Florida's outlook is still sunny?

In the Tampa Bay area, single-family housing starts were down 57 percent last quarter while sales of new homes were off 36 percent, according to statistics compiled by MetroStudy. "At the current absorption rate, it will be the fall of 2008 before Tampa Bay reaches supply-demand equilibrium - if the job market does not improve," said Tony Polito, director of MetroStudy's Tampa Bay division. "The good news is that builders are building only to demand levels, a strategy that has allowed finished vacant inventory to decline during the last two quarters." Wachovia economist Mark Vitner said it could be the end of 2009 before the housing market comes back into balance in Florida although he hopes for sooner.

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