Where Tampa Bay's housing market stands heading into 2024
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A year that saw record-low housing affordability is coming to an end.
Why it matters: Two-decade-high mortgage rates and an inventory crunch shaped Tampa Bay's 2023 real estate market.
What they're saying: This year was especially difficult for first-time home buyers, Tampa Bay-based agent Jay Quigley says.
Yes, but: A slower year helped tip the scales toward a slightly more balanced market, Quigley says. For example, instead of homes selling within days, most sat for weeks.
- Sellers had to make more concessions, too.
By the numbers: Home values remained steady — down 1% from this time last year, up 3% from January, per Redfin.
- Home sales slowed about 7% from October 2022 to 2023.
- Inventory improved significantly since a slump this spring, but it's only up 1% from this time last year.
Zoom out: U.S. home sales have cratered as many homeowners clamp down on their lower mortgage rates.
- "If there's nothing out there for me to buy, why would I sell? We are all kind of stuck in that paradigm right now," chief economist Matthew Gardner at Windermere Real Estate said at a November conference.
What we're watching: Mortgage rates would need to slide significantly to loosen homeowners' golden handcuffs and boost listing activity, real estate experts say.
- America's housing shortage is particularly concerning for the wave of younger millennials and Gen Zers in the homebuying pipeline, Gardner said.