I like the ring of these statistics released this week by the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors:

• Home sales up 16.5 percent from March 2009 to March 2010, from 1,526 to 1,778.
• Average home sales price bumps up to $161,846. That's still lags prices from a year earlier and in late 2009. But prices tracked upward from recent lows in January and February.
• The inventory of unsold homes, at 7.7 months, is the best it's been in 4 years. This is slightly deceptive - a not-so-hidden inventory of pre-foreclosure homes sits on the sidelines, threatening to flood the market with more el cheapo rooftops.

Here's a chart from the Realtors with a four-year perspective. Remember that they include sales from east/central Pasco County in their calculations: Download Gtarmarch10