by Bob Johnson

Created on: April 28, 2009   Last Updated: March 03, 2012

Tampa, Florida, is a rapidly growing city which is currently home to more than 382,000 people, and one of the worst real estate markets in the world. With this recession has come an abnormally large amount of job loss which has affected both prices of goods and also of real estate all over the US. However, there is good news for the 90% of the population who are still employed.

Since you are making the same amount of income, with prices of real estate being decreased dramatically, then in retrospect you are wealthier, without really having to have a change in income. There is then the ability for you to get a great deal on a house and using this economic crisis as an advantage. If you wish to carry through with this, you must do so quickly then because although Tampa is currently still economically unstable, the housing market has shown some improvement in the last two months. Almost 1,400 houses were sold in March of this year, showing a 25% increase in sales over February, yet there are still 17,000 foreclosures and other houses on the market that have yet to be sold.

Foreclosures are another way in which a long term profit or a high equity can be made. One of the neighborhoods in the area in which i currently live that has been hit hard by this real estate low is Lis Penden. A gated community with middle class homes that tend to run between $200,000 and $400,000, this areas homes are sometimes going for less then half their worth, as long as you know where to look. A site i find extremely helpful for finding up to date information is yahoo tampa foreclosures. On the other hand, don't be fooled by foreclosures that over estimate the value of a building so as to make the price at which they are selling more appealing. I highly suggest either sending a scout or personally visiting the site before making the purchase.

Remember, Florida is a world renowned vacation and retirement center. Use this to your advantage try buying a home with bare necessities and adding on improvements that a retire couple could not add themselves. For example, adding a nicer tiling or carpeting. If you are targeting the higher class and the house already has running water and electricity, adding an easy to use air condition and heater, a fast-action water heater, and appliances including a washer, dryer, oven, and microwave dramatically improves the houses net worth, as well as showing that your company trys for the up-most quality. Also in a high-class area, a beach front condo or property ground space alone could sell for upwards of a million dollars.

Since the economy is suffering, no one has excess money to spend on vacationing or a second house, and so in turn the vacation industry is also suffering price cuts and foreclosure. As is now obvious to see the time to buy real estate is prime.

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