My hope for 2015 is to buy a new home with the help of a Smith & Associates Real Estate professional. I moved to St. Petersburg from New York for many reasons; a report from Realtor.com listing the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater market as the second-best city for first time homebuyers. was definitely one of those reasons.

Using the NEW Smith & Associates Real Estate website. I decided to perform a little test: what would 175,000 – 200,000 buy me in the Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater area.

From the homepage I click on Buy > Search By Criteria and enter the following:

Type – Single Family Home 2+ Bedrooms 2+ Bathrooms Price Range – 175,000 to 200,000 The search generated more than 1,000 results.

When I see a house that catches my eye, I click on the image and it brings me to the listing page.

On the listing page I’m given access to more photos of the property, additional details, and a contact number for Smith & Associates; the simplicity of it all is reassuring and not at all overwhelming.

After finding a couple of houses that tickle my fancy, I still have some questions, like, what kind of neighborhood is Old Northeast?

Luckily, the Smith & Associates Real Estate website can also help with narrowing down what type of neighborhood is best suited for you based on characteristics you find important.

On the Neighborhoods page, located under the Local Info tab, I click on dining, waterfront and historic, because those are attributes that are important to me.

I choose Old Northeast.

On the Old Northeast Real Estate page there is a list detailing what the neighborhood is known for, a map pinpointing the Old Northeast location, a description with recommendations of similar neighborhoods and some highlights and insights.

However, my favorite part of the neighborhood page is the plethora of Tampa Bay real estate experts tied to specific neighborhoods.   So, when I find a home I love in a neighborhood I love, I can then contact a real estate expert to help me buy that home.

As I said, my hope is to buy a home in 2015. What I know for sure is that I will be using Smith & Associates Real Estate to help me purchase my first home.

I would love to hear about the Tampa Bay Area neighborhood you live in or perhaps a neighborhood you love to visit because of a certain je ne sais quoi. Let me know where I should focus my attention and why in the comment section below or in the comment section on Facebook.

20Pitre-40.jpg /%

About Chris Pitre

Christopher Pitre assists in organizing, strategizing, and executing the marketing efforts for Smith & Associates Real Estate. A native of New York, Christopher moved to downtown St. Petersburg with his partner Steven to advance his career in real estate marketing. An avid lifestyle blogger, Christopher enjoys sharing his explorations and discoveries with his readers and is excited at the prospect of St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater providing him with plenty of inspiration.