House market seems to stabilize

After free falling for more than two years, west Florida homes sales appear to be bottoming out. April's housing activity presented a cautiously optimistic picture: Sales are stabilizing as home sellers cut prices to entice buyers. Here's some evidence:

• Sales were up from April 2007 to April 2008 in some of the worst hit markets south of the Tampa Bay area. Sarasota, Punta Gorda and Fort Myers/Cape Coral all reported rising sales vs. a year earlier.

• Tampa Bay area single-family home sales slipped 8 percent year to year, but Hillsborough and Citrus counties both reported little or no decline. Although Pinellas County Realtors said sales were down 10.7 percent, condo sales were higher than they've been since June 2007.

• Pending sales, homes under contract waiting to close, were up in April in every county in the Tampa Bay area compared to a year earlier.

Click here to enter the Tampa Realtors MLS (updated daily)
Register to receive an email every morning of today's new listings
Visit my website or contact me by email