Rural Real Estate is Booming in Florida

By Dan Fischer | Published October 9th, 2020 | My Tampa Bay Broker

Sparked by COVID-19, Florida’s rural communities are in high demand for property buyers seeking space and comfort as social distancing and time spent at home increases.

As most have noticed, the residential real estate market in Florida is hot. While yearly population growth and property values have steadily increased over the last decade and more in Florida, ever since the Coronavirus panic began back in March, we have seen an even greater increase in real estate prices as city folk begin to realize the value of open air Florida living.

Robert Guaderrama of FOX35 Orlando recently learned this during his interview with a local realtor and couple moving to rural Marion County. Robert notes, “while so many industries are suffering because of COVID-19, rural real estate is booming. An Ocala realtor says people are leaving the big city for the countryside because of the pandemic.”

When you consider that a $300,000 home in growing rural communities such as Apollo Beach; nested against the Tampa Bay, approximately 40 minutes from the city of Tampa, can get you four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a pool, and garage, it can be a mind blowing realization for someone coming from New York or Boston.

“Real estate is just on fire,” said Elisha Lopez, Owner/Broker, Ocala Realty World, “about 700 buyers are moving from outside of Florida to Marion County, every month.”

She’s seen an 11% bump in home sales since the start of the pandemic. Many buyers are coming from northeast cities, especially New York City, once the U.S. epicenter of the Coronavirus.

While buyers continue to compete for a small supply of homes for sale, most still believe it is all worth it to get access to fresh air, privacy and space. Pietro and Patty Cottone recently moved to Marion County from Orlando, trading in the city life for rural life. “Living a better quality life is at the top of most people’s list now, it’s not all about the hustle and bustle,” said Patty Cottone.

With fears of possible additional quarantine periods occurring across the nation, many people begin to rethink their lives in the city or cramped subdivisions during lockdown without a lot of space. “You could open our window and ask for a cup of coffee from our neighbor, that‘s how close you were,” said Patty.

With the average single family home seeing a sales price increase of 7-12% across the Tampa Bay market since the beginning of 2020, it is safe to say that we are comfortably in a seller’s market. However, we can expect to continue to see a lack of supply of residential homes for sale while potential sellers balk at the idea of joining the ranks of frantic home buyers once their home sells.

We should continue to see a strong seller’s market with heightened prices until an increase of supply hits the market or values drop due to outside forces such as growing stock market risk or political upheaval.

There are always positives to be had during tough periods, and rural Tampa Bay Realtors are certainly thankful for the positive effect that 2020 has had on their local real estate markets so far.