Hillsborough home prices stable

TAMPA — Hillsborough County home prices have increased an average of $4.75 per square foot in the first half of 2011 once distressed sales are excluded from the data, a study by the University of South Florida reports. Distressed sales include properties sold through foreclosure or short sales.

From 2009 to 2010, the average prices of non-distressed home sales declined by 1% and are down by 33% since their peak. Ron Rutherford, the USF professor who authored the study, says the price increase in the first half of 2011 bodes well for the local economy, as it indicates that the real estate sector is stabilizing.

In addition, the study reports that from 2009 until now, distressed properties were on the market for an average of 55 days. But recent short sales averaged 170 days on the market, while non-distressed properties averaged 110 days on the market.

The prices of properties sold in distressed sales continue to fall, with a decrease of 11% for the first half of 2011. Those sales accounted for more than half of total sales in the county, the report says.