Our 2020 Housing Market Predictions

We’re sharing our predictions for where our real estate market is heading in 2020.

You'll likely see a lot of national media talking about forecasts for the nationwide real estate market in the near future, but today we’re going to focus on the Tampa Bay market, specifically.

First, we expect to see home prices and appreciation continue to increase, though maybe not as drastically as it has been. Inventory has decreased, but appreciation will increase. Interest rates will continue to remain at record lows, helping to control affordability. The Fed recently chose not to raise or lower interest rates again. As prices have risen, interest rates stayed low or even decreased further. 

Another wonderful thing about our Tampa Bay real estate market is that we expect it to outperform most other markets due to our increase in population. We foresee our population continuing to rise this year. We have many excellent businesses moving here and a lot of development proceeding, including some new condo towers being built and sold. New construction builders currently have record-high confidence in our market. Our market continues to thrive.

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We expect to see home prices and appreciation continue to increase.

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One thing that isn’t spoken about often is the condo market improving as mortgage lenders raise their limits and loosen requirements. In our market alone, condo sales have never recovered from the last dip the way they have in other markets, so this year we’re expecting to see them improve. Millennials specifically have had a difficult time getting financing for condos, which they’re interested in, so we should see that shift for the better. We predict a great 2020 housing market for Tampa Bay.

Our 2020 market will have many similarities to 2019, but with a few great exceptions. If you’re reading this from up north, Tampa Bay’s climate makes it an appealing place to move to—it’s 80 degrees today! Some other markets in Florida are expecting a slowdown, but we aren’t because we’re more affordable than similar options such as Miami.

For more real estate information, videos, and market happenings, follow us on social media. If you have any further questions about our market or real estate in general, please feel free to reach out to us by phone or email. We would love to help you.

New Year, New Home

We’re sharing four tips on how to make a new home in 2020 a reality for you. 

Buying a new home is a very common New Year’s Resolution, especially among prospective first-time buyers. There are a lot of things you can do right now at the start of the new year to prepare yourself for this life-changing purchase.

One of the things we always tell people is to make sure you don’t overspend during or right after the holidays; the more debt you bring with you into the home buying process, the harder it will be for you to qualify for a loan.

If you bought a lot of holiday gifts out there, hopefully you didn’t throw them all onto credit cards. All the “no interest financing” rhetoric from furniture and car salespeople around the holidays is great, but those big purchases will still count against your debt-to-income ratio. 

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Start looking at what the market has to offer now instead of waiting until later. 

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If buying a home this year is truly a priority for you, avoid other big-ticket items like cars and expensive furniture sets until after you buy a home. Even if you don’t have payments on those items for six months, they’ll still be factored against you by mortgage lenders.

Here’s another tip: Get your financials and taxes in order so you can take advantage of deductibles and ensure you’ll still qualify for loans.

Start talking to a real estate agent now; they’ll be able to help you find a great home in a location you like—all in a timely manner. If you and an agent create a plan early, you’ll be able to jump on the new inventory that’s coming in spring.

To all those who are already qualified for a home loan: Start looking at what the market has to offer now instead of waiting until later. Don’t wait just for waiting’s sake; maybe you’ll find something great and get that resolution taken care of early in 2020.

 If you have any questions about this or any other real estate topic, or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.