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February 15, 2004 The cost of living here
By MATTHEW WAITE As an investment over the past five years, you couldn't have done much better than bay area real estate, where values have skyrocketed.
Home sweet home no easy find
By BILL VARIAN,CARRIE JOHNSON and MATTHEW WAITE Home buyers must take compromise to heart in the booming Tampa Bay area market. It turns out $150,000 doesn't go far as it used to.
South Pinellas
Neighborhood ripe for change a good gamble
By CURTIS KRUEGER ST. PETERSBURG - Kathy Young spent $59,000 for a two-story, three-bedroom house because she liked its hardwood floors and its location in St. Petersburg's Historic Kenwood neighborhood just north of downtown.
Priced out of their markets
By CARRIE JOHNSON ST. PETERSBURG: A steep jump in prices has left many in the working class with little chance at home ownership.
Appreciation with a caveat
By JON WILSON The median value rose to $74,500 in Highland Oaks, although less when a dozen new homes are removed from the picture.
In Seminole, real cows to cash cows
By MARY JANE PARK A city that has doubled in land and population since 2000 bids adieu to the under-$100,000 abode.
Roots aplenty in Driftwood
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE Dream of joining this weirdly wonderful 49-home burg? Unless you're a bat, you're probably in for a wait.
The elusive starter home
By ANNE LINDBERG Many buyers who are almost squeezed out of the market look for a find in Pinellas Park, Lealman and Kenneth City.
What $100K feels like
By SHARON L. BOND Gateway and Euclid Heights aren't highfalutin, and that's just fine with longtime residents and younger newcomers.
Brisk sales at land's end
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE Greater Pinellas Point has been a buyer's, and seller's, market. Residents and Realtors say perks include more bang for the buck and a harmonic vibe. Must be something in the saltwater
By MAUREEN BYRNE AHERN Beach real estate has gone bonkers, as evidenced by cottages for not-so-quaint prices, a stream of million-dollar condos and the sought-after teardown.
Turnover central
By DONNA WINCHESTER and JON WILSON Disston Heights and Central Oak Park, high, dry and affordable, have been a real estate broker's dream come true.
Modest gains in Childs Park
By JON WILSON Home prices inch up and contracts stack up in a neighborhood where a third of the residents live in poverty.
Now that's rich
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE and DONNA WINCHESTER Million-dollar teardowns and a tsunami of appreciation: Bayshore? Boca? No, St. Petersburg, on the waterfront.
NorthPinellas
February 15, 2004 Older, smaller homes have plenty of takers
By AARON SHAROCKMAN One real estate broker discovers that affordable inland homes are quietly becoming top sellers.
This home hasn't changed very much - but the price sure has
By AARON SHAROCKMAN Frequent turnover is the key at 50 Acacia St. on Clearwater Beach.
Through the roof
By AARON SHAROCKMAN That's where home prices have gone in the past five years.
Retiring baby boomers fuel waterfront boom
By AARON SHAROCKMAN Tiny Crystal Beach used to be sleepy, beachy. Now an influx of newcomers is changing its feel.
Hillsborough
Work, wait and equity can just happen
By BILL VARIAN TAMPA - Bruce Van Wert shakes his head when he contemplates what has been happening up and down his street in Seminole Heights.
Priced out of their markets
By RON MATUS SOUTH TAMPA: Modest, middle class homes are disappearing under a tide of well-to-do newcomers.
Old Florida features grace new houses
By JANET ZINK In the suburbs, home buyers can get traditional touches with new-home efficiency and bargain prices.
Suburbs going condo
By JAMES THORNER For a lot of people, a townhome is the only starter home within reach
These new houses celebrate old styles
By JANET ZINK Some builders aim for more traditional designs like bungalows and homes with front porches or the "Hyde Park look."
New homes offer old style
By JANET ZINK Builders are designing homes that combine Old Florida style with modern efficiency.
Pasco
February 15, 2004 Buying into Pasco's bargains
By JAMES THORNER Homeowners are yielding large gains, but prices are still more affordable than in some nearby counties.
Hernando
February 15, 2004 Hernando's hidden secret
By JENNIFER LIBERTO A nationwide demand for waterfront property and the opening of the Suncoast Parkway bring more buyers to Hernando Beach, which doesn't have a beach but is laced with man-made canals.
Wise buyers 'lucky,' content with beachfront home
By ROBERT KING Even though property prices have skyrocketed in Hernando Beach, they are still some of the most affordable.
Citrus
February 15, 2004 Going up: land values
By AMY WIMMER SCHWARB Real estate prices continue to rise, particularly for homes on the water or a golf course or those with several acres.
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