That is an excellent question Chris. Generally, the trend seemed to be that the further you move from Pinellas the more you get for your money. A few years ago people were moving to Pasco County (and even still) to get a bigger house for your money. Now it doesn’t happen as often. It is very much a buyers market now so you can find a good deal from a distressed seller pretty much anywhere in the state. It all depends on what is important to you (i.e. large yard, home sq. ft., proximity to the Gulf, handyman special, Planned Unit Development, etc.) In Pinellas County it’s nice to be close to the water and if you are looking for a property that may be a little older and need a little work, St Petersburg, Largo, Clearwater, Dunedin, may be a good fit.
Since Pasco County went through so much growth in the last 10 years if you are looking for a minimum 3, bedroom, 2 bath, new home, gated community, and a .25 acre lot you can find 100’s of them on the market now between 200-300k i.e. www.meadowpointeonline.com to give you an idea.
As far as the schools go, we have a school webpage http://www.livetampabay.com/Schools.htm
In addition to the information on the website we have extremely in depth demographics, school information, and statistics about any particular area that we would be happy send you when you decide on a particular area. It is part of an internal complex real estate program that we use in our office.
With the schools in the Greater Tampa Bay area…., It really depends on what neighborhood you live in. There are several other school related variables that we can help you out with once we start to identify what areas you were interested in.
Keep in mind that the above area information is generalized. You can find any of these features in all of the Greater Tampa Bay Area. If you would like to get an idea about what home prices and features are in different areas give us as much information as you can via phone 1-877-LiveTampa or by using this form http://www.livetampabay.com/E-maillistings.htm
Thanks for your Inquiry,
Hope this helps.
Casey