Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa Home Values All Soar in Third Quarter

If you thought the Central Florida housing market was poised for a crash along the lines of what’s going on in the Southern portion of the Sunshine State, you’d better reexamine your thinking.

Home values in Metro Orlando and two other Florida markets were among the nation’s fastest growing in the third fiscal quarter, an analysis by an online real estate research company showed.

The popular site Zillow.com estimated that greater Orlando existing-home values in the quarter rose 17.6 percent from the previous year, trailing the Jacksonville housing market, which averaged 19.1 percent.

Portland-Salem, Ore., also edged out Orlando with 17.9 percent home price appreciation. The Richmond-Petersburg, Va., area was fourth, posting 16.2 percent average, while Tampa-St. Petersburg came in fifth at 15.9 percent.

So much for that rise in Florida home mortgage rates killing demand for properties. While parts of South Florida are struggling mightily in this market, other areas of the state keep chugging along and posting strong growth.

Zillow.com uses a proprietary method for its analysis. The Seattle-based company said that despite a decline in values in many regions during the quarter, home values were up 4.8 percent year-over-year in the 36 regions it studies. Declines were noted for Boston; Hartford, Conn.; Cincinnati; Minneapolis; San Diego; and Sacramento, Calif.