Tampa ranks 8th most popular city for investors to scoop up houses, market analysis finds

TAMPA, Fla. - It’s still very much a seller’s market in the Bay Area, and now Tampa is the eighth most popular city for investors to scoop up houses. 

The current market makes it tougher for local and first-time homebuyers to lock in a new home, especially when there’s a cash offer on the table. 

"The entire country and even the entire world is still looking at the Tampa real estate market, and we’re still seeing significant traction on our listings from people out of the state and out of the country," said John Hudson, a realtor with Keller Williams South Tampa. "When you get into the higher price points, it’s not unusual that those properties would trade at cash, and you know right now, our average price point in this area is quite high." 

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Hudson said people looking to remodel houses will also usually put in cash offers for home they want to flip or rent out.

A market analysis from 24/7 WallSt found Tampa ranks number eight among the top 25 cities where investors are buying up houses. In the first part of 2021, 37% of home sales were all cash, and by the end of last year investors bought nearly a quarter of Tampa’s homes, according to the analysis.

Real estate expert Cliff Freeman said some homebuyers are getting creative.

"So what's happened is, is that's created a whole new market in the financial industry that helps buyers who wouldn't have that advantage to be able to pay cash, to be able to go to get a third party to come in on their behalf to make those cash down payments and actually purchase a home in their name and then later resell it to the original buyer," said Freeman of Cliff Freeman Group with eXp Realty. 

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With so many people moving to Florida and Tampa Bay, there are a lot of homebuyers coming from more expensive states like New York and California.

"So they're looking at home prices and Tampa Bay saying, well, gosh, these houses are on sale, and they come in with a big pile of cash to buy and with. Unfortunately for the local people that have been living here and renting, they're starting to see opportunities wane a little bit. It's not going to get any easier," said Freeman.

But locals have an edge up on the competition.

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"Because you’re here. So the investor that’s looking at it, and they’re not visiting the property in person, and you can tell the seller hey I’ve seen the property," said Hudson. "If we have a contract from someone who has not visited the property, that’s a lot riskier a transaction to set into."

Hudson said typical homebuyers just need to be prepared and ready to go as soon as a listing pops up. 

"I don’t know that the trend right now is for 10 cash offers on the house. I think there still are cash offers, but conventional buyers are still able to successfully negotiate those every day," he said.

Some tips for local homebuyers from Tampa realtors include knowing where you want to live and having your financing in order and ready to go.