Tampa Bay, Florida has a lot of fans in its Realtors who say that the market continues to be strong.

"There is plenty of inventory available for buyers in the Tampa Bay area," says Realtor Sally Nauman, "for all the surrounding cities from Brandon on the east, Riverview to the south, New Tampa/Lutz in the north and the Bay to the West. Because of the number of homes available, buyers have the ability to pick and choose just what they want. New home construction is also booming, but inventory (or pre-built) homes are not always available. New home construction is selling at a very affordable price."

Says Realtor Tom Scaglione, "The market here in the Tampa Bay Area is still a strong seller's market. Homes are appreciating at a steady and strong pace. In some areas homes are appreciating at 3-5% every two to three months."

Scaglione believes the trend will continue. "After surging unexpectedly in 2003," he says, "the housing market will coast along at a somewhat lower yet still historically strong level next year. NAR Chief Economist David Lereah predicts 2004 will be the second-best year for housing with 5.60 million existing-home sales and 960,000 new-home sales."

"Even with a recent increase in mortgage interest rates," says Realtor Patty Bridges, "the Tampa Bay area housing market remains very strong. Prices continue to rise, especially in waterfront and beach communities. The only softening in the market is being seen in the extreme high end where properties are moving slower. Even in that category prices are not falling. However, they are not on the same upward slope we saw earlier in the year. Helping the strong market here is the fact that prices in the Tampa Bay area are still significantly lower than some other west coast Florida communities such as Naples, Sanibel, Sarasota and the Charlotte Harbor area."

Published: November 11, 2003

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.