Lower home prices in Pasco County draw buyers from the Tampa Bay area

The lowest home-sale price last year in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties was three times more than the highest price in Pasco

Waterfront homes in New Port Richey, Pasco County (Credit: iStock)
Waterfront homes in New Port Richey, Pasco County (Credit: iStock)

Pasco County, just north of the Tampa Bay area in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, is drawing luxury-home buyers in search of bargains.

Among the 25 most expensive homes sold last year in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, the lowest sale price was three times the price of the most expensive home in Pasco.

As a result, home buyers from Hillsborough and Pinellas are shopping in Pasco, where even sprawling estates seem affordable.

Robert Welbourn, a Realtor who sells homes in parts of Pasco east of U.S. Highway 41, told the Tampa Bay Times that most of his clients are moving from other counties for a lower cost of living in Pasco.

The most expensive Pasco homes sold in 2018 were in the southern end of the county, where residents can use Suncoast Parkway and Interstate 75 to commute to Tampa.

The Wesley Chapel area of Pasco is a popular area with upscale residential developments Estancia, Trinity and Champions Club.

Less-expensive alternatives to residential properties in Pinellas along the Gulf of Mexico are homes in New Port Richey, which fetch some off the highest prices in Pasco.

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Here are brief descriptions of the six most expensive homes sold last year in Pasco:

~ In Dade City, a 5,290-square-foot home with five bedrooms and four bathrooms sold for $1.3 million. The property is a 46-acre estate with two barns and a pond.

~In Land O’ Lakes, a 6,264-square-foot home with five bedrooms and five bathrooms sold for $1.2 million.

~In Trinity, a 5,150-square-foot home with four bedrooms and five bathrooms sold for $1.175 million.

~In Dade City, an 11,768-square-foot home with 12 bedrooms and eight bathrooms sold for $1.150 million. The residence is a lakefront home on 48.5 acres.

~In New Port Richey, a 3,977-square-foot home with five bedrooms and three bathrooms sold for $1.1 million. The home occupies a half acre with access to the Gulf of Mexico.

~In New Port Richey, a 3,214-square-foot waterfront home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms sold for $1.1 million. [Tampa Bay Times]Mike Seemuth