The bloggers

Pat Beall • About Pat

Alexandra Clough • About Alexandra

Jeff Ostrowski • About Jeff

Linda Rawls • About Linda

Categories

RSS Feeds

Latest Entries

Home > Real Estate > Archives > 2006 > July > 17

Monday, July 17, 2006

Affordability in the eye of the beholder (or buyer)

By Jeff Ostrowski | Monday, July 17, 2006, 01:37 PM

So I know we in the media are supposed to be apoplectic about the affordable housing squeeze, but here’s one case where I won’t be getting too upset: Folks in the Tampa area cite affordability as their major concern about the real estate market.

So far, so good. But next consider this: The median home price in the Tampa area in May was $230,900, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. That’s well below the state average of $256,400 and way below Palm Beach County’s median of $391,000.

While the Tampa area isn’t exactly high-paying, wages there aren’t poverty-level, either. Average weekly wage in Hillsborough County is $745, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only a bit less than Palm Beach County’s $768.

Another Tampa-area county, Pinellas, has average wage of $687. That’s a bit miserly — but I don’t think too many home shoppers in Palm Beach County are shedding tears for their friends across the state.

Permalink | Comments (37) | Post your comment | Categories: Jeff Ostrowski