Pinellas County Inventory Shrinking

Tampa Bay Business Journal 

Pinellas County is losing inventory on single-family homes and condominiums and townhomes.

The number of both kinds of residential properties currently on the market fell to 7,246 from 8,383 from last April, according to the Pinellas Realtor Organization. Active listings for single-family homes dropped 14 percent and active listings for townhomes and condominiums fell 13.1 percent from a year ago.

The single-family homes on the market have a 4.5-month supply at the current sales rate, down 29 percent from a year ago. Numbers higher than 5.5 months suggest a favorable market for buyers, while numbers lower than 5.5 indicate good conditions for sellers.

In April, the average sale price for a single-family home was about $217,000, up 3.6 percent from a year ago, while the median sale price was about $154,000, up 10.2 percent from a year ago.

Across the nation, large investment firms have purchased single-family homes with the purpose of renovating and renting them. Bloomberg reported in March that private equity firm Blackstone spent more than $3.5 billion on 20,000 single-family homes.

The Tampa Bay area has been ripe for investors. Last month The Blackstone Group purchased 12 homes for $2.3 million in Manatee County, adding to its total of more than 1,000 homes.

Though the number of foreclosed and short sale single-family homes sold last month decreased from a year ago, this lower number is likely due to the inventory shrinkage. Cash sales, which allow the buyer to take control of the property immediately, were up 12.9 percent from the previous year.