TAMPA – Tampa Bay area home sales shot up 27 percent in April as buyers rushed to take advantage of a federal tax credit and near-record low interest rates. Both nationally and locally, it was the best showing of sales in five months.
But what will the housing market look like now that the incentive is gone?
"Although mortgage rates have fallen sharply, the combination of high unemployment, heavy indebtedness and tight credit suggest to us that demand will stumble," said Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics.
There were 2,962 sales of existing homes in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area during April, up from 2,326 sales during the same month a year ago, the Florida Realtors said Monday. The median sales price dropped 2 percent to $132,900.
To read the full article, click here …
