Where is Bayou Club in Seminole, Florida?

Bayou Club Estates is a gated golf community on the Seminole and Largo edge of Pinellas County. Most listings use a Seminole city and ZIP 33777. The gate is off Belcher Road. It is not in Seminole County. Open the Bayou Club homes for sale search for live listings.

Where is Oakhurst Shores in Seminole, Florida?

Oakhurst Shores is a west Seminole neighborhood in Pinellas County near Oakhurst Drive, Grove Street, and Boca Ciega Bay. Most sale files use ZIP 33772. It is not in Seminole County. Many homes may have water frontage, however being in this community does not guarantee water frontage. Search live files on the Oakhurst Shores homes for sale page.

Where is Yacht Club Estates in Seminole, Florida?

Yacht Club Estates is a Seminole neighborhood in Pinellas County. Listings cluster on streets such as Portside Drive and Commodore Drive in ZIP 33776. It is not Seminole County. The yacht-club name does not guarantee a slip or dock. Search live files on the Yacht Club Estates homes for sale page.

How do Florida HOA fees work in Tampa Bay?

Florida HOA fees are set by the association budget, not by the county. They pay common-area care, insurance the association carries, and reserves if the board funded them. Condos under Chapter 718 and HOAs under Chapter 720 are different statutes. Confirm the current fee and any special assessment on the documents for the address, not a listing remark.

Should I close on a Florida home before Dec. 31, 2026 because of Amendment 3?

Not for Amendment 3 alone. It is on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot and needs 60% to pass. Its cutoff is being a Florida resident on Dec. 31, 2026, not owning a home that day. Homestead still needs title and permanent residence on Jan. 1, filed by March 1. Confirm with the county property appraiser. Education, not tax advice.

Who's Paying Cash for Homes in Tampa Bay Right Now?

When I list a home in Pinellas or Hillsborough, one of the first things sellers ask is simple: will the buyer pay cash? In Pinellas, the answer is yes more often than the national average. In Hillsborough, cash runs below the national share. Here's who those buyers are, and why most people still finance.

Cash is a big slice of sales nationally

The National Association of Realtors reported that cash sales accounted for 27% of transactions in September 2026, unchanged from August and down from 30% a year earlier (NAR Existing-Home Sales, October 13, 2026, from its monthly Realtors Confidence Index survey). That's more than one buyer in four.

Realtor.com measures it a little differently. Its all-cash sales report (published August 18, 2026) put the national cash share at 31.4% of sales for January through April 2026.

I think of cash buyers as their own market, separate from buyers using a mortgage. They shop differently, and they compete differently.

Florida runs well above the national average

In that same Realtor.com report, 41.3% of Florida home sales were cash from January through April 2026. That compares with 31.4% nationally.

US map of the share of home purchases made with cash by state, January to April 2026. Florida, highlighted in gold, was 41.3%, compared with a 31.4% national average. Source: Realtor.com Cash Sales Report.

Realtor.com pointed to Florida's older buyer base. That fits what I see. Retirees sell a house up north and buy here outright. Second-home buyers do the same with a condo near the beach or a place to spend the winter. Realtor.com also noted Florida's cash sales barely moved even as total sales fell, which Realtor.com read as a sign that Florida's cash buyers are more insulated from the pullback among financed buyers.

My reading: in Pinellas, that shows up most in condos, 55-plus communities and beach-area homes. In Hillsborough, it's more mixed, with more first-time and move-up buyers who finance.

What local closed sales show

I pulled every residential closed sale in both counties from Stellar MLS, our local MLS, for April 29 to October 28, 2026. The numbers back that up.

Cash share of residential closed sales, Apr 29 to Oct 28, 2026	Pinellas	Hillsborough
All residential	40.0% (3,260 of 8,149)	23.8% (2,267 of 9,527)
Condos	65.3%	62.3%
Townhouses	36.8%	21.8%
Single-family homes	29.7%	19.4%
55-plus communities	73.2% (36.1% elsewhere)	53.4% (22.2% elsewhere)
Waterfront homes	52.9%	30.0%

Source: Stellar MLS residential closed sales in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, Apr 29 to Oct 28, 2026. Cash means the Sold Terms field is Cash only. Combined, the two counties came to 31.3% (5,527 of 17,676).

The Pinellas beach areas stand out. In the MLS areas from Clearwater Beach down to Tierra Verde, 56.4% of sales were cash, compared with 37.6% in the rest of Pinellas (Stellar MLS residential closed sales, Apr 29 to Oct 28, 2026, Sold Terms of Cash only). The beach group counts five MLS areas and leaves out mixed mainland areas such as South Pasadena/Gulfport/St Pete Beach:

Clearwater Beach: 62.4%
Tierra Verde: 57.8%
Madeira Beach and the Redingtons: 56.3%
St. Pete Beach, Pass-a-Grille and Treasure Island: 54.8%
Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Beach and Indian Shores: 52.0%

How I counted: residential closed sales only, and a sale counts as cash when its MLS Sold Terms field says Cash and nothing else. Counting sales that list cash plus another type (like cash and conventional) adds about 1 point at most. These months don't line up with the Realtor.com period above, so take the comparison as rough.

Based on information from the Stellar Multiple Listing Service for the period April 29, 2026 through October 28, 2026, for residential properties in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. This information may or may not include all listed expired, withdrawn, pending or sold properties of one or more members of the Stellar Multiple Listing Service. Data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by the MLS.

Equity is turning sellers into cash buyers

In August 2026, NAR noted that the buyers using cash are investors, second-home buyers, and repeat buyers putting cash from a previous sale to work.

That last group is bigger than people think. Cotality reported that the average homeowner with a mortgage had about $310,000 in equity as of the second quarter of 2026 (Cotality home equity report, released September 10, 2026).

If you've owned for a while, your sale may cover most or all of your next home. Paying cash means no new loan approval, and that can help you close faster. Even if you don't pay all cash, putting more equity down means borrowing less. A seller looking at two offers often sees cash, or a big down payment, as the safer one.

Most buyers in the middle still finance

Here's the part people miss. NAR's 27% cash share means about 73% of September sales were not all-cash. In practice, that means nearly three of every four buyers used some financing.

Realtor.com's price-tier data makes this clearer. Cash was most common at the very low and very high ends. For homes from $200,000 to $750,000, only about 1 in 5 sales was cash: 20.9% for $200K to $350K, 19.1% for $350K to $500K and 21.4% for $500K to $750K, January to April 2026 (Realtor.com Cash Sales Report (Jan-Apr 2026)).

Bar chart of the share of cash sales by price tier, January to April 2026. Cash was most common at the lowest and highest price tiers. Homes from $200,000 to $350,000 were 20.9% cash, $350,000 to $500,000 were 19.1%, and $500,000 to $750,000 were 21.4%, about 1 in 5. Source: Realtor.com Cash Sales Report.

The local numbers point the same way. Single-family homes made up 73% of residential closed sales in the two counties (12,944 of 17,676), and they were 29.7% cash in Pinellas and 19.4% in Hillsborough (Stellar MLS residential closed sales, Apr 29 to Oct 28, 2026, Sold Terms of Cash only). So if you're buying a house with a loan, you're the typical buyer here. A clean offer, a strong pre-approval and a realistic closing timeline still win plenty of homes.

What this means for you

If you're selling, ask about proof of funds on a cash offer, and don't dismiss a well-qualified financed buyer. If you're buying, know which part of the market you're shopping in. A beach condo or a home in a 55-plus community will often draw cash competition. A family home in the suburbs, especially in Hillsborough, usually won't.

For more on how different parts of the area behave, see Tampa Bay's 4 Markets: St. Pete, Clearwater, the Beaches and Tampa.

Want to talk through your situation, whether you're paying cash, using equity or financing? Book a consultation. I can help on the real estate side, the loan side, or both. If you're ready to start on financing, you can start your application on PMF, Inc.'s secure portal. Apply with Jonathan Loescher, Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS 2621894, PMF, Inc., NMLS 1980. Or browse homes for sale first.

Jonathan Loescher, Tampa Bay Realtor and Mortgage Loan Originator. Realtor (SL3546365) with Realty of America. Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS 2621894, with PMF, Inc., NMLS 1980.

Real estate services through Realty of America. Mortgage loans originated through PMF, Inc., NMLS 1980. You don't have to use both. Education only. PMF, Inc. is an Equal Housing Opportunity mortgage broker. This is not a commitment to lend. All loans are subject to credit approval, underwriting, and property eligibility. Not all applicants will qualify. Programs, rates, terms and conditions may change without notice.