Florida: The End of a Slump?
Florida real estate started to slow in 2005, ahead of many other parts of the country. And now some real estate practitioners say the state is still ahead of the curve, leading a resurgence in sales.

Ann Rogers, who owns three Pinellas County Keller Williams franchises, says the housing inventory isn’t growing because homes are selling at about the same pace that sellers are putting them on the market.

Developer Brandon Pastilong has already sold four of the eight townhomes he’s building in a remote part of St. Petersburg. They are priced at $300,000 to $350,000.

"We feel the market doesn't have much lower to go," says Verne Packer, who is building a 30-unit condo complex. Packer is trying to time the market, relying on a construction technique that allows him to put up a home in less than a week. He doesn't have final pricing on his development, but he says the 2,100 to 2,600-square-foot hurricane-resistant homes will sell for about $400,000.

Source: The St. Petersburg Times, Paul Swider (07/08/07)