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A Tampa real estate agent is Coldwell Banker Realty’s top-producing agent for gross sales in Florida and No. 5 in the U.S.
Jennifer Zales, who specializes in luxury properties and buyers and sellers in professional sports, closed $224 million in sales in 2022. When pending sales are accounted for, she transacted a quarter-billion dollars' worth of luxury real estate last year.
Among Zales’ largest Tampa Bay sales in 2022 were 78 Adalia Avenue, which sold for $15 million and a record price per square foot in September 2022. She also sold a home on the Gulf of Mexico for $10.7 million and the home at 48 Adalia Ave. for $12.3 million. (See a complete list of the Tampa Bay region’s largest home sales of 2022.)
“Jennifer Zales is the hardest working real estate agent I know,” Judy Clark, managing broker of Coldwell Banker’s Tampa Westshore office, said in a statement. “She has become a true expert of the Tampa luxury real estate market and deserves every accolade she receives for her record sales year.”
Zales spoke with the Tampa Bay Business Journal on her record year — and where the region’s luxury market goes from here. This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
How would you sum up the state of the luxury market midway through Q1?
Last year was definitely a story of two different markets in my mind — divided by the first and second halves of the year. In the first half, we had low interest rates and high buyer demand, so we saw a lot of multiple offers. If you put your house on the market and it was priced correctly, it would likely sell.
If it were super overpriced, it wouldn’t necessarily sell. But as soon as interest rates started going up, we went to a more regular, balanced market. The issue is that sellers think we’re in the old market, and buyers think the market has crashed. So when offers are being written, there are two different opinions of the market.
I did feel things slowed down in Q4, but right now, I am as busy as I was at the beginning of last year. So while our sellers are still getting great prices, they may not be getting as much as if they’d sold at the beginning of 2022. However, if the home is priced right, it will sell, and in some cases, you will receive multiple offers over the list price.
We have a very strong ultra-luxury market. There are still a lot of people coming from the Northeast, the Midwest — especially Chicago — and California. For the last six weeks, I’ve been working constantly with out-of-state buyers, and California remains one of the top markets coming into our area.
What defines an ultra-luxury property?
For Tampa Bay, I usually classify it as $10 million and up. That’s been the top end of our market.
What defines a general luxury property here? $1 million doesn’t seem to go as far as it used to.
Typically, luxury has been $1 million and up. I think about it a little differently; my average sales price is $4 million, so I define luxury as a little higher [than $1 million].
Even $2 million is not getting somebody a home on the water, but it might get you a very nice home, depending on where you are in the Tampa Bay region. I think it could even be over $3 million, but the true definition is $1 million. To advertise as a global luxury price [within the Coldwell Banker network] the price has to be $1 million or above.
The biggest thing driving sales right now is the age of the home because insurance is driving a lot of what is going on in the market. I typically will guide my buyers to newer homes built to more stringent construction codes to get and keep insurance so they’re not dropped in a year, because that’s been happening. [Florida construction codes changed in 2000 after Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida.]
What about going naked — are you seeing more luxury buyers paying cash and opting to self-insure?
It depends on the age of the home. The homes that might be classified as a teardown but are livable for a few years — that’s not uncommon. But for properties that have a higher value, they’re going to be the newer homes, and I’ve had great success with insuring those houses.
Do you see anything looming on the horizon that could slow the Tampa Bay luxury market?
There are always geopolitical forces that could impact any market that we can’t anticipate. When the national news reports real estate market data, they’re using a very broad description of the real estate market that includes the entire country. Our region has more people moving in than moving out. Because we are receiving those people, our market is not on the verge of crashing, in my opinion.
Is there anything about the Tampa Bay market that luxury buyers complain about? Maybe the lack of transportation infrastructure?
My buyers don’t really have any opinion on transit, other than to the extent that it affects the company's workforce that they’re bringing. But from a personal perspective, the conversations I’m having with them are about, ‘Where are the private airports? What is the international airport doing? How easy is it to fly in and out?’ Because I do serve people who are considering the Sarasota market, and a lot of decisions with those buyers come down to the ease of getting to their residence.
Are there any up-and-coming luxury markets in the Tampa Bay region?
Shore Acres in St. Petersburg. I have a speculative house, still under construction, listed for sale at $7 million that’s under contract there. It’s right outside of Snell Isle, so it’s a very good value for the price, and it has open-bay views.
Are you active at the beaches? What’s the scene there?
I am. Several of the top sales of the year were at the beaches. I did a lot of luxury, high-priced beach sales last year, and all but one were second homes. Canadians are back, and they are buying. That’s one of the biggest differences that’s affected our beaches. During Covid, with the border closed, they weren’t able to come down. But once the border opened, I was able to see more of those clients.