St. Pete, Florida Real Estate Market

In beautiful St. Pete, Florida, it 2011 continues to be a buyers market with a large variety of inventory from which to choose.  Plus, historically low mortgage rates are still around for qualified buyers, and more and more banks are starting to lend to foreign nationals once again.  There are fantastic waterfront homes, condos and town homes in prices ranging from $300,000 and up.  For boaters, there are many options with bay and Gulf access.

St. Pete is on Florida’s magnificent Gulf Coast, in the South Pinellas County area and bordered to the South and East by Tampa Bay, bordered on the north by Largo, Seminole, and Clearwater.  The downtown area continues to transform into a worldly and very cosmopolitan city.  Housing in the downtown area includes very high end and high rise condos, as well as lofts and town homes.  Single family housing is the most established type of housing and is mostly found in existing neighborhoods.

There was some sign of real estate market recovery, as the number of homes sold in St. Pete was up significantly from April 2011.  It has also been reported that prices in some areas are on the rise.  Still, there is a great cloud of foreclosures affecting real estate prices and holding them down.  Most current sales are for properties with very low prices, while buyers people needing mortgages face many obstacles.

On the seller side, those who have been waiting to sell their homes and hoping for the higher prices of 2003, 2004, 2005 or 2006 should not have lofty goals or high expectations.  These prices are a thing of the past for the time being, and even though prices are rising, there is no immediate indication that the St. Pete area will see the high prices of the past.  Sellers who must unload property will be wasting time unless the price is well below other similar homes now on the market.

At the same time, buyers must have realistic goals and make sure to consider some important issues.  Short sales, in which the seller is trying to be relieved of some or all of the debt on the house, are not a great idea for all buyers – despite their “candy coating.”  Banks can take months just to answer an offer once it is submitted, and they obviously tend to favor cash buyers.  People who can't pay cash and need financing aren't as welcome as investors who can just write a check, and this is true even when the investor offers a lower price.