Are you looking for the best Tampa, Florida real estate agents? If so, you’ve come to the right place.
I wrote this article and updated it for 2026 based on actual interviews and conversations I’ve had with Realtors in the Tampa market.
Tampa’s real estate market is booming, with new buyers and investors drawn to the city’s waterfront lifestyle, thriving economy, and vibrant neighborhoods. Whether you’re buying your first home, selling a property, or seeking luxury waterfront living, working with the right Tampa Real Estate Agents can make all the difference.
With so many options available, it’s important to focus on the best real estate agents in Tampa – those who consistently deliver exceptional results and understand the unique dynamics of this market.
These Tampa FL Realtors combine deep local knowledge with a client-first approach, making them some of the most trusted Tampa Realtors in the area.
In this article, we highlight three of the top real estate professionals in Tampa. Each of them brings proven experience, strong community ties, and a reputation for helping clients achieve their real estate goals.
Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or invest in one of Florida’s hottest markets, these agents stand out as leaders you can rely on.
Why Work with a Local Tampa Real Estate Agent?
When it comes to navigating the competitive housing market, working with a local expert can save you time, money, and stress. The best Tampa Real Estate Agents bring in-depth knowledge of Tampa neighborhoods, current market conditions, and proven negotiation skills that directly benefit both buyers and sellers.
For buyers, a trusted agent can guide you through every step of buying a home in Tampa. From understanding which communities best match your lifestyle to spotting potential red flags during a home tour, their local insight is invaluable.
Neighborhoods like Hyde Park, Davis Island, Westchase, Channelside, and South Tampa each offer unique charm, amenities, and investment opportunities – knowledge that only a seasoned Tampa professional can provide.
For sellers, an experienced Realtor ensures your home is priced correctly, strategically marketed, and presented to the right audience. Selling in Tampa requires more than just listing online; it requires a deep understanding of local buyer demand and the ability to negotiate effectively. That’s why selling property in Tampa with the right agent often means faster sales and stronger offers.
And for those moving to Tampa Florida from out of state, the transition becomes much smoother with a knowledgeable local guide. From school districts and commute routes to entertainment and waterfront living, an agent rooted in Tampa can help you quickly feel at home in one of Florida’s most dynamic cities.
Best Tampa Real Estate Agents
1. Kristen Arseneau | Smith & Associates Real Estate
From the publisher…
“Kristen gets the nod for Tampa’s Top Agent for 2025 for a variety of reasons. From her former career as an educator, to the amazing growth of her business in just 5 years, Kristen embodies what we look for in a great real estate agent.
Kristen’s enthusiasm for working with buyer clients is such a relief in a market obsessed with acquiring listings.
Her marketing is on point, creative, and authentic. She’s also extremely responsive and professional in all aspects of the buying or selling process.”
~ Jeff Hamm, Epic Agents Podcast
Kristen Arseneau is a Tampa Bay Realtor with Smith & Associates specializing in South Tampa luxury, waterfront, and relocation. A Maryland native, she moved to Tampa in 2018 after a decade as a K-12 educator in Baltimore County.
Kristen launched her real estate career in 2021, posting just under $15M in her first year and earning Rookie of the Year honors at both Berkshire Hathaway and later Smith & Associates.
She now runs a listing-forward business (while still loving the buy side), typically closing ~$20M annually and targeting $30M in 2025.
Known for service-first representation and rigorous systems as a Ninja Selling practitioner, Kristen is deeply knowledgeable about South Tampa’s most coveted areas – including Davis Islands, Bayshore, Hyde Park, Water Street, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Clients value her calm negotiation style, market savvy, and long-term relationship focus.
Experience & Specialties
Years active: Licensed and practicing since 2021 (Rookie of the Year her first year; now listing-forward and targeting $30M in 2025).
Primary focus: South Tampa luxury and waterfront properties, with deep knowledge of Davis Islands, Bayshore/Bayshore Beautiful, Hyde Park, Water Street, and South Tampa “bubble” neighborhoods.
Buyer expertise: Strong on the buy side (her favorite), crafting winning offers in competitive markets through proactive agent-to-agent communication and tailored terms.
Listing expertise: Now ~75% listing mix; pricing strategy and presentation for high-demand South Tampa inventory.
Relocation: Guides clients moving to Tampa – schools, commute, lifestyle, resort-style suburbs vs. urban South Tampa.
New construction & lots: Familiar with tear-down/lot value dynamics and new builds in South Tampa’s non-HOA areas.
Methodology: Ninja Selling practitioner, which means service-first systems, consistent follow-up, long-term relationship focus.
Meet Kristen in this short video
Listen to Kristen’s full interview:
epicagentspodcast.com/036-tampa-fl-real-estate-kristen-arseneau
2. Courtney Poe | Frank Albert Realty
Courtney Poe is a Tampa Bay Realtor with 11+ years of experience, known for boutique, high-touch representation at Frank Albert Realty.
A former hospitality and sales pro (and “born negotiator”), she built a referral-driven business focused on listings, new construction, and land development – from sourcing off-market lots to coordinating builder partnerships and guiding clients through rezones inside the City of Tampa.
Courtney lives steps from the Riverwalk and knows the lifestyle DNA of Tampa’s core neighborhoods – Davis Islands, Harbour Island, Water Street, and downtown – as well as suburban pockets across the bay. She also regularly serves relocation and military (MacDill AFB/VA) clients and leads a team to ensure white-glove coverage.
Clients choose Courtney for her calm, competitive negotiating style, deep market intel, and ability to deliver hard-to-find new construction options that fit exact lot size, location, and design goals – even when inventory is tight.
Experience & Specialties
Years active: 12 years; referral-first business; listing-leaning with a buyer team for coverage.
Focus areas: New construction, land/lot acquisition, rezoning, fix & flip, and package deals with builders.
Property types: Luxury and waterfront/intercoastal, plus urban-core condos/townhomes near Riverwalk/Water Street.
Neighborhood expertise: Davis Islands, Harbour Island, Water Street/downtown Tampa, and surrounding Tampa Bay communities.
Relocation/Military: Guides MacDill AFB/VA buyers on commute, schools, and lifestyle fit.
Go-to strengths: Creative deal structuring, off-market lot sourcing, and negotiation in shifting inventory conditions.
Meet Courtney in this short video
Listen to Courtney’s full interview:
epicagentspodcast.com/048-courtney-poe-tampa-bay-luxury-real-estate
3. Rebekah Mabe | Tomlin St Cyr Realty
Born and raised in Tampa Bay (Pinellas County) and a USF graduate, Rebekah Mabe blends marketing savvy with a relentlessly relationship-first approach.
Before real estate, she led a team of 10 at a marketing firm, serving as the liaison between big-box retailers and consumer brands on research, display strategy, and demographic targeting.
That training – plus a lifetime around her family’s buy-fix-rent investments – shows up in her clear pricing guidance, staging and positioning, and calm client communication.
Rebekah serves buyers and sellers across Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Pinellas, with a special knack for relocation clients and anyone wanting a caring, high-touch guide.
Experience & Specialties
Background: USF degree in Sign Language Interpreting (communications), hospitality leadership (head of catering at O’Melie’s in Atlanta), and professional marketing – now applied to listing prep, audience targeting, and offer strategy.
Focus areas: Tampa Bay & Pinellas neighborhoods, St. Pete, and surrounding suburbs; adept at navigating today’s buyer-leaning conditions (turnkey demand, days-on-market realities, flood-disclosure nuances).
Clients served: Relocation buyers (including out-of-state), first-time buyers, and sellers who need strategic pricing and presentation; comfortable advising investors thanks to family experience with rentals and rehabs.
Go-to strengths: Relationship building, consistent follow-up (inspired by Ninja Selling frameworks like the 8×8), open-house mastery, and educating clients with clear comps and market context.
Style: Warm, proactive, and detail-oriented – “good attitude + good habits” is her operating system.
Meet Rebekah in this short video
Listen to Rebekah’s full interview:
epicagentspodcast.com/049-rebekah-mabe-tampa-bay-luxury-real-estate
4. Connor Loyd & Tyler Loyd | Florida Executive Realty
From the publisher…
“Connor and Tyler are the kind of second-generation Tampa Realtors I love to spotlight — not because they’re loud on social media, but because they’re quietly building a deep, relationship-first business in the city they’ve always called home.
Their father founded Florida Executive Realty back in 1991, and these days the brothers help lead the South Tampa office while still producing at a high level themselves. They’re students of the market, but they’re just as serious about character, consistency, and doing right by their clients.
From navigating Florida’s evolving condo landscape to understanding why Carrollwood is on fire while other pockets soften, Connor and Tyler bring a rare blend of big-picture insight and front-lines experience. They’re networkers, not showboats — the kind of agents who would rather hand-deliver Thanksgiving pies to past clients than film a Lamborghini reel.
They’re exactly the kind of steady, authentic professionals I want Epic Agents readers to know about in Tampa.”
~ Jeff Hamm, Epic Agents Podcast
Connor and Tyler Loyd are second-generation Tampa Bay Realtors with Florida Executive Realty, where they help manage the South Tampa office while serving buyers and sellers across the greater Tampa area. Their real estate roots run deep — their father founded the brokerage in 1991 — and both brothers chose to build their careers in the same city they grew up in and never wanted to leave.
Tyler is a University of South Florida graduate and Connor is a University of Florida alum, giving them strong ties across Tampa’s academic and professional communities. Together, they’ve built a relationship-driven business that leans heavily on in-person networking, repeat clients, and referrals rather than flashy social media tactics.
On the market side, Connor and Tyler are thoughtful interpreters of Tampa’s “dual market” reality: softening in certain condo segments after Surfside-driven legislation, paired with intense competition for well-renovated family homes in areas like Carrollwood and South Tampa. Clients appreciate that they don’t sugarcoat conditions; they explain what’s really happening, why it’s happening, and how to navigate it.
As office leaders, they mentor a mix of seasoned producers and brand-new agents, teaching the same fundamentals that shaped their own success: authenticity, consistency, and a long-game mindset. Whether they’re advising USF recruits on where to live, coaching a newer agent through a tough deal, or delivering Thanksgiving pies to past clients, Connor and Tyler show up as what they are — grounded professionals who put “client first, commission second.”
Experience & Specialties
Years & role: Second-generation Realtors who joined the family brokerage after college and now help manage Florida Executive Realty’s South Tampa office, home to ~20 agents and roughly $50–70M in annual sales (with the company eclipsing ~$500M).
Primary focus: Residential real estate across greater Tampa Bay, with strong activity in South Tampa, Carrollwood, and established family neighborhoods that balance lifestyle, schools, and access to downtown.
Market insight: Deep understanding of Tampa’s “dual market” dynamics — including softness in certain Gulf-side condo segments after new statewide regulations, contrasted with multiple-offer scenarios and escalation clauses for renovated single-family homes in high-demand areas.
Buyer expertise: Particularly skilled at advising relocation and move-up buyers on lifestyle fit — schools, commute, neighborhood character, and long-term value — and at helping clients weigh condos vs. single-family in an evolving regulatory landscape.
Listing expertise: Strong believers that “listings lead to more listings,” leveraging open houses, neighbor outreach, and thoughtful pricing to maximize exposure while generating additional opportunities in the surrounding community.
Relocation & recruiting partnerships: Have developed relationships with major local employers — notably the University of South Florida — by offering area tours and lifestyle guidance as part of faculty and staff recruiting, often becoming the go-to advisors for incoming hires.
Networking-first business model: Build their pipeline through board service and community involvement rather than content-heavy social media — including leadership roles with the Tampa Gator Club (UF alumni scholarships) and Tampa Connection (professional networking and local charities).
Client care & follow-up: Emphasize long-term relationships through high-touch touches like personally delivering Thanksgiving pies to past clients and sending a monthly, mailed “What’s Real With Real Estate in Tampa” newsletter that keeps their sphere educated and connected.
Training & mentorship: Coach agents in their office on choosing the right path — “networker or marketer” — and then leaning into it consistently, with a focus on authenticity, value-first referral partnerships, and treating real estate as a serious entrepreneurial venture.
Philosophy: Client-first, relationship-driven, and relentlessly consistent; they believe real estate is a long game where the real win is building a business (and a reputation) that you truly own.
5. Kelsi Ward | Southern Life Realty
From the publisher…
“Kelsi is the definition of someone who built her way into real estate — not by accident, but by design. She didn’t start with a fat pipeline or a famous team. She started as a confused consumer who hired the wrong agent, got lucky with the right one, and then decided to learn this business from the ground up as an investor.
From flipping homes at night while working a full-time job and raising a newborn, to finally going all-in on residential sales, Kelsi brings a rare mix of empathy, grit, and numbers-driven discipline. She understands what keeps buyers up at night, what truly matters to investors, and how to translate market data into clear decisions.
Today, she’s one of the more thoughtful voices in the Tampa Bay and Pinellas County market — especially around affordability, insurance, taxes, and what “weird” really looks like in 2025. Her marketing leans heavily on helpful, educational content rather than pure entertainment, and it shows: buyers are literally finding her online, binge-watching her videos, and then calling because she ‘sounds knowledgeable and articulate.’
In a market where everyone wants more followers, Kelsi’s quietly focused on something more important: building foundational relationships, not transactional wins.”
~ Jeff Hamm, Epic Agents Podcast
Kelsi Ward is a Tampa Bay–area residential Realtor with Southern Life Realty, serving buyers, sellers, and investors across Pinellas County and surrounding communities. Her path into real estate started the way many consumer stories do: she bought her first home with a “friend of a friend,” then had no idea where to turn when it came time to sell. A quick “agent near me” Google search could have gone sideways — but instead, she connected with a rock-star Realtor who guided her through a major life transition and planted the seed for Kelsi’s own career.
That experience, combined with becoming a first-time mom in 2017, pushed her to think differently about time, income, and flexibility. She completed her first flip that year while working a full-time job, spending days at the office and evenings on the job site. Over the next several years she continued flipping, learning firsthand how budgets blow up, timelines shift, and markets change — and how critical it is to run the numbers honestly.
From 2017 to 2021, Kelsi learned the business from the investment side. In 2022 she got licensed, staying in her “day job” for about a year and a half while building her sales business until she was absolutely sure she could step into real estate full time. That deliberate transition reflects how she now advises both buyers and new agents: treat this as a real business, understand the cash flow and runway, and don’t mistake low barriers to entry for an easy ride.
Today, Kelsi focuses on residential sales in Pinellas County — from St. Pete to Palm Harbor — working with everyone from first-time buyers and relocating families to flippers and short-term rental investors. She’s deeply data-oriented, helping clients weigh price, insurance, taxes, and interest rates instead of chasing headlines. On social media and LinkedIn, she leads with value: educational, strategy-focused content that attracts clients who care more about expertise than viral trends.
Beyond the transaction, Kelsi sees her role as long-term “homes under management” — staying in touch with past clients four times a year, connecting them with trusted vendors, attorneys, and financial pros, and becoming the person they call any time a real estate question pops up. For her, the line between “client” and “friend” blurs in the best possible way.
Experience & Specialties
Years & path: Began flipping in 2017 while working full-time and raising a newborn; worked with the same agent for multiple transactions before getting licensed herself in 2022 and methodically transitioning to full-time real estate after ~18 months.
Primary focus: Residential real estate throughout Pinellas County — especially homeowners and families buying or selling primary residences in markets like St. Petersburg and Palm Harbor, where neighborhood-to-neighborhood dynamics can vary dramatically.
Investor & flip expertise: Hands-on background in flipping properties, with real-world lessons about budgets, surprises, and shifting markets; now leverages that experience to help investors evaluate flips and short-term rentals (including Airbnbs) using realistic numbers, not wishful thinking.
New construction savvy: Enjoys representing buyers on new construction, where she’s dealing with another business rather than emotionally attached sellers — bringing a clear, strategic lens to pricing, incentives, and builder negotiations.
Client profile: Works best with clients who value expertise, strategy, and data — whether they’re buying a $200K investment property or a seven-figure primary home — and who appreciate clear guidance toward decisive decisions.
Market knowledge: Obsessed with knowing her market “cold,” from price-per-square-foot trends and days on market to where price reductions are clustering; regularly reviews MLS hot sheets to stay ahead of shifts at the city and neighborhood level.
Digital marketing & personal brand: Builds her business through online portals, social media, and LinkedIn — posting consistent, educational content that demonstrates knowledge and builds trust with buyers and investors before they ever pick up the phone.
Networking & referrals: Focuses on foundational, relationship-based networking rather than one-off transactions — aiming to be the trusted advisor that friends, past clients, and referral partners feel confident recommending.
Lifetime follow-up: Treats each closing as the beginning of a long-term relationship, with four planned touchpoints per year, ongoing support for home-related needs, and proactive introductions to key professionals like real estate attorneys and estate-planning experts.
Philosophy: Leads with value, education, and calm clarity — believing that in a “weird” market, the best service she can offer is helping clients cut through noise, understand the data, and make confident, well-informed decisions.
Meet Kelsi in this short video
Listen to Kelsi’s full interview:
epicagentspodcast.com/059-kelsi-ward-tampa-bay-real-estate-with-strategy
6. Karina Bell | 54 Realty
Karina Bell is a Tampa Bay–area Realtor specializing in military relocations, serving active-duty families, veterans, and investors throughout the region. Her path into real estate was anything but planned. While working at a bank in New Mexico, a persistent client—a sweet woman in her seventies—kept insisting Karina meet her son, who owned the local Coldwell Banker office. Coming from Germany, where job stability is prized and risk-taking is rare, Karina resisted. But after being “double-teamed” by the woman and her daughter-in-law over lunch, she got her license and joined their team.
That was 2007, right before the market crash. Karina cut her teeth on foreclosures and short sales, learning how to navigate chaos and help families in difficult situations. As a military spouse herself, she naturally gravitated toward serving military families—people who understood her lifestyle of sudden moves and buying homes sight unseen.
When her family received orders to relocate, Karina faced a choice: start over somewhere new or step back. She chose to take a six-year break to raise her children, moving four times across the U.S. and overseas. During a station in Germany, she found a new niche—working with investors who bought properties to flip and rent to American military families. It kept her skills sharp and her passion for real estate alive.
In July 2023, her family received orders to Tampa. Her husband was considering one more promotion, so Karina held off on getting licensed. The moment he decided to retire, she signed up for real estate school—and had her license in hand three and a half weeks later. She started fresh in early 2024, building her business from the ground up in a market where nobody knew her name.
Today, Karina is known for her white-glove service to relocating military families, many of whom purchase homes without ever stepping foot inside. She conducts detailed FaceTime walkthroughs, records comprehensive video tours of homes and neighborhoods, and sends clients research packages she originally created for her own family’s move to Tampa. Her approach has earned her a reputation built almost entirely on referrals within the tight-knit military community.
Experience & Specialties
Years & path: Started in real estate in 2007–2008 in New Mexico; took a six-year career pause to raise children while relocating as a military spouse; returned to real estate in Germany working with investors; moved to Tampa in 2023 and obtained her Florida license in late 2023, launching her Tampa business in early 2024.
Primary focus: Military relocations throughout the Tampa Bay area—helping active-duty families, veterans, and retirees buy and sell homes, with particular expertise in sight-unseen purchases for families relocating on short notice.
Military relocation expertise: As a military spouse who has moved multiple times and purchased homes without seeing them in person, Karina understands the urgency, stress, and unique challenges military families face; she provides detailed video tours, FaceTime walkthroughs, and comprehensive neighborhood research packages to help clients make confident decisions from anywhere in the world.
Investor background: Developed investor expertise while stationed in Germany, helping clients purchase properties, oversee flips, and rent to American families—experience she now brings to Tampa-area investors.
Client profile: Works primarily with military families (approximately 80% of her business), including active-duty members receiving PCS orders, veterans, and retirees who value her firsthand understanding of military life and her meticulous, high-touch service.
Market knowledge: Deep familiarity with Tampa Bay’s post-hurricane market realities, including shifting insurance costs, flood zone considerations, and inventory changes; conducted extensive personal research on schools, neighborhoods, and amenities before her own move—resources she now shares with clients.
Digital marketing & personal brand: Builds her business through Instagram and Facebook, focusing on authentic content that blends personal life (family, horses, soccer) with real estate expertise; believes in attraction marketing and showing up as a real person, not a polished persona—an approach that turns silent followers into loyal clients.
Networking & referrals: Approximately 70% of business comes from warm referrals within the military community, where word travels fast and trust is earned through service; past clients and even friends from previous duty stations regularly send families her way.
Client resources: Authored a free digital book on the home-selling process, designed to answer common seller questions and demystify the transaction; plans to create a companion guide for buyers.
Philosophy: Believes in showing up authentically, embracing failure as part of the learning curve, and treating real estate like a business with structure and accountability—not a side hustle that runs on motivation alone; her mantra for new agents and clients alike: don’t give up, find mentors who inspire you, and just go for it.
7. Sunny Alexander | Red Sash Realty
Sunny Alexander is a Tampa Bay Realtor and broker-owner whose path to real estate began with a detour through West Point and the U.S. Army. After graduating from the Military Academy, she served five years on active duty—then thought she was done. Two years later, a set of orders showed up in her mailbox. At the height of the Iraq War in 2005, Sunny was recalled to serve at the Casualty Memorial Affairs Operation Center in Virginia, the hub for wounded and killed in action reporting, while her husband—a Special Forces Green Beret—cycled in and out of Iraq.
That year of service, while intense, gave Sunny and her husband the financial runway they needed. When she transitioned out of the Army the second time, she had enough saved to launch a real estate career without the panic of an empty bank account. She got licensed in 2007 and built her business in Tennessee while her husband was deployed, pouring that time into the foundational work most new agents rush through.
When her husband’s final duty station brought them to MacDill Air Force Base, Sunny started over from scratch in Tampa. Armed with a simple spreadsheet and a stack of stamps, she hand-wrote personalized cards to every person in her sphere of influence—not generic notes, but thoughtful messages tailored to each relationship. She followed the Buffini method religiously, touching her sphere monthly, and slowly rebuilt her business through sheer consistency and elbow grease.
Today, Sunny owns her own brokerage and partners with Fusion Growth Partners for marketing, mailers, and accountability systems. She credits that partnership with nearly doubling her production—from $12 million to $22 million in a single year. She works alongside business partner Michael Bim, a fellow veteran and former client, and transaction coordinator Nisha, who keeps the paperwork and emails under control.
Sunny describes herself as a “functioning extrovert”—an introvert by nature who can work a room when needed but thrives in one-on-one conversations. She’d rather grab coffee with two people than shake hands with a hundred. Her biggest referral source is the West Point alumni network, a tight-knit community that trusts its own. She’s also a Rotarian at the Tampa Rotary Club, staying active in the community and building relationships the old-fashioned way.
Her philosophy is simple: there’s no glass ceiling in real estate. The harder you work, the better you get, the more you’re compensated—and you’re fully responsible for both your achievements and your failures. She sees herself less as a salesperson and more as a coach, advising, protecting, and educating her clients through one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. Her goal is to be “Aunt Google” for Tampa—the person her clients text whenever anything house-related (or beyond) comes up.
Experience & Specialties
Years & path: West Point graduate; served five years active duty Army plus a recall year during the Iraq War (2005–2006); entered real estate in 2007 in Tennessee; relocated to Tampa and rebuilt her business from scratch; opened her own brokerage and now partners with Fusion Growth Partners.
Primary focus: Residential real estate throughout the Tampa Bay area, serving buyers and sellers across all price points with an emphasis on relationship-driven service and long-term client care.
Military & veteran expertise: As a West Point graduate and Army veteran married to a retired Green Beret, Sunny has deep credibility within the military community and receives significant referral business from West Point alumni and veteran networks nationwide.
Brokerage & team structure: Broker-owner who partners with Fusion Growth Partners for marketing, lead nurturing, mailers, and accountability systems; works alongside business partner Michael Bim (a veteran with construction expertise) and transaction coordinator Nisha.
Client profile: Works best with clients who value straightforward advice, thorough education, and a coach-like approach—people who want honest guidance rather than a sales pitch.
Market knowledge: Deep understanding of Tampa’s current challenges, including a 19% contract cancellation rate (above the national average), rising insurance costs due to Florida’s litigation climate, and 36% higher inventory year-over-year; uses this data to set realistic expectations and position clients for success.
Sphere of influence philosophy: Built her business on the Buffini/Ninja method—monthly touches, handwritten cards, and consistent cultivation of her sphere; believes the fundamentals never go out of style and that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just make it rounder.
Networking & referrals: Major referral sources include the West Point alumni network and Tampa Rotary Club; prefers deep one-on-one relationships over large networking events; focuses on becoming “Aunt Google”—the go-to resource for anything house-related in Tampa.
Digital marketing: Outsources marketing, social media, and mailers to Fusion Growth Partners, freeing her to focus on client relationships and business development; mailers are scheduled 18 months in advance.
Philosophy: Believes there’s no glass ceiling in real estate—you’re fully responsible for your wins, your losses, and how you react to both; sees her role as coaching and mentoring clients through the home buying and selling process; committed to continuous learning through courses, coaches, and professional development beyond real estate; building a legacy business she hopes to pass on to her daughter.
Tips for Choosing the Right Tampa Realtor
The best fit blends proven experience with excellent communication and deep local ties. Here’s how to vet Tampa Realtors whether you’re buying or selling.
What to Look For
- Relevant experience: Ask about recent closings in your price point and neighborhoods (e.g., South Tampa, Davis Islands, Hyde Park, Channelside, Westchase). Verify listing-to-sale price ratios and average days on market.
- Communication style: You want fast, clear updates and proactive guidance (text, email, calls—whatever you prefer). Request a sample weekly update so you know what to expect.
- Reviews & references: Read Google/Zillow reviews for patterns (negotiation, responsiveness, problem-solving). Call two past clients—one buyer, one seller.
- Local network: Strong relationships with lenders, inspectors, contractors, stagers, and other agents can unlock off-market options and smoother repairs/credits.
- Strategy & data: Your agent should show comps, micro-trend data, and a plan (pricing strategy for sellers; offer strategy for buyers).
- Specialties: Match your needs—luxury/waterfront, new construction, relocation, VA/MacDill, condos/HOAs, investment.
- Professionalism: Full-time commitment, clear fiduciary duty, and a written service plan/timeline.
Tampa Real Estate Market Snapshot (2025)
The real estate market in Tampa in 2025 shows signs of cooling from the extreme highs of 2021‐2022.
Prices are starting to level off or modestly decline in many sectors, inventory is increasing, and buyers are gaining more negotiating power – especially outside the top luxury segments.
Below are current trends and key demand drivers based on recent data.
Median & Typical Home Prices
In July 2025, the median sale price for homes in Tampa was about $440,000, which represents a 3.9% year‐over‐year decline. (Redfin)
Meanwhile, the median listing price in Tampa in August 2025 stood at approximately $470,000, up ~1.1% vs. the same month the previous year. (Realtor)
Zillow reports a typical home value of $372,416, down about 5% over the past year. (Zillow)
Inventory & Time on Market
Active homes for sale have increased, giving buyers more options.
Homes are staying on the market longer: the median days to pending (i.e. from listing to under contract) is ~34 days in Tampa.
In Hillsborough County, properties are averaging about 50 days on market, which is significantly more than in previous years.
Cooling & Market Balance
The market is no longer overwhelmingly a seller’s market. Many sources characterize it now as balanced or slightly buyer‐leaning, especially for non-luxury homes.
Luxury properties and highly desirable neighborhoods still command premium prices and often move faster, especially with great presentation and pricing.
Lifestyle & Relocation Appeal
Tampa continues to attract new residents due to its favorable climate, outdoor amenities, and absence of harsh winters.
Many buyers from out-of-state find Tampa Bay appealing because of its beaches, recreational areas, and cultural growth.
Schools & Neighborhood Quality
Top school districts and proximity to walkable, amenity-rich neighborhoods remain big draws. Buyers often prioritize areas with good schools, shorter commutes, and strong community features.
Economic Factors
Interest rates hovering in the mid-6% range and rising insurance premiums are adding pressure, especially on buyers.
Insurance and flood risk are increasingly part of the conversation, especially in coastal or flood-prone neighborhoods.
Outlook
Tampa housing market trends in 2025 suggest modest price softening overall, though luxury and waterfront properties may hold value better.
Buyers have more room to negotiate, especially in less central or flood-affected areas.
Sellers need to be smart about pricing, presentation, and marketing, especially as buyer expectations shift.
Find the Right Partner for Your Tampa Move
I hope you’ve found this list of the best Tampa, Florida real estate agents helpful. The Tampa housing market continues to evolve, but one thing remains constant: the value of working with knowledgeable, experienced, and trusted Tampa Real Estate Agents.
Whether you’re buying a waterfront property, selling in a competitive neighborhood, or relocating from out of state, the right Realtor makes the process smoother, faster, and more rewarding.
The agents we’ve highlighted – Kristen Arseneau, Courtney Poe, and Rebekah Mabe – each bring unique strengths, proven track records, and deep local expertise. Their commitment to relationships, communication, and results sets them apart as three of the top Realtors in Tampa today.
Looking to buy or sell in Tampa? Connect with one of these top Realtors today and take the first step toward achieving your real estate goals with confidence.
About the author:
Jeff Hamm
AIDAwerks
Marketing for Top Producers
Jeff is an award winning podcast producer, marketing professional, licensed real estate broker, and the author of Authority, Not Attention: Modern Marketing for Real Estate Agents. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.
When he’s not helping agents scale their real estate business, you can probably find him traveling the U.S., publishing expert content, training for a marathon, or walking his dogs, Sam & Maisy.