Is There a Florida Real Estate Bubble?

The Florida real estate market, including the Tampa Bay real estate market, has been nothing less than a roller coaster ride in recent times. Indeed, many people in Tampa Bay and elsewhere in the Sunshine State have come to believe that they are on a roller coaster recently that only goes down hill.

Some time ago, the front page of Fortune magazine ran the following:

"The housing market is rapidly losing touch with reality… The passionate faith that money poured into real estate will magically multiply is creating a self-fulfilling speculative frenzy that's bound to end badly."

In layperson's terms a real estate bubble is defined as a rapid increase in the value of real estate that ends up being unsustainable. For example, in the Tampa area in the early part of the 2000’s century, real estate values climbed fairly rapidly. However, in more recent times (particularly over the course of the past couple of years) this rapid increase in the value of Tampa Bay real estate came to a halt.

In other locales in the State of Florida, the value of real estate increased sharply beginning in the latter part of the 1990’s and during the early years of the 2000’s. In some communities, not only did the rapid increase in value cease but the price of real estate collapsed outright – which is the true definition of a real estate bubble and the bursting of that bubble.

While many experts continue to debate whether or not the Tampa Bay real estate market has experienced what might be called a burst bubble, some of the consequences of such a situation have become apparent across the Florida real estate market.

In the Tampa Bay area, there have been two major problems associated with the rapid rise and subsequent hard braking on the value. First, over the course of the past eighteen months there has been a record number of foreclosure filings across Florida.

Second, many people have started to experience a somewhat related problem in regard to their home mortgage loans. These individuals have found the value of their properties to have declined to the juncture at which they are now upside down on their loans. In other words, these people now owe more on their home mortgage loans than their residences are worth.

If you are considering selling your home, you do not want to rush it onto the market if at all possible. Many experts and professional Tampa Realtors suggest that you be deliberate when it comes to putting your home on the market at this point in time. Many analysts contend and maintain that the Tampa real estate market is shifting to a position that is more favorable to sellers. A qualified real estate professional can assist you in plotting the course you will want to take when it comes to selling your home during this challenging economic phase.

Lance Mohr is a full time licensed broker associate with Keller Williams Realty. He has over 10 years of experience helping families buy and sell real estate, as well is being a real estate investor. If you have any questions about the Tampa, FL Real Estate or Wesley Chapel real estate market please visit my website.