Sluggish market stalls residential development. (North Pinellas: Economic Development Report)

Sluggish Market Stalls Residential Development

Taking a jab at the economy, real estate agents confess that residential development in north Pinellas County is snoozing until the hurdles of financing are lifted.

The new federal tax package and the Persian Gulf crisis have discouraged timid potential homebuyers, they say. Homebuyers' savings accounts, for the moment, rest in a soft market.

Ed Breliant of The Prudential Breliant Realty Inc. in Palm Harbor says the humdrum pace of residential resales is predictable in a sagging economy.

Homes priced at $150,000 and more may remain on the market for 130 to 160 days; homes valued at less than $120,000 may stay on the market for 110 days, he says.

"For the economy, this is normal," Breliant says. "But we go through so many world crises it is hard to tell what is normal anymore."

The residential …