SPL NEIGHBORHOODS
2021 Forecast : Real Estate in St. Pete is in High Demand The St. Petersburg housing market continues to boom with inventory being gobbled up nearly as soon as it’s listed. Real estate professionals are reporting more closed sales, more new pending sales, higher median prices and more new listings as we head into the new year.
Condominiums are soaring more ways than up. “Many downtown condos are valued higher than the beach, which was not the case in the past,” Haydon said, mentioning one Ovation condo that sold for $6.5 million last year.
In December, St. Petersburg as a whole had about 40 percent less inventory compared to the previous year, said Cyndee Haydon, President of the Pinellas Realtor Association. Sales in the last quarter of 2020 were reaching 97%. Across Florida, single-family existing-home sales rose 26.9 percent compared to a year ago.
The Downtown Partnership study found that downtown grew by nearly 2,000 residents over the past five years (13%) and with more than 3,500 units planned in the surrounding downtown, that growth will continue. Millennials (age 25-34) are the fastest growing age group, followed by Baby Boomers.
Super-low mortgage rates, some as low as 2.75%, are causing a buying frenzy. Haydon predicts the supply of available homes will tighten further in 2021 and prices will continue to rise with mortgage rates remaining low, at least in the first quarter. “There is some speculation that these low rates may not last,” she said. “With a new administration in the White House, there may be some rebalancing later in the year.”
Families typically are seeking dwellings in the neighborhoods close to downtown. “I am seeing a lot of interest from Old Northeast along the 4th Street North corridor up to Shore Acres,” Haydon said. The median price for a single family home in St. Petersburg is $306,000, she added.
Real estate agents report that Florida, and the Tampa Bay area, are experiencing a surge in demand even as the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of easing. One factor that remains constant: More people are leaving the giant metro areas such as New York and Philadelphia in search of Florida sunshine and an outdoor lifestyle.
A major contributor to growth in St. Pete can be attributed to employment. A number of tech companies have moved to the city in recent years, bringing an influx of new jobs and employee relocations.
Haydon is seeing a lot of interest from young professionals. “St. Petersburg is especially attractive to the younger generation,” she said. The growing condo and apartment scene downtown is attracting financially secure singles and couples who are looking for a dog-friendly city with diverse restaurants and bars, cultural and performing arts, and walkability.
Sperling’s Best Places Index indicates that St. Petersburg is extremely competitive with other similar size cities on the housing front. While St. Petersburg’s median home costs are nearly 13% higher than the U.S. median, it significantly outperforms peer markets of Orlando, which is 22% higher and Miami, which is 74% higher. St. Petersburg prices are considered on par with peer markets Tampa and Charlotte. The Tampa Bay Metro area ranks No. 6 against all metros in the U.S. for authorizations of new, privately owned housing units.
Downtown’s condo and apartment inventory is projected to increase 65% over the next five years, according to a study by St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership. There were approximately 5,250 condo and apartment units downtown in early 2020 at a combined 90+% occupancy rate. A number of residential projects are underway, as well as in planning stages. In downtown alone, some 17 multi-family residential developments were planned or in progress in 2020.
Housing affordability is a hot topic now as high-priced condos and apartments price people out of the market. The city is using a variety of tools to increase the supply of market rate and affordable housing including a comprehensive 10-year strategy unveiled in July 2019. The plan establishes goals to increase the supply of affordable and market rate multi-family housing and establishes a goal of assisting more than 3,000 current homeowners to stay in their existing homes.
ON THE RISE Saltaire, a 35-story condominium tower, has broken ground in the former parking lot of the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Hotel at 300 1st Street South. Saltaire is expected to have 192 units priced between $850,000 and $5 million. Reflection St. Pete,
a proposed 18-story upscale condo tower planned near Mirror Lake, is expected to begin construction early this year. Units will range from the $500,000s up to $1.5 million. Meanwhile, construction on 400 Central,
a $300 million multi-use development project which includes a 46-story luxury condominium tower, is expected to begin in 2021. The Residences at 400 Central is proposing some 300 luxury units and will be the tallest building in St. Petersburg.
January/February 2021
StPeteLifeMag.com
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