Repo House Listings Slow Down, Tampa Bay Home Prices Rise

For the first time in three years, home prices in the Tampa Bay area increased in June, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index.

The home price index increased by 0.4 percent in June compared to the index in May. However, compared to the index in June 2008, the home price index decreased by 19.5 percent.

The June home price index had an uptick as repo house listings slowed. In June, just over 7,000 foreclosures were filed, an increase of 12 percent compared to June last year. The increase rate was a substantial drop from the 33 to 48 percent of year-over-year monthly increases since January this year.

Nonetheless, foreclosure sales still comprise a big part of total home sales in the Tampa Bay area. Nearly 40 percent of total sales consist of foreclosure homes, pre-foreclosure properties and short sales. Since 2006, home price appreciation was never experienced in the area.

A Tampa broker said his business was able to sell 190 homes in June at relatively low prices. He said that home prices at higher-cost neighborhoods such as MiraBay and middle-income communities like Covington Park increased only slightly.

Nationally, the Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased in June by 1.4 percent. Tampa’s increase of 0.4 percent illustrates the slow pace of price increase in the area.

According to David Blitzer, index committee chairman at Standard & Poor’s, positive signs in the housing market are now appearing for the second consecutive month. He and other economists point to lower mortgage interest rates which have remained below 5.5 percent as among factors enticing home buyers. The expiration of the $8,000 federal tax credit on December 1 is also another contributing factor.

Among home price indexes, the Case-Shiller gets more recognition because it tracks repeat sales of certain homes. From the records of Tampa realtors, home prices in Tampa decreased slightly in June to $139,400 from $141,000 in May.

Since February, home prices in the Tampa Bay area has been largely flat because of the continued market entry of distressed foreclosure homes. Florida economists expect home prices to crawl along a certain level for the rest of the year and for the next few years.

Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner said that home prices in Tampa will not rise significantly in the coming years because of expected foreclosures. He said that more than 50 percent of mortgages in the area are underwater.

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• Real Estate Prices in the United States Now at 2004 Levels
• New Jersey Home Prices Dropped as Foreclosed Homes Climbed
• Home Prices Fell Due to Increasing Bank Owned Foreclosures