Home prices in Tampa Bay are dropping mainly because of the new REO bank owned properties that are added to foreclosure listings each week. Surprisingly, home sales activity for the area increased.
During the early 2010, median home price was at $130,500, but has recently fallen to just $110,000. The latest amount is actually just half of the June 2006 amount, which is $239,600. The declining trend is not only isolated to Tampa Bay, but is also happening nationwide, where the home prices have been at their lowest in the past nine years.
One of the reasons for the decline in housing prices is the large inventory of Tampa bank owned homes for sale. Ironically, it is also the reason for the increased home sales activity as cash-loaded home buyers and savvy investors buy properties for their discounted prices. Since January, existing home sales in the city increased by 19 percent. Across the state though, home sales rise by 14 percent.
The continued decline of home prices, whether due to the many Florida bank owned properties for sale or the generally sluggish national economy, is an indication that prices have yet to hit rock bottom. As long as buyers are still not coming out in full force and there is an increasing number of foreclosures blighting neighborhoods, it is likely that prices will still proceed on its downward spiral.
Experts also believe that the days when low to moderate income families are allowed to buy home, paying no or little down payment, are long over. The decision of the banks to approve loans to unqualified buyers actually resulted to the foreclosure crisis in which literally millions of homes became REO bank owned properties when their owners defaulted.
After the mortgage industry meltdown and lenders were left to deal with the influx of bank owned for sale in their inventory, lending regulations were tightened. Most banks have even decided to go back to how lending was practiced before the housing bust, when home buyers were required to pay a minimum down payment equivalent to 10 percent of the sale price. Even the federal government has decided to follow suit by announcing last week that they will be raising down payments for mortgages originating from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Tampa Bay housing market will most likely continue on its mixed trends of declining home prices due to the volume of REO bank owned properties and the growing home sales activity.
John Cutts has been educated in the finer points of the foreclosure market over 5 years.
Notice: In accordance with FTC guidelines, we state that RealEstateProArticles.com has financial relationships with some companies and may be compensated if consumers choose to buy, subscribe or take any action to a product or service via the links on our website. Occasionally, we receive free access to review a product or service. We do not accept compensation in exchange for a positive review. These reviews are strictly the opinions of the author.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.realestateproarticles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites