{"id":432244,"date":"2026-10-19T19:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/432244\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T19:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:08:14","slug":"tampa-bay-homebuyers-gain-ground-as-mortgage-rates-top-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/432244\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Homebuyers Gain Ground as Mortgage Rates Top 7%"},"content":{"rendered":"

Homebuyers across Tampa Bay<\/a> are gaining negotiating power as mortgage rates climb above 7%, with three of the region\u2019s major housing markets now favoring buyers, according to a Realtor.com report released Monday.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metropolitan areas are both classified as buyer\u2019s markets, while Lakeland-Winter Haven has moved into the early stages of one. The findings come from Realtor.com\u2019s Market Clock, which measures the balance between buyers and sellers using housing inventory, recorded transactions and projected sales through September.<\/p>\n

The changing market is showing up in asking prices, with the Tampa area\u2019s median listing price falling 6.6% from a year earlier to approximately $385,400 in September, according to a separate Realtor.com housing report<\/a>. More than 27% of active listings had undergone a price reduction, compared with 20.8% nationally, while homes spent a median of 76 days on the market, 15 days longer than the national median.<\/p>\n

Those reductions have come despite a shrinking supply of homes for sale, with Tampa-area active listings falling 3.8% year over year to 17,965 in September, even as national inventory grew 5.4%. Buyers are gaining ground locally without the increase in available homes seen across much of the country.<\/p>\n

The advantage has become more expensive to exercise, however, as mortgage rates rose from 6.66% in late August to 7.40% on Oct. 8, cutting into how much prospective buyers can afford. Someone budgeting $2,000 a month for principal and interest can now afford more than $22,000 less in home price, a 7.2% decline in purchasing power, according to Realtor.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore buyers can negotiate in more markets, but a bigger negotiating advantage doesn\u2019t always mean more affordability,\u201d said Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com.<\/p>\n

The shift extends across Florida, which accounts for nine of the nation\u2019s 17 buyer\u2019s markets, including Orlando, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Cape Coral-Fort Myers. The South holds 14 of those 17 markets, while sellers retain their strongest position in the Midwest.<\/p>\n

Nationally, the number of seller\u2019s markets has fallen from 39 to 27 over the past year, while buyer\u2019s markets have increased from 13 to 17 across the 99 metropolitan areas studied. Another 49 markets remain balanced but are moving toward buyers, extending a shift that could continue into the slower fall and winter selling season.<\/p>\n

Homebuyers across Tampa Bay are gaining negotiating power as mortgage rates climb above 7%, with three of the region\u2019s major housing markets now favoring buyers, according to a Realtor.com report released Monday.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metropolitan areas are both classified as buyer\u2019s markets, while Lakeland-Winter Haven has moved into the early stages of one. The findings come from Realtor.com\u2019s Market Clock, which measures the balance between buyers and sellers using housing inventory, recorded transactions and projected sales through September.<\/p>\n

The changing market is showing up in asking prices, with the Tampa area\u2019s median listing price falling 6.6% from a year earlier to approximately $385,400 in September, according to a separate Realtor.com housing report<\/a>. More than 27% of active listings had undergone a price reduction, compared with 20.8% nationally, while homes spent a median of 76 days on the market, 15 days longer than the national median.<\/p>\n

Those reductions have come despite a shrinking supply of homes for sale, with Tampa-area active listings falling 3.8% year over year to 17,965 in September, even as national inventory grew 5.4%. Buyers are gaining ground locally without the increase in available homes seen across much of the country.<\/p>\n

The advantage has become more expensive to exercise, however, as mortgage rates rose from 6.66% in late August to 7.40% on Oct. 8, cutting into how much prospective buyers can afford. Someone budgeting $2,000 a month for principal and interest can now afford more than $22,000 less in home price, a 7.2% decline in purchasing power, according to Realtor.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore buyers can negotiate in more markets, but a bigger negotiating advantage doesn\u2019t always mean more affordability,\u201d said Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com.<\/p>\n

The shift extends across Florida, which accounts for nine of the nation\u2019s 17 buyer\u2019s markets, including Orlando, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Cape Coral-Fort Myers. The South holds 14 of those 17 markets, while sellers retain their strongest position in the Midwest.<\/p>\n

Nationally, the number of seller\u2019s markets has fallen from 39 to 27 over the past year, while buyer\u2019s markets have increased from 13 to 17 across the 99 metropolitan areas studied. Another 49 markets remain balanced but are moving toward buyers, extending a shift that could continue into the slower fall and winter selling season.<\/p>\n

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