Tampa's housing market slides in national rankings, experts remain optimistic

Tampa's housing market ranking drops

FOX 13's Jordan Bowen reports on Tampa's housing market falling 19 spots in national rankings as the city continues to battle inflated growth and fallout from back-to-back hurricanes at the end of 2024.

TAMPA, Fla. - While the Tampa housing market may not be growing as fast as it was, it's still growing and is still one of the top housing markets in the country.

According to a report from the Urban Land Institute, Tampa-St. Pete ranks fourth out of the top 10 real estate markets in 2025.

Homes in Tampa.

"Everything shot up, and it was to the point where growth was at a rate that was not sustainable," commercial real estate broker Doug Waechter said. "It really wasn't, but we saw some great years in terms of growth through, I would say, the fourth quarter of 2020 into all the way through early last year."

READ: Suzy Lopez sworn in for 1st full term as Hillsborough County State Attorney after years-long battle

In 2024, Zillow ranked Tampa as the ninth-hottest housing market in the country, based on several factors like home value growth, selling speed, and job growth, but that rank has since dropped to 29th.

According to the latest data released this week, dropping more than 19 spots is one of the most significant drops for any city on the list.

As Waechter explains, major natural disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton can sometimes change the attitudes of some buyers and sellers.

Home for sale sign.

"You see a lot of people getting concerned with specific flooding areas and the flooding areas and what that means moving forward," Waechter said. "Are these storms going to be more of a common theme or just a once-in-a-century type of storm that we've been told it was?"

READ: Julio Foolio murder: 5th suspect in Florida rapper’s death arrested in Jacksonville

While the Tampa housing market may not be growing as fast as it was, it's still growing and is one of the top in the county.

Allie Paige, a mortgage broker for Clear Mortgage, said, "Interest rates have remained unchanged for at least the last two years, and they are forecasted to remain unchanged for essentially the next year."

Paige finished optimistically, saying, "The fact that we've had a strong market over the last two years should be an indication that we'll have a strong market again in 2025."

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: