More buyers work in Tampa, live in Pasco or Hernando counties

Many numbers need to be calculated when buying a home, including principal and interest, taxes, municipal and community fees. But there’s another number that may be most important for those commuting to work: driving times.

Jennifer Dobbs, a top agent at Mihara Real Estate, said the number was between 45 and 60.

“They’re looking for a 45 minute to 1 hour ride,” Dobbs said. “If it’s within that range, they’re fine.”

Tampa being a major work center in the area, many of those who work there live there or in one of its surrounding suburbs. It’s more expensive than living in Pasco or Hernando to the north, but for workers in Tampa it’s still about being able to park at work while the steam still seeps from the coffee in the travel mug that traveled with them from home.

But increasingly, more and more Tampaians are rethinking things. Lower real estate and land costs, reduced property taxes, less crowds and less traffic await you just a few miles north of the Pasco County line. For those who push further into Hernando, the values ​​improve further.

But what about that drive to Tampa?

Dobbs notes that in recent years, more lanes have been added to major southbound routes, such as US 41 and I-75. Along with the Suncoast Parkway toll road, more buyers calculated they could take advantage of the values ​​and wiggle room offered by Pasco and Hernando and still work within that all-important 45-60 minute window, said Dobbs.

She said there was a time when it was enough to cross the county line and settle in Lutz, Land O’ Lakes or Odessa, but prices in those areas have skyrocketed in recent years, so buyers continue to move north. Where they stop these days is places like San Antonio and Dade City in Pasco. Others are opting for west of Pasco, especially now that the new Ridge Road extension connects US 19 in Port Richey to the Suncoast Parkway. Many settle along the US 41 corridor south of Brooksville or in Spring Hill. Still others are settling in West Hernando around Weeki Wachee, 45 miles from downtown Tampa.

Dobbs notes that home and land prices can be significantly lower in Pasco and Hernando, as can property taxes. The savings mean that working families who need an extra bedroom can afford it, plus a bigger lot and maybe even a pool. If you are building a new house, the initial impact fee is lower, especially in Hernando.

The game-changer that made living so far from southern work centers an option came two decades ago with the opening of the north-south Suncoast Parkway. The first leg connected State Route 50 to Hernando, via Pasco and the Veterans Highway in Hillsborough County. With a 70 mph speed limit for the 25 miles from SR 50 to SR 54, this was a game changer for commuters. It got better. Over the next few years, new lanes were added to sections of US 41, and this work continues today. Sections of I-75 north of Tampa have been widened and work is underway around SR 56 in the Wesley Chapel area. More recently, work is now ending on the Ridge Road Extension that connects US 19 in Port Richey to the Suncoast Parkway.

Dobbs said many of his buyers who go to Tampa turn to Pasco and Hernando for more than value. They want to exit narrow subdivisions with small lots and no lot lines.

“They’re not looking for cookie-cutter homes (in subdivisions),” Dobbs said. “They want their space.”

Ann Gionta of the Gionta Realty Group has noticed the same trend, but not just among Hillsborough homeowners moving north to Pasco and Hernando, but also among buyers moving from the northern US states to Pasco and Hernando.

She sees a lot of interest from buyers seeking greater freedom from rules and mandates in states like Illinois and New York.

“I spoke to a mother whose daughter is on the northern softball team and had to wear a mask outside while playing softball,” Gionta said. “They are tired of their children wearing masks even outside; they come here because we are more open.

These buyers want the most for the least, plenty of elbow room and at least a bit of countryside. Even if they work in Tampa or St. Pete, they’re okay with the ride, which means they can choose Pasco or Hernando, where $350,000 buys a larger family home on an oversized lot. Gionta estimates they would pay $450,000 for the same house in the Carrollwood area of ​​Hillsborough, where the lot would likely be small and they would “pay higher taxes on top of that.”

“Some people work primarily from home, and even if they have to drive one or two days a week to get to an office (in Tampa), they don’t mind,” Gionta said, adding that for those who have to fly from Occasionally, the drive to Tampa International Airport via the Suncoast Parkway is easy.

Gionta said the Wesley Chapel area, southeast of Pasco, is now a popular destination for families and empty-nesters. Most of what is available are relatively new single family homes and townhouses in new upscale developments. Prices are higher than what buyers who travel a little further north find, but that’s because they’re paying for newer homes, a multitude of stores, as well as the abundance of dining options, leisure and entertainment, not to mention highly rated schools. .

Still, there are some Wesley Chapel bargains coming their way. Gionta just listed a 3/2.5/1 townhouse with 1,634 square feet of living space. It was built last year by Lennar and has water views and backs onto a reserve at Haven and Meadow Pointe. It is priced at $329,000.

Dobbs said she no longer shy away from showing buyers who work in Tampa homes well north of Wesley Chapel — places that in the past would be out of place due to their distance from the city.

She said even Royal Highlands near Weeki Wachee in West Hernando agreed with many. There are larger, newer used homes on lots of half an acre and up, and there are plenty of large lots to build on. In East Hernando, Ridge Manor is similar to Royal Highlands in that it also has a lot of available land and is divided into large parcels.

Dobbs recently showed homes along the State Road 54 corridor in Pasco to a working couple, but they ended up buying in Weeki Wachee, 25 miles further north.

“They were totally okay with that,” Dobbs said.

For those on a tight budget, Tampa commuters find values ​​in the New Port Richey area of ​​Pasco. Dobbs recently had a client who had his eye on Lutz, but with a budget of around $250,000, that wasn’t going to happen. Even an older tiny house on a small lot starts at around $400,000 in Lutz, Dobbs said.

“She was ready to go to New Port Richey,” Dobbs said, and the new Ridge Road extension to Suncoast Parkway made the location all the more appealing.

Overall, Dobbs said she sees the push north of Tampa continuing. She sees a lot of new interest in the great outdoors in places like the SR 52 corridor east of US 41. San Antonio, St. Leo, and Dade City offer relatively affordable country living that’s been in demand ever since. the start of the pandemic, Dobbs said. With the continued additions and improvements to routes south, commute times are only getting better, and with fewer daily commutes to work, and sometimes none for those working remotely, it’s a a trend she expects to continue for some time.