The Contrarian

[aim hier]

I agree that speculation has raised the cost of housing in this area as well as much of the nation. Some residential prices will decline in the near future, such as high-end beachfront condos. However, the long term trend for Pinellas County is almost certainly for even higher prices. The county is built out, meaning that new housing stock must come from upgrading already improved properties. There is a great deal of land to be developed in Pasco County, but it will only help dampen local prices a little. I don't expect low end real estate prices to decline much if any, simply due to the net migration of new residents.

All in all, I'm not sure I'd wait to buy a home, if you want to stay in Pinellas County and are considering anything less than $350K. However, I would be wary of buying any condo costing more than $250K, it appears likely that supply is going to outsrip demand for a period of time.