In this month’s site analysis report we will be looking at two of Tampa’s biggest Real Estate Heavyweights. We are of course talking about Davis Islands and Hyde Park, which house some of the wealthiest families in Tampa. So which area is the heavyweight champion of real estate in 2010?

Davis Islands was developed in the early 1920’s and originally purchased for $350,000 by D.P. Davis. Davis Islands was built upon two man-made islands atop two small natural islands formerly known as “Little Grassy Key” and “Big Grassy Key”. In an effort to build up the two islands, D.P. Davis hired four dredging companies to unite the islands which was a major undertaking. After working 24 hours a day the island was eventually finished and ready to sell in individual parcels. When the doors opened pandemonium ensued. Within the first 3 hours, all of the initial lots offered (306) were sold. The Tampa Tribune said that Mr. Davis “was literally showered with checks.” The $1,683,582 in sales was a world’s record for the sale of lots in a new subdivision.

Today this same type of excitement still exists when buying or selling a home in this prestigious neighborhood. Unless you have been under a rock for the past few years then you would know that we are experiencing one of the worst real state downturns in recent history. Foreclosure rates are at an all time high and while the future seems to be getting better, more homes are going into foreclosure. However, Davis Island has almost been unaffected by the recent spike in foreclosures. As of today, there is not one foreclosed home on the market.  As a matter of fact, homes selling on the island are sold at only 8% under the list price fairing much better than most other in the Tampa Bay markets.

While Davis Island is a popular place to live, Hyde Park offers some stiff competition for one of the most beloved neighborhoods in Tampa Bay. Hyde Park’s history dates back to the early 1880’s when Henry B. Plant built the first bridge across the Hillsborough River. This bridge allowed for the oldest and best preserved neighborhood to be built in Tampa known as Hyde Park. The first home was built by James Watrous in 1882 located at 1307 Morrison Ave and still stands today.

Hyde Park has always held its own by offering its residents real estate stability during tough times. However, the current sales statistics can be deceiving when analyzing the data below for Hyde Park. At first glance one would think that this market cannot match up against Davis Island.One can quickly see that homes are selling for much less than the list price. Ouch..Winner Davis Island? In fact they are selling 42% less than the price that they were first listed at, however this data is not accurate.  The reason?  This data takes into account Don Wallace’s $10,495,000 mansion located on Bayshore Boulevard.  The owner of Lazy Days put his house on the market a few months ago because he is building another house in the area. Ok, so let’s look at the scorecard by removing Mr. Wallace’s house:

You can see that the numbers become much more favorable for  kas turkey real estate the Hyde Park area. Instead of homes selling for much less than the asking price the area is seeing an uptick in the sales price by 5%. This is encouraging news and shows that Hyde Park is by far exceeding any other market in Tampa Bay.   It is nice to see favorable sales in the area especially those that show such a positive correlation between the listing and sales price.

Therefore while both areas are known to be some of the best in the area we must crown the 2010 real estate champion. By a unanimous decision we have selected Hyde Park as the new undisputed real estate champion of Tampa Bay.  We look forward to a rematch at the end of this year!

The good news is that if you own a home in either of these markets; your value has not been decimated by the current market conditions. Likewise, if you are looking to sell your home in either of these markets you will be able to sell it at a price very close to the list price. Prior to listing your home, you should have a licensed realtor perform a comparative market analysis (CMA). This report will show you the value of your home when compared to others of a similar type and market.