TAMPA - Ten Florida metro areas are among the nation's top 20 with the highest price appreciation of existing homes, a federal report says.

Sales prices on existing homes statewide rose 27 percent during the first quarter of this year compared with the same three months last year. As a result, Florida ranked second for sales price appreciation on existing homes behind Arizona, according to the report from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Don't rush to sell your house thinking you'll make a big profit quickly. People flooding the market with high-priced homes could soften Florida's real estate market, economists predict.

Higher home prices and increased competition are causing homes to sit on the market longer. That's resulting in some sellers in hot markets such as Florida having to lower their asking prices.

"Sales appreciation will not continue at the same pace," said Lawrence Yun, an economist with the Washington-based National Association of Realtors.

After a five-year boom, in which prices across the nation hit record highs, rising mortgage interest rates and high housing inventory is expected to result in a slowdown this year. Markets that have seen the biggest increase in prices will be hit hardest, Yun said.

That could mean bad news for Florida since so many of its cities have seen consistent double-digit sales price appreciation.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area is one. It was 20th for existing home sales price appreciation, according to the federal report. Sales prices in the first quarter appreciated 26 percent, compared with the first quarter of 2005.

Other Florida metro areas in the top 20 were: Naples-Marco Island, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Lakeland, Orlando-Kissimmee, Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach.

The national average was 12.5 percent, according to the housing report.

The federal office calculates appreciation quarterly based on loan information from the nation's big lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The office compares the sales price to what the home previously sold for to determine the percentage of appreciation.

The Orlando-based Florida Association of Realtors said existing home sales in April, the most recent figures, declined 31 percent compared with sales at the same time last year, one of the largest sales declines in the nation.

Sales slid 13 percent in the state from March through April, and nearly every metropolitan area in Florida saw double-digit decreases in existing home sales.

Sales prices in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area plummeted 37 percent when compared with the same time last year.

Nationally, sales fell 5.7 percent from April 2005 through April and dipped 2 percent from March to April.

Andrew Leventis, an economist with the housing enterprise oversight office, said the group's data back up other housing data released recently.

The bottom line, he said, is "Housing prices have risen, inventory is rising, and it's taking longer for folks to sell their homes."

Contact Shannon Behnken at sbehnken@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7804.