Carrollwood - A Very Attractiive Tampa Bay Community

Carrollwood is a unincorporated planned community in northwest section of Hillsborough County, Like other suburban communities around Tampa, Carrollwood was built in the early 1960s and remains today one of the more popular residential areas being only about 7 miles from downtown Tampa and an even shorter drive to the Tampa International Airport.

It was one of the first planned communities within the State of Florida and the first in Hillsborough County. The community spread westward during the 1970′s and 80′s and the subdivisions of Fairway Village and Carrollwood Village were created.

The boundarties of the Carrollwood include Lake Magdalene to the north, the city of Tampa to the east, Egypt Lake on the south, and Carrollwood Village to the west. The community occupies areas to both the east and west of Dale Mabry Highway, the major north-south thoroughfare connecting Carrollwood to the metropolitan and downtown areas of Tampa.  

Carrollwood includes homes and maintenance-free townhomes and condominiums in many styles, sizes and price ranges, some with golf course and lake views. Children living in Carrollwood go to school in the Hillsborough County School District. There are also several private schools in the area.

Carrollwood Village is the heart of Carrollwood and includes about every sort of shopping and dining venue you might want.

Golfers will appreciate the presence of several golf courses and country clubs in the area. Right within Carrollwood Village there is the Emerald Greens Golf and Country Club, a 27-hole course. Nearby is the Northdale Golf and Country Club, a 18-hole, par-72 course.

For professional singles, families and seniors alike, Carrollwood is an attractive place to live and enjoy the amenities so abundant in the Tampa and Tampa Bay area.

If you find Carrollwood as attractive as I do, I invite you to visit my Tampa Bay real estate website. Or, for more immediate assistance, call me at 813-263-6806 or E-Mail Me today. I would be delighted to answer your questions and show you just how attractively priced Tampa Bay homes are right now.

Tampa Home Sales Continue Improving

According to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors,1,523 properties sold during November, 2011. The average sale price of homes sold in November was $146,436, down slightly from $151,329 in October.

In 10 of the past 12 months home sales in the Tampa area have increased. The November sales total was an increase of 7% from the same month in 2010. At 9,800 homes of the market at the end of November, there is only a 6.4 month supply of homes and condos on the market. At the worst point in December, 2007, there were over 21,000 housing units on the market. Six months of inventory is the point at which buying and selling pressure are considered equal. If you add in the homes already under contract for sale, but not yet closed, the supply of homes and condos available drops even further. When the inventory of homes for sale drops below 6.0 months, the market is considered to be a "seller's market" where prices may begin to rise.

Another important market statistic, the average number of Days of the Market dropped consistently during 2011 to an average of only 103 days in November. As this number drops, it means that homes are no longer sitting on the market awaiting buyers. They are beginning to sell more quickly.

On the most attractive and attractively-priced homes, buyers in Tampa Bay are beginning to confront multiple competing offers, something that hasn't happened in a long time. Even real estate investors are finding they can no longer make ridiculously low-ball offers with any hope of success. They are finding that if they want to buy the property, they need to make an offer at or real close to what the properties are actually worth, a healthy sign.

Local Realtor Cheryl Stimac noted that, given the improving market condition price-wise, banks are increasing the pace at which they are putting their distressed properties on the market as short sales but these are expected to be bought up reasonably quickly by the increasing number of prospective buyers here during the snowbird months.

Overall, several positive forces seem to be coming together in the Tampa real estate market. The lower inventory of homes for sale is stabilizing, and will eventually put upward pressure, on prices. Banks are moving more quickly to get their inventoried properties on the market rather than letting them go into foreclosure where the condition of the home frequently degrades quickly. People are more upbeat than they have been in 3 years according to the consumer confidence index. And, with the arrival of our “snowbird” friends, there are more buyers in the Tampa Bat real estate market who are looking to buy now at these historically low prices and interest rates.

If you are visiting Tampa Bay now or planning to come here in the near future, I encourage you to call me at 813-263-6806, E-Mail Me, or visit my Tampa Florida real estate website to learn more about the many attractive golf course and other communities in our area. I would be delighted to answer your questions and offer suggestions on where to find exactly the type of home in the price range you are looking for.