Selling a House in St. Petersburg

What 2024 did to St. Pete values

Helene's surge in late September 2024 flooded low-lying waterfront neighborhoods, Shore Acres among the hardest hit, and Milton followed two weeks later. Values had peaked that June. Since then, single-family homes have slipped to about $375,475, though they are up 0.6% over the last year, a sign the decline has leveled off for houses.

Condos took the larger hit. The condo index is $199,382, down 6.1% in a year and nearly 30% below its September 2022 peak of $283,671. Insurance costs, condo safety rules and storm exposure all landed on the same buildings.

The neighborhood numbers show the storm footprint:

• Shore Acres ($439,606) is down 4.9% over five years even after gaining 1.6% this year.
• Coquina Key ($280,721) is up only 1.8% in five years, Edgemoor ($295,964) 0.1%.
• Snell Isle ($1,302,991) fell 3.7% in the past year.

Inland and higher-ground areas tell a different story: Lakewood (+4.8%), Gateway (+4.7%), Historic Kenwood (+3.0%), Greater Pinellas Point (+2.8%) and Downtown (+2.7%) all gained in the last year.

The 50% rule and why buyers ask about it

In communities that take part in the National Flood Insurance Program, a building in a flood zone that is substantially damaged or substantially improved, usually meaning repair or improvement costs reach 50% of the structure's market value, must be brought up to current flood rules. Often that means elevating or rebuilding.

Buyers of St. Pete homes in flood zones now want to know:

• Whether the city issued a substantial damage determination after Helene or Milton.
• What was repaired, under which permits, and whether the work passed final inspection.
• Whether the house sits below base flood elevation, and how much room is left under the 50% threshold for future renovations.

Have the answers in writing. A repaired home with closed permits and a clean record sells as a repaired home. One with open questions gets priced as a teardown by cautious buyers.

Your flood disclosure and the documents to gather

Florida requires residential sellers to disclose known facts that materially affect value and are not readily observable. Since October 1, 2025, there is also a written flood disclosure: you state whether you know of flood damage during your ownership, whether you filed flood insurance claims, and whether you received federal disaster assistance for flooding. In St. Pete, many sellers will answer yes on at least one line. That is fine. Hiding it is not.

Documents that support your price:

• Elevation certificate and current flood zone.
• Flood and wind policy declarations, with premiums, so buyers can see real costs.
• Contractor invoices, permits and final inspections for storm repairs.
• Roof year and a wind mitigation report; with a median year built of 1969, a 4-point inspection is also likely on most homes.

Pricing by size in an older housing stock

Typical St. Pete values: one-bedroom $132,503, two-bedroom $299,835, three-bedroom $427,983, four-bedroom $631,702, five or more $1,197,051. The lower third of the market is around $208,883 and the upper third from about $647,883.

The two-bedroom figure is high relative to other Florida cities because a good share of the city's two-bedrooms are older houses on city lots close to downtown and the waterfront, where location carries the price. Buyers weigh location against space, and an updated two-bedroom in Historic Kenwood or Old Northeast can outsell a larger house further out.

Nearby alternatives shape buyer choices too. Pinellas Park ($300,743) and Largo ($335,649) sit below St. Pete, Dunedin ($410,947) and Safety Harbor ($496,694) above. Gulf beach towns such as Saint Pete Beach ($606,325) and Treasure Island ($531,324) are a separate, storm-exposed market of their own.

Condo sellers: the building's storm record is part of your listing

A St. Pete condo buyer is buying the association as much as the unit. After 2024, the questions are concrete: how the building fared in the surge, what the master policy now costs, whether the association used reserves or a special assessment for repairs, and where its milestone inspection and structural reserve study stand. Florida law no longer lets owners waive the structural reserves, so underfunded buildings are raising dues.

Buyers get a short window to cancel after they receive the association documents, and lenders review the building before approving a loan. Ask your manager for the full package, including minutes from the last year of board meetings, before you list. Pricing a unit above recent sales in its own building rarely works in a market down 6.1% for the year.

Seller costs and taxes in Pinellas

Pinellas sellers customarily pay deed doc stamps at $0.70 per $100, about $2,463 at the typical value, and usually the owner's title policy, subject to the contract. Taxes are paid in arrears, so the November bill is prorated and you credit the buyer for the months you owned the home this year. Commission is negotiable; since August 2024, compensation for the buyer's agent is decided between you and the buyer, outside the MLS.

Insurance or FEMA payouts can affect your cost basis, which matters for the federal tax calculation. The home sale exclusion is $250,000 of gain per person, $500,000 for married joint filers, on a main home lived in two of the last five years, and Florida has no state income tax. A seller buying another Florida homestead within three years can port up to $500,000 of accumulated Save Our Homes benefit. This isn't legal or tax advice. Bring your claim paperwork to a CPA before you list.