St Pete Market in 2026
A lot of people have asked me recently. “Tim, is the St Pete market cooling off, or is it just taking a temporary breather?” From someone who looks at our local housing data every day, here is the truth about our market. For homes listed at over $1MM, the market looks very strong – inventory has fallen, number of sales has risen and sellers are getting very close to list price in many cases. On the other hand, those listed below $1MM are seeing that inventory has risen and so has competition among sellers, number of sales has dropped and the sales price to original list price is around 93%, indicating sellers are having to give slightly on price in order to move. Even within this it’s very difficult to generalize as some neighborhoods are showing more resilience than others.
What are the drivers?
These factors are key to the pace of the housing market, and they’ll stay forefront throughout 2026.
- Consumer Confidence
This is really shaped by earning power and job security, and capacity to spend. Layoffs, especially in white collar sectors, speculation about layoffs and the impact of AI, wages, inflation and the cost of living all affect the decisions of both buyers and sellers. - Mortgage Rates
Is 6% the new 3%? We are unlikely to see a return to the heady days of a 3% mortgage any time soon, and consensus seems to be that mortgage rates will run between about 5.75% and 6.6% in 2026. On a $400,000 mortgage that range equates to about $200 monthly. The difference is not trivial but is it enough to tempt shy buyers off the fence? Maybe not on its own, but it may make more of a difference if it’s coupled with improved consumer confidence. - Government Policy
Lots has been thrown onto the table recently including proposals for a 50 year mortgage, stopping big investors buying even more single family homes, changes in legislation affecting builders, tariff impact on new builds, immigration reform, and locally removing the burden of property taxes.
How do I make a decision to sell my home in 2026?
There factors are impacting all of us but are obviously very broad, so how do you make a decision? Well, the same golden rule still applies – do what’s right for you. If you are considering selling, contact an experienced Realtor to find out what it will take to sell you home in your specific hyper local market. Understand what is driving prices and buyers in your market, what has sold recently and for how much, what is the competition and how long has it been on the market, are there buyers actively looking in your area, and ultimately what will it take in terms of price and presentation to sell yours and how long will it take. All these are good questions an experienced and competent Realtor should be able to answer for you. Only you can then decide what next – if it’s not right for you and your current circumstances, then stay put and revisit it at a later date.
Would you like to know what it will take to sell your house in this market?
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Tim Wood Broker, Realtor
Austen Wood Realty
Tim@TimWoodRealtor.com
(727) 401-5997