Thoughts on Tampa, St Pete, Largo etc..

[John Dersoe]

So many armchair "experts" in my neighborhood have advice about Tampa and the surrounding area. When I ask if they have any properties or have anything on the horizon, they all say no! I'd like some input from some of you that might have actually invested or plan on investing in the area. Wait for a possible correction or invest soon? SF or multi or townhouse/condo? Rent or flip? Airbnb? Thanks. 

[Kristina Kuba]

@John Dersoe

I personally own multifamily, LTR’s and STRs and I help a lot of clients buy homes. More than half of my clients are investors.

Here my thoughts: Tampa home prices have grown exponentially in the last 2 years. Will this break neck rate continue? Absolutely not. Are we seeing a softening market? Yes

Now it depends on what your goals are.

Flipping - If you want to flip, there's 2 ways to find deeply discounted properties. (1) Pulling foreclosure and probate lists from your local county and directly mailing the seller's aka direct to seller (2) By making aggressive offers on homes on the MLS … Jump on Redfin and save keyword searches such as "Handyman special" "TLC" or "Fixer Upper". You will definitely be able to flip and make money.

STR (airbnb) - We are seeing a softening in occupancy levels and ADR (average daily rate) as the American confidence in the economy continues to decrease and we are entering a weird stalemate between inventory and interest rates. If you want to buy an Airbnb, make sure it will cash flow or break even as a LTR before you proceed. You don't want to buy an investment property solely based on STR projected income and not run your LTR numbers as a backstop.

LTR - Okay so let’s say there is a 10-15% correction. Are you keeping your rental for 7+ years? You won’t even feel it. Rents continue to rise (albeit at a smaller increase) and slower but steady appreciation is expected especially in Tampa proper (city of tampa limits). I would consider Tampa an appreciation market, not a cash flow market. Research into Gas Worx, the development will create a walkable neighborhood in Tampa’s urban core, providing for pedestrian and bike traffic as well as green space. The first phase is slated for 2024 and anticipates 510,500 square feet of office space and 140,200 square feet of retail space. Also dig deep into the $3.5 billion water street project, backed by Bill Gates.

These are my thoughts; there's always different angles to look at the Tampa Bay market. Happy to help. Best of Luck!