa. In the 2012 Best Graduate Schools list of U.S. News, the MBA program of UT – Sykes College of Business – ranked 138th, same ranking with those of the University of Central Florida, St. John’s University and Bradley University.

There are also three other Tampa schools that provide college programs and continuing education courses:

Hillsborough Community College. This college has been serving more than 47,000 students yearly and helping them prepare for state universities in Florida and in other states. Among the country’s nearly 1,200 community colleges, HCC ranks 30th in helping students graduate with associate degrees.

Art Institute of Tampa. This institute is a branch of the Miami International University of Art and Design. It prepares students to become marketable professionals in media arts, design, fashion and culinary businesses.

Rasmussen College. This college runs a Support+ system to ensure that students achieve their college and career goals. It offers bachelor and associate degrees and accelerated, certificate and diploma programs in business, nursing, health sciences, justice studies, education and technology and design.

With these universities, buyers of Tampa real estate can expect more investment opportunities and families deciding to move to Tampa have good higher education institutions to choose from.

Do you want to know if the Tampa home you want was built by one of the top Tampa home builders? If the home is located in a well-developed community, it’s most likely that your home builder is among the best home builders in Florida and across the U.S. Nearly all of the nation’s top new-home builders have residential
developments in Tampa, as the city is among the top housing markets in the country.

In the third quarter, according to construction industry research firm Metrostudy, home builders in the Tampa Bay area started construction on 1,158 residential units, the highest total of housing starts in the area since 2008.

This can be considered a good sign as this means that home builders are now getting back the confidence in the Tampa housing market and in the real estate market in general. Housing starts also increased nationwide in September, posting the highest rate of increase since April last year, based on data from the U.S. Commerce Department.

Based on the performance of home builders in the 41st Annual Tampa Bay Parade of Homes by the Tampa Bay Builders Association (TBBA), the top Tampa home builders are the following:

1. Home Dynamics Corporation

Home Dynamics has built more than 2,500 homes in South Florida and was chosen as the 2011 Showcase Builder of the TBBA Parade of Homes. Its showcase development,Lakeshore Ranch, has won for the company a Grand Merit award for homes priced from $100,000 to $200,000.

2. Homes by John C. Fowke

Its Villa Ventana homes at FishHawk Ranch were chosen for the honor of being Show Stopper – Home of Your Dreams.

3. David Weekley Homes

Three David Weekly Homes developments won Grand Merit awards. The Starling at FishHawk Ranch and Meadow Pointe were recognized in the price category of $300,000 to $350,000. The higher-priced homes at Starling at FishHawk Ranch were honored in the $351,000 to $400,000 price category.

4. Homes by WestBay

Homes by WestBay won two Grand Merit awards, one for its Starling at Garden District development at FishHawk Ranch, which won in the $601,000 to $700,000 price category, and the other for its Starling development at FishHawk Ranch, which won in the $501,000 to $600,000 category.

5. Southern Crafted Homes

Southern Crafted also won two Grand Merit awards, one for its Stonegate, which won in the $401,000 to $450,000 price category, and the other for its Devonwood, which won in the $201,000 to $250,000 price category.

6. Standard Pacific Homes

Two Grand Merit awards were also won by Standard Pacific, one for its Crosswind at Seven Oaks, which won in the $251,000 to $300,000 category, and the other for its Deerfield Lakes which won in the $201,000 to $250,000 category.

7. The Gullane

Gullane, developer of Lago Di Vita, won a Grand Merit in the price category of $800,000 and above.

8. Towers of Channelside

The Towers of Channelside also won for its builder a Grand Merit in the category of $800,000 and above.

9. Taylor Morrison

Taylor Morrison, developer of Ladera, won a Grand Merit in the $601,000 to $700,000 category.

10.Mobley Homes

A Grand Merit award in the $501,000 to $600,000 category was given to Mobley Homes, developer of Basset Creek at K-Bar Ranch.

11.Avalon Building Corp.

A Grand Merit award in the $401,000 to $450,000 category was also given to Avalon Building, developer of Watermark at Seven Oaks.

12. Water’s Edge

The Water’s Edge development won a Grand Merit award in the $351,000 to $400,000 category.

13.Bay Villa Development

Bay Villa Development, developer of Ravinia Luxury Courtyard Villas, also won a Grand Merit award in the $251,000 to $300,000 category.

14. Lenvar

Lenvar, developer of The Hammocks, won a Grand Merit in the $100,000 to $200,000 category.

The top home builders in the country based on the number of homes sold nationwide in 2010 are also among the top Tampa home builders. Some of these top ten home builders construct houses in the Tampa area through their wholly-owned subsidiaries.

1. D.R. Horton, based in Fort Worth, Texas
2. Pulte Group, based in Bloomfield Hills,Michigan
3. Lennar Corp., based in Miami, Florida
4. NVR Inc., based in Reston, Virginia
5. KB Home, based in Los Angeles, California
6. Habitat for Humanity International, based in Americus, Georgia
7. Hovnanian Enterprises, based in Red Bank, New Jersey
8. Ryland Group, based in Calabasas, California
9. Beazer Homes USA, based in Atlanta, Georgia
10. Meritage Homes Corp., based in Scottsdale, Arizona

Own a home built by the top Tampa home builders. Call Tampa4U.com.