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Tampa Bay Area Home Sales Spike As Prices Plummet Further

Tribune file photo (2008)

The median sales price in the Tampa Bay metro area fell to $145,700 from $199,800 a year ago.

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By SHANNON BEHNKEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2009

TAMPA - Home sales in the Bay area rose more in December than any month since the downturn began. It's a sign that sales prices, which continue to plummet, are enticing buyers.

The number of existing homes sold in December in the metro area of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater jumped 16 percent, compared to the same month last year.

Sales increased from 1,597 to 1,857, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. That's up from a 3 percent increase last month.

The median sales price, however, fell 27 percent to $145,700. It was $199,800 a year ago.

Statewide, sales increased 27 percent while prices decreased the same amount.

In Orlando, the Florida market most like Tampa's, sales increased 34 percent to 1,535. The sales price fell 26 percent to $167,800.

The sales increase is good news, but falling prices could hinder the recovery of the overall economy, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

He's called on lawmakers to include tax credits for home buyers in the economic recovery package being considered by Congress.

"The economy just simply cannot recover as long as home prices continue to decline," he said.

Nationally, December sales rose an unexpected 6.5 percent compared to November but were down 3.5 percent from a year ago, according to the national Realtor's group.

The nationwide median sales price was $175,400, down 15.5 percent from $207,000 the same time last year. That was the lowest price since May 2003 and the biggest year-over-year drop in records going back to 1968.

For all of 2008, there were 4.9 million existing home sales, down more than 13 percent from a year earlier, and the lowest total since 1997.

One encouraging sign — the number of unsold homes in the nation in last month fell nearly 12 percent to 3.7 million. At the current sales pace, it would take 9.3 months to sell all the properties, down from 11.2 months in November.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.

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