You listed your home in Brandon three weeks ago. It's clean, updated, priced reasonably. And it's barely getting showings.
Meanwhile, the Lennar community two miles away just sold six homes in a week.
I see this pattern across Tampa Bay right now, and if you're a resale seller, you need to understand what you're up against.
Builders are throwing money at buyers
The incentive packages coming out of Tampa Bay's new construction communities are unlike anything I've seen. Builders are stacking multiple offers to move inventory.
M/I Homes is offering up to $60,000 in flex cash on select Tampa Bay builds. Across the market, it's common to see $20,000 to $75,000 in price reductions, $10,000 to $20,000 in closing cost assistance, and rate buydowns through in-house lenders that knock a full point off the mortgage rate.
Stack those together and a buyer walking into a new build in Wesley Chapel or Riverview is looking at $40,000 to $60,000 in total value. That's not a gimmick. That's a down payment's worth of incentives.
In some Tampa Bay submarkets, the median new construction price is now lower than the median resale price. That's historically unusual - and it changes the math for every buyer comparing their options.
The insurance advantage you can't match
New construction built to current Florida Building Code comes with a built-in insurance edge. Modern roof-to-wall connections, impact-rated windows, updated electrical and plumbing - these features dramatically reduce premiums.
A 2025-built home in Westchase might insure for $2,500 to $3,500 a year. A comparable 2003-built resale in the same neighborhood? Easily $4,500 to $6,000 - especially if the roof is original. Florida insurers require 4-point inspections on older homes, and anything that fails means higher premiums or denied coverage entirely.
