There's a glut of homes for sale in Pinellas County. That's having a chilling effect on real estate investors who were looking for a quick turnaround of their properties and quick profits to reinvest.

In the tri-county area of Pinellas, Pasco and Western Hillsborough counties, there are 34,496 homes for sale as of May 31, according to the MLS listing service. At the same time last year, there were 9,000 homes for sale.

"The market actually peaked last October and has been correcting itself," said Ann Rogers, operating principal for Keller Williams Gulf Coast Realty Inc. in Seminole.

But properties aren't losing value yet, Rogers said. They're just not appreciating at the meteoric rates of 2003-05. The investors that flooded the market during that time are seeing the other side of the real estate investment cycle now.

The increasing inventory puts pressure on investors who want to sell properties before closing and before they have to secure mortgages and pay closing costs. "For Rent" signs are appearing in droves, indicating the investors faced with pending unwanted closings that want to save their investments.

"Investors will need to either rent their properties or discount their sales prices to survive the current market," said Robert Glaser, president and CEO of Smith & Associates Realtors Inc. Smith has offices on both sides of the bay and ranked fifth among residential real estate brokers in the 2005 Book of Lists, as researched by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

The time it takes to sell a home has gone up since last year, but that doesn't signal a big problem yet, Glaser said. Last year, properties only sat on the market for days or a couple of weeks. Four months is the traditional time frame to sell an existing home, Glaser said.

"The beaches are suffering more than downtown because most of the downtown buyers intend to move in," Rogers said. Also, the more expensive properties, which usually take longer to sell anyway, are moving slowly again.

While the market downturn makes sellers nervous, it becomes advantageous for experienced real estate agents.

"In a down market, sellers have trouble selling their homes themselves," said Richard Hayden, president of RE/Max Mutual Properties in Clearwater. They look to hire top-notch agents and pay full commissions so that their properties are marketed, Hayden said.