Seminole Heights Real Estate Recovering?

I have been watching the listings and prices in our neighborhood, and while my observations are not scientific by any means, I think I am seeing an uptick in both buying activity and prices....I use Zillow (not religiously....there are plenty of bugs) as an unofficial gauge.....it shows recently sold properties and properties for sale....my estimated value has climbed almost $100K over the past couple of months....for awhile it had the lowest estimated value in the area, which didn't make sense to me since we have a double lot. Again, Zillow is NOT an accurate valuation tool, but you can sort of pick up on trends by looking at the sold properties. While some properties have been on the market forever, I do see some movement, and if something is priced right, it sells, unlike the way it had been for awhile where nothing was selling no matter what the price was. My next door neighbor has put his house on the market again at a lower price....I will be curious to see what happens and when. I wish him luck.....
I received our TRIM notice this week, and I was quite happy with it....almost $2K down from last year. That's a lot of wood!

Silver Lining in Property Value Decline?

I checked my tax assessed value on the Hillsborough County Property Assessor's site (http://www.hcpafl.org/www/index.shtml) and was really shocked to see what my assessed value had dropped to.....I know it's not a sales price, and it's due to flucuation...and in this market, we will not be selling for some time anyway......but as a gauge, it's scary to think houses could lose value this quickly. I won't go into actual numbers.......it's public information, so anyone can access anyone's assessment. My shiny, happy moment was when I did the "Tax Estimator" tool......and I wasn't even accounting for the extra $25K in homestead exemption from the new tax amendment. It made me smile...just a little......and I think if this valuation is still standing when TRIM notices come out this summer, I might even dance that envelope around the living room for a bit.....instead of the usual immediate hiding in a drawer treatment.