I was doing some job and house scouting on the Internet and came across some information that is good news for the Tampa MSA and thought it would be good to share it.

An April, 2012 Metrostudy report says that housing activity in the MSA is increasing, as had been expected, and that the area is gaining jobs as well. As a consulting ifrm that keeps lots of fresh information on housing and construction markets all around the country, Metrostudy is an excellent source of up to the minute data. 

With an unemployment rate above the national average, job creation is vital for Tampa, and the region is now in the upper echelons when it comes to creating new jobs-- a definite plus. While the rate is still a little high, jobs are being created at a brisk pace, so that number should be dropping over the rest of the year. 

Other good news for the area shows that a lot more houses were started in the beginning of this year, with the expectation being that overall the area will be around 10% higher than last year when taken on an annual basis, and that new homes that were vacant is down as a whole. 

Taken together, these signals spell good news for the Tampa Bay area. Jobs will continue to grow, unemployment will decrease, and more homes are being built. In addition, cheap mortgages  are still readily available to those who are credit-worthy, and many sellers are loosening up requirements for financing. 

The Metrostudy Report that I mentioned above is here: http://www.metrostudyreport.com/tampa-market/tampa-housing-market-increasing-as-expected, and I also found this IPA post that gives a lot of economic indicators--most seem positive.  I also found this post on Tampa Bay.com, that discusses Florida's economic recovery. 

My post was not meant to be overly positive, and to be sure there are challenges, as noted in the comments. It seems that many of the new jobs being created are low-level opportunities, and experienced and knowledgeable workers might do better by starting their own businesses. 

I have no vested interest in the area-- other than the fact that I love it there and I am campaigning my husband hard for a permanent move to the area in the very near future. (We currently spend two to three months there in the winter.) I do have to add that economically, the Tampa area is doing much better than northeast Ohio, where we are from, even with a brand new casino that just opened last month.