Shane Vanderson · Engel & Völkers South Tampa

09/03/2026

Labor Day weekend is the one time of year I tell South Tampa clients to point the car west over the Gandy and spend a day in downtown St. Pete — and then I tell them the honest part, which is that the best of it arrives after the holiday crowds go home.

First, the thing to know before you go: the Saturday Morning Market is dark for all of September. The summer season wrapped August 29 and the market returns to the Al Lang Stadium lot on October 3. Plan the waterfront walk anyway — Beach Drive from the Museum of Fine Arts down to the Pier is a good hour on foot, and it is quieter without the market spilling over.

Saturday, September 5, if you want a crowd: Halfway There, the Tampa Bay Beer Week fundraiser, brings a few dozen area breweries to 3 Daughters Brewing from 4 to 7 p.m. Same night, the Jazz Librarians play their monthly set in the Green Light Cinema lounge at 7:30 — free, with tables you can reserve.

Then, two weekends later, the one to circle: Saturday, September 19, is Free Museum Day. The Museum of Fine Arts on Beach Drive waives admission for Florida residents with ID, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the Imagine Museum on Central runs it as a full weekend, the 19th and 20th. Advance registration is required at both, so book this week.

For a South Tampa reader, the math is simple: the drive across the Gandy or the Howard Frankland is under half an hour most of the day (don't be scared), which makes a Pinellas Saturday easy without making it a case for moving. If you are weighing both sides of the bay for a home, that is a different conversation — and one worth having in person.

08/26/2026

36% of South Tampa's $1M+ closings were cash this summer. That number changes how you should read every comp on your street.

From late May through late August, 208 homes closed at $1M or more across South Tampa's core ZIP codes. Seventy-five closed in cash — and above $2.5M, the cash share rose to 45%.

A cash comp and a financed comp at the same price are not the same signal. One was underwritten by a lender and an appraiser; the other was one buyer's conviction. When we price a home, we weigh both — because the strongest fall strategy prices for the appraisal while staying ready for the cash offer that skips it.

Thinking about a fall listing? The full picture for your street is a conversation away — shanevanderson.com.

08/25/2026

Unit 1506, One of the best corner units available in the new Aqua at Westshore Yacht Club tower. Even better...this is a resale, so no need to pay a developer fee at closing.

08/19/2026

The north end of the Tampa Riverwalk is having a good end of summer. Up where the path curves past Water Works Park and Armature Works in Tampa Heights, the calendar keeps filling: tonight, Armature Works hosts its Run Club with Fit2Run — a 5K along the Riverwalk every first and third Wednesday, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, open to anyone.

Looking a little further out, Tampa Bay Soul Fest takes over the Riverwalk on Saturday, September 5, running from the Florida Aquarium up to the finish at Water Works Park. And the Heights Night Market returns to 7th Avenue in front of Armature Works on Wednesday, September 9, from 5:30 to 9:30 pm — local makers, live music, free to attend.

What I appreciate about this stretch is how walkable it all is — river, park, food hall, and market within a few blocks. If Bayshore is your usual loop, the north end is worth the detour some evening this month.

08/10/2026

Twenty-one single-family homes are on the market in Sunset Park right now, and the range says a lot about this corner of South Tampa: asking prices run from $825,000 to just under $11 million, with the median at $3.2 million.

What the budget buys varies as much as the prices. The least expensive listings sit under 2,000 square feet — the neighborhood's original single-story stock. The median active is closer to 5,000 square feet with five bedrooms, asking around $615 per heated square foot.

And the market is moving underneath those numbers. Twenty-nine Sunset Park homes have closed in the past six months at a median of $3.1 million — about 97 percent of asking — with the typical sale under contract in just under four months. Homes priced against their comps are finding buyers; the current actives have been listed a median of about three months.

If you own in Sunset Park and are curious what this market means for your home — or you want the full list of what is available — send me a message. I am glad to walk you through it.

07/23/2026

The last full weekend of July has a little of everything — waterfront pilates, big-club soccer, and a Disney sing-along under the sky. Here's where South Tampa and downtown are spending it.

Fri 24 — Mat Pilates on the water · Tampa Museum of Art. Morning class on the terrace overlooking the river, 9–10am. A calm way to start the weekend downtown.

Fri 24 — Rock the Bay · dinner dance party downtown. An evening dance party on the water, 8–10:30pm — an easy Friday-night plan along the Riverwalk.

Sat 25 — Wrexham vs. Leeds United · Raymond James Stadium. A preseason friendly between two clubs with real followings, 7:30pm — a rare summer-soccer night in Tampa.

Sat–Sun — Christmas in July · indoor market at the Fairgrounds. 175+ vendors of handcrafted gifts and décor, 10am–5pm both days — and blissfully air-conditioned when the afternoon storms roll in.

Sun 26 — Summer Sing-Along: The Little Mermaid · Sparkman Wharf. Tampa Theatre's free outdoor sing-along, 6:30–8pm. Bring the family and a good singing voice — or at least an enthusiastic one.

Whatever you get up to, enjoy the weekend. And if a move around the neighborhood is on your mind this summer, I'm always happy to talk. Shane Vanderson, Engel & Völkers South Tampa · 813-205-5430

07/16/2026

There's a stretch of South Tampa that does the selling for me, and I don't have to say a word. Just after sunrise on Bayshore Boulevard, the bay is glass-flat, the balustrade runs off toward downtown, and the whole city feels like it belongs to the handful of people out walking it.

This is the longest continuous sidewalk in the country — 4.5 miles of it, water on one side and a century of Tampa's finest architecture on the other. Runners, cyclists, and families share it every morning, and Hyde Park Village sits just a few blocks back for coffee once you've earned it.

When people ask me what living in South Tampa actually feels like, I bring them here first. The homes are extraordinary, but it's the walk along the water that tells you what you're really buying.

Come see it for yourself — I'm always happy to show you around the neighborhood. Shane Vanderson, Engel & Völkers South Tampa · 813-205-5430

07/03/2026

Coming Soon -

Discover 5713 BOWEN DANIEL DR. #1506, Tampa, FL 33616 (MLS #: TB8524972). View property details and schedule a private showing with Shane Vanderson now.

06/25/2026

South Tampa this weekend

A quieter weekend close to home this week, with a few standouts just up the road. Here is what is worth your time before plans firm up:

· Night Nation Run — Saturday, June 27 at Raymond James Stadium. A neon-lit "running music festival" with live DJs and an after-party.

· Watermelon Weekend at Keel Farms — June 27–28, a short drive out to Plant City if you are up for a day trip.

· Posies Flower Truck at Hyde Park Village — build-your-own bouquets in Village Circle.

Have a good one out there. If a weekend drive turns into a "what's that one worth," you know where to find me.

06/23/2026

Why Harbour Island lives differently:

Harbour Island lives differently than the rest of South Tampa, and most of it comes down to position.

It is an island, so water is not a view you drive to — it is the edge of daily life, from the marina to the channel. It is also a short walk or quick ride to downtown and the Riverwalk, which gives you the convenience of the urban core without sitting inside it. And because the land here is finite and largely built out, what does come available tends to hold attention.

That combination — water access, walkability, and a fixed amount of ground — is what shapes both value and the pace of a day here. It is a particular kind of place. If it is the kind you have been picturing, I know it well.