Report: Housing crunch in Tampa-St. Pete metro
February 5, 2021 - The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area is among the places attracting homebuyers from more expensive communities, according to a new report from Redfin.com. In the Tampa metro, 47,000 more people moved into the area than out of it in 2020, attracted by relatively affordable home prices, the report said. But inventory is tight. The number of homes for sale dropped 31.3 percent and new construction permits were down 25.3 percent year-over-year locally, the report said. "The inventory crunch in popular destinations could intensify over the next few years as remote workers continue to relocate and buy homes. If developers, zoning boards and local governments prioritize building homes in the affordable areas people are moving into as opposed to coastal cities, that would help combat the housing shortage," Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist, said in the report.