...but first they put elderly folks out on the street--what a mess that RE frenzy left behind.
SEPT 2, 2005
"Demand has pushed prices for existing single-family homes upward more than 30 percent locally over the past year to July medians of $217,400 in Tampa-St. Petersburg and $333,900 in Sarasota-Bradenton, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
That puts tenants of all types in a tight spot, possibly forcing them to remain renters longer while socking away a heftier down payment. Worse yet, they may have to move elsewhere if their apartments go condo and the asking price is too steep for the same unit they have rented for years.
Gloria Holloway hopes any such decision will be a few years away at Georgetown Apartments, a large complex near West Shore and Gandy boulevards in South Tampa. The 162-acre waterfront site was purchased in April for $125 million by the Motta Group of Fort Lauderdale.
The new owner eventually plans to demolish Georgetown's 624 units, which were built in 1970, and replace them with four times as many modern homes. Yet apartments there are still available for rent, ranging between $635 and $1,500 a month.
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Whatever goes up here may not be anything I can afford," said Holloway, a retiree who has called Georgetown home for the past 11 years since moving from Miami. She said she has looked around for nearby homes but the cheapest she could find was a dilapidated house on a small lot near MacDill Air Force Base, with an asking price of $135,000.
"I want to stay in this neighborhood," she said, adding that her daughter and 5-year-old granddaughter live nearby.
A landlord's market - Tampa Bay Business Journal:
Good news Gloria...now's a great time to buy!!
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