On Monday, a circuit court judge invalidated the Hillsborough County transportation tax referendum, which was due to appear on the November ballot. The referendum that asks voters to approve a 1% sales tax on transportation, was ruled both “ambiguous and misleading.”
Yesterday, in a 5-2 party-line vote, the Hillsborough County Commission said they would appeal the decision to invalidate the tax referendum.
The tax was projected to raise $342 million in its first year. Forty-five percent of those funds would have gone directly to the Hillsborough Area Regional Authority (HART). The rest would have been divided between Hillsborough County and three cities (Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City), plus a small amount for the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization.
On the real estate side, 75% of consumers said it was a bad time to buy a home, according to Fannie Mae‘s Home Purchase Sentiment Index. This is up from 73% in August.
Despite the housing market being the least affordable it’s been in decades due to mortgage rate hikes and home price appreciation, 59% of respondents said it was a good time to sell, which remains unchanged from a month ago. While those who said it is a bad time to sell dropped from 35% in August to 33% in September.
This week’s mortgage rate jump from 6.66% to 6.92% has been a particular struggle for the housing market. It is the highest national mortgage rate increase in over two decades. The jump has put homeownership out of reach for even more would-be buyers because of the increased monthly cost.
To put this into perspective, a buyer who earns a median household income and puts down 20% could afford a home costing almost $339,000 this week. That same buyer could have afforded a home costing nearly $449,000 in January, according to Realtor.com.
“As long as supply is limited and affordability pressures continue to constrain potential homebuyers via elevated home prices and mortgage rates, we expect home sales will remain sluggish,” said Fannie Mae’s senior vice president and chief economist Doug Duncan.
You can learn more about Tampa’s housing inventory and prices by watching GTR’s Consulting Economist Elliot Eisenburg Ph.D.’s latest video here.
Lastly, as you all probably know, next Friday, October 21 will be my last day at Greater Tampa REALTORS®.
Serving as the CEO of GTR has been both an exciting and rewarding opportunity. This will be my last CEO report. However, all the same, great information, industry updates and local market statistics will be available in the bi-weekly REALTOR® Edit.
I am so lucky to have had the chance to work with all of you and it has truly been an honor and a privilege to lead and represent this illustrious organization. We have achieved many incredible milestones and outperformed in many areas over the years. I look forward to what the future holds.
