Tampa Bay home prices fell at one of the fastest rates in the country in September, with the region posting one of the steepest year-over-year declines among the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas even as fewer homes came onto the market.
The median listing price across the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro fell 6.6% from a year earlier to $385,398, according to Realtor.com’s September housing report, but the sharper comparison came from price per square foot — a measure that helps account for differences in the size of homes hitting the market. By that measure, Tampa Bay prices dropped 6%, the second-largest decline among the 50 metros behind only Austin’s 8.4%.
Tampa Bay sellers were cutting prices even as fewer homes came onto the market, with 27.5% of listings receiving a reduction while active inventory fell 3.8% from a year earlier and new listings dropped 2.1%. Buyers were left with an unusual combination: fewer homes to choose from than last September, but more than one in four sellers willing to lower the asking price.
That combination runs against the broader national inventory trend, with the number of homes for sale across the country rising 5.4% and moving within 9.1% of typical pre-pandemic levels. Nationally, 20.8% of listings received a price cut in September — well below Tampa Bay’s 27.5% share and the highest September reading since 2018.
Realtor.com economists tied the broader slowdown in buyer activity to higher mortgage rates, which climbed nearly 40 basis points over the previous four weeks as the national stock of homes under contract fell 4.1% from a year earlier. Chief Economist Danielle Hale said buyers have more choices and negotiating room, but affordability continues to limit how much of that advantage they can use.
Tampa Bay was hardly alone in seeing prices soften, with 37 of the nation’s 50 largest metros posting year-over-year declines in price per square foot. What separated Tampa Bay was the size of the drop, with only Austin falling further.