Kristy & Megan Darragh — The Team To Call When Buying Or Selling A Home! 

(L.-r.) Jace Haitz, Megan & Kristy Darragh and Toni Osborn of Florida Executive Realty in Tampa Palms. (Photos on these pages provided by Kristy Darragh) 

If you’ve been seeing real estate headlines that make you think the sky is falling, long-time local RealtorÂź Kristy Darragh of Florida Executive Realty in Tampa Palms says to brush it off — it’s just click bait. 

“I monitor trends weekly, monthly and quarterly, as well as the long history and economics of housing,” she says, “and the local housing market lately has been a bit wobbly, but is still basically a flat line.” 

She says that plateau is a good thing (not a sign of death), meaning the local market continues to be steady and predictable for those who are looking to buy or sell. 

With almost four decades in the industry and a near obsession with crunching the numbers, Kristy has a deep understanding of the local market and promises her clients expert advice for how to sell their homes for the highest price or buy a home at the best value. 

A staple in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel real estate market since 1994, Kristy has recently updated her brand to include her daughter Megan, so you’ll now see ads for Kristy & Megan – rather than just Kristy – not only in the Neighborhood News, but also on billboards and in direct mail. 

Megan began working with her mom in 2020, after previously serving as the office manager for the Westchase branch of Florida Executive Realty. Now, they’ve solidified their partnership with the team’s name change. 

Kristy and Megan say they are able to serve their clients with client service umatched in the local market, thanks to assistants Jace Haitz and Toni Osborn, both of whom have worked with Kristy for many years. 

“There’s no way I could provide the excellence and volume of work I do without them,” says Kristy of her support staff. “They are what makes it possible for Megan and I to offer this level of service.” 

Kristy uses all of those years of experience to translate what’s happening in the market into useful information for her clients. 

For example, she says she tells her clients to always look at the current inventory to understand the basic fundamental principle of supply and demand. Historically, she says, the 33647 zip code has had around 300 active listings in a normal market. “Right now, we’re at about 170 active listings,” Kristy says. “We came from a peak during the pandemic where we only had 18 listings in the entire zip code.” 

At the time, prices were sky high due to demand. She says that while the market has recovered to be more balanced, there’s still plenty of room for more inventory. 

“Prices on a lot of homes have come down, but they needed to, because people were pricing their homes the way they were in 2020 and 2021,” she says, “and that was when the market was unbalanced and somewhat frenetic.” 

Meanwhile, In Wesley Chapel… 

Wesley Chapel has its own trends and metrics, and Kristy explains that all of the new construction in the area means resale prices are somewhat suppressed. That means Wesley Chapel sellers need to have realistic expectations as to what they can sell their homes for, and that they should always work with an expert who can help price the home appropriately to sell quickly or meet the seller’s goals. 

“This is a normal cycle,” Kristy says. “You can’t use prices for new construction for your asking price on a resale home because builders offer incentives, such as money back toward closing costs, bonuses and interest rate buydowns.” 

She says these incentives can be valued at up to $100,000, so resale homes have to take that into account to be able to price to sell. 

“I’ve got 38 years of knowledge, including 30 years here in the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel area,” Kristy explains. “I see trends so clearly and have lived through so many real estate cycles that I can tell you the market is not falling and prices are not dropping. We are in a healthy plateau, and that is what you want so the market can normalize.” 

She says there also are annual trends that always happen, and that we’re just about ready for an influx of seasonal buyers in April, May, June and July. 

“This is when the most buyers are in the market, so prices definitely go up,” Kristy says. On the other hand, over the year-end holidays and the first quarter of each year is when resale prices are the lowest, giving buyers the best opportunity to purchase a home at a lesser cost. 

“This happens every year,” Kristy says. 

Kristy and Megan are each licensed as both a real estate agent and as a Broker. Kristy joined Florida Executive Realty in 1994 and became partners with Doug Loyd in the Tampa Palms location of Florida Executive Realty way back in 2003. Loyd owns five other offices of Florida Executive Realty located in and around the Tampa Bay area. 

Kristy and Megan have many satisfied clients, including Nancy and Mike Yetter, who recently sold their home in Ashington Estates in Tampa Palms to move to The Sanctuary (also in Tampa Palms), where Kristy and Megan helped them find the perfect smaller-sized home to fit their empty nest. But, the Yetters’ new home still provides enough room that they don’t feel cramped. 

“It was a lot of fun,” Nancy says. “We felt very lucky to work with both of them.” 

While most people wouldn’t call the stressful sale or purchase of a home “fun,” Nancy says Kristy and Megan made the process stress-free and actually enjoyable. 

Nancy also says that she and her husband first met Kristy when she was the seller’s real estate agent when they bought their Ashington Estates home in 2018, after experiencing what Nancy described as a “horrific” experience selling the home they were moving from on Anna Maria Island. 

“We were so impressed with her back then,” Nancy says. “We said if we ever moved, we wanted to ask her to be our agent.” 

Because the couple travels often, they trusted Kristy and Megan to handle the entire process, including showings and repairs that needed to be made to the home. 

“To have absolutely no hiccups was great,” says Nancy. “We were able to close on both homes the same day. It was perfect the way [Kristy] organized that.” 

Nancy says that both Kristy and Megan understood their needs and didn’t waste their time showing them homes that weren’t what they wanted. 

“I’ve recommended Kristy and her team to three people already,” Nancy says. “She’s very professional, she’ll work for the best deal possible, and she doesn’t let anything fall through the cracks. She knows the market and that’s so important.” 

The Tampa Palms office of Florida Executive Realty is located at 15802 Amberly Dr. For more information about Kristy and Megan Darragh, visit RealEstateNewTampa.com or call (813) 931-6700.

Family-Owned Wesley Chapel Title Will Go Above & Beyond For Your Closing! 

(Above, l.-r.) Dillon, Jessica, Zak, Stacey, Santo & Jaden of Wesley Chapel Title . (Photo provided by Stacey Arey) 

When Stacey Arey, the owner of Wesley Chapel Title in the Canterbury Professional Park on S.R. 54, walks into the office, she’s surrounded by not just a group of co-workers who feel like family, but also her actual family. 

Her husband, Zak, is a closer. Her son Dillon is working towards becoming a licensed title agent. Her daughter-in-law and Dillon’s wife, Jessica, is a processor. Her son Jaden is newer to the business but also is a licensed title agent. 

Then there are “the two Michelles,” Michelle Warden and Michelle Peterson. Both are licensed title agents and closers, as well as escrow officers, who have been in the industry for more than 20 years. 

“I feel blessed that I have incredible people who work for me,” Stacey says. “This business is complicated and there are a lot of bases to cover, so you have to have people who are excellent, detail oriented, focused on customer service and do a great job.” 

Stacey says that’s what sets her business apart from her competition. Not only does everyone on her team handle each file meticulously, they also provide excellent service. Customers can expect that all of their questions will be answered and they will be kept in the loop along the way, as they go from signing a contract to the day of closing. 

Whether you are buying or selling a home, a title company ensures there are no issues that would impede the transfer of the home from one person to the other. It provides an insurance policy to make sure you have a clean and clear title that protects your investment for as long as you own your property. 

Wesley Chapel Title’s insurance policies are underwritten by First American Title Insurance Company, which Stacey says is the best in the industry. It gives her access to professionals who have helped her learn the details of the business since she first established the company four years ago and continues to provide ongoing support. 

She says there are 150 things that have to be done to close a single file, which is why some title companies are overwhelmed and don’t have time to communicate well with their customers, but Stacey and her team make it a priority. 

“Most people don’t understand how this process works,” Stacey says. “I spend a lot of time educating people. I’m always happy to take my time and walk them through it.” 

The title company handles the actual closing of the property and signing of documents to complete the sale. 

Wesley Chapel Title can send a Notary Public to close anywhere someone might be, whether that’s on a business trip in a foreign country or a coffee shop that’s convenient to their work. 

“People really take advantage of closing at McDonald’s or Starbucks, but I like to roll out the red carpet when they come into the office,” she says. 

For many people, this is the largest purchase they will ever make in their lifetimes. 

“They’re excited, so we don’t rush them in and out,” Stacey says. “We have photo opportunities, like with our ‘Home, Sweet Home’ sign for new homeowners, and a baking station with cookies.” 

Helping RealtorsÂź & Their Clients 

RealtorÂź Lisa Albino-Contreras has worked with Stacey and her team since Wesley Chapel Title first opened four years ago. As the managing Broker at Realty One Group Epic in San Antonio, she works with many title companies, but she says if she had her way, all of her clients would close at Wesley Chapel Title. 

“Stacey and her team are always accessible,” Lisa explains. “She goes above and beyond to facilitate anything that is in her control. If I need an answer, she’ll find it and get right back to me.” 

Lisa says Wesley Chapel Title also is the only agency that gives a gift to her clients when they close. “I think that speaks volumes,” says Lisa. “She comes in and offers her congratulations with a gift. To some it may not mean much, but I think that level of care makes my clients feel great and adds to their special day.” 

Stacey says she works hard to make sure Lisa and other real estate agents want to work with her, from always providing her signature excellent customer service to offering them perks that come from her affiliation with First American Title. 

For example, Wesley Chapel Title offers real estate agents a platform where they can create a “Net Sheet” for their clients right from their mobile device, showing a potential seller the bottom line of what they will make on the sale of their home. 

Agents who are registered with her also can use a “Print Pro” program that allows them to print out anything they need, including paperwork, fliers, folders, or business cards at extremely low prices, such as documents for five cents each. Printed items are then delivered to the agent. 

In addition, both agents and clients benefit from the secure platform used by Wesley Chapel Title called Qualia, which provides a single portal where every document from a transaction is stored, which helps to reduce the risk of fraud. 

“People hack into emails and change wire instructions,” Stacey explains, which would cause money to go into a thief’s account instead of the seller’s. “It happens quite frequently, so we have another safeguard.” 

Qualia also streamlines the process so that all parties have access to the documents they need in one place, so nothing is lost in an email chain and no one has to scramble to figure out where to find important information. 

“With every transaction, we work with a buyer, seller, lender, mortgage broker, listing agent, buying agent, and all of these many points of contact,” Stacey explains. “They can all see the documents they need access to from their dashboards.” 

Stacey, her family, and staff are committed to ensuring they have the tools in place and provide the education needed so that everyone who closes with them will have a good experience. 

“Closings are always smooth,” says Lisa. “Stacey is always available, she’s a pleasant person to deal with and very knowledgeable.” 

Wesley Chapel Title is located at 5857 Algerian Dr., Suite 101. It’s open Monday- Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and by appointment on weekends. For more information, visit WesleyChapel-Title.com or call (813) 993-5222. 

Tampa Bay Home Team Helps Sellers & Buyers With Discounted Commissions 

Joe & Christina Kipping say they rare proud to run their Tampa Bay Home Team real estate office on Cypress Ridge Blvd. like a family, but here they are with their actual family. (Photos provided by Joe Kipping)

Joe Kipping loves his family and he also loves to be a coach. A former high school and college football player himself, he now coaches football for his sons, Joey, 10, and Jaxson, 9. 

But, Joe spends most of his time coaching clients in his role as a real estate agent and broker, and cultivating a business that feels more like a family than a corporation. 

He and his wife, Christina, who also is a real estate agent, own Tampa Bay Home Team. 

Joe started in the industry in 2003. 

“I was doing mortgages, but I didn’t want to be strapped behind a desk,” he says. From his vantage point, he met real estate agents who weren’t serving their clients well. “I can do this better,” he thought, so he pursued a real estate license. 

He started selling homes in 2007, then established the company that would become Tampa Bay Home Team in 2009. After 10 years under the Keller Williams umbrella, Tampa Bay Home Team is now part of eXp Realty. 

“We made the switch to eXp Realty because it offers greater opportunities for Realtors through revenue sharing and stock ownership,” Joe explains, adding that eXp Realty has an innovative model that allows agents to build wealth for retirement during their careers. 

In 2014, Christina was let go from a corporate job in finance and joined Joe in the business. 

And in 2021, Joe’s career came full circle when he opened a mortgage business, called Motto Mortgage Home Team, a local franchise of a Denver-based company that has more than 225 offices in 40 states. 

The office for both companies is located in Wesley Chapel, on Cypress Ridge Blvd. near AdventHealth Center Ice. It includes five more agents, all of whom have been at the company for several years. 

“We’re family oriented,” says Christina. “We’re a small business, and we really do treat clients as family, and our employees would say the same thing.” 

Joe and Christina are native to the Tampa Bay area and moved to Wesley Chapel almost 15 years ago. In addition to Joey and Jaxon, Joe and Christina also have two daughters. Taylor, who is 14 and six-year-old Natalie. 

“I love to educate people,” Joe says, “whether they’re buying now or 10 years from now. I’m a coach at heart. If they buy 10 years from now, I want to be the guy who has been there the whole time, educating them along the way.” 

“We’re here to help people when the time is right,” Christina adds. 

Discounted Commissions 

Joe and Christina say they have stripped their commission fees “down to bare bones” and offer a menu system where buyers can pay as little as 1.5 percent. However, they say, most people choose the 2% option. 

They say that if someone doesn’t see value in a particular service, they shouldn’t have to pay for it. In other words, their options put the consumer in the driver seat. 

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Home Team’s clients say their lower commission rate doesn’t mean a lower level of service. 

When you list your home for sale with Tampa Bay Home Team, you can rest assured that outstanding photography will always be part of the deal. 

Eric Sanchez worked with Christina to sell his home in Meadow Pointe. He’s lived in Wesley Chapel for 18 years, but recently bought a home in Two Rivers. 

“I was under duress and had to make a quick sale,” he explains. “I was looking for a Realtor who was willing to take less commission and found Christina. It was truly a godsend.” 

Back in 2006, during the local real estate market crash, Eric had tried to sell in Temple Terrace by hiring a full-commission Realtor. That home never sold and he eventually lost it. He wanted to be sure he didn’t make that mistake again.

“(Christina and Joe) have a whole office working hard to sell my home,” Eric says. “They did everything from referring me to contractors who did an excellent job, to helping me pack. There was absolutely nothing the Home Team couldn’t handle for me.” 

Eric received an offer within two weeks and closed on the sale of his home less than four weeks from when it was listed. 

“A lot of things had to fall into place, and Christina handled everything to a ‘T,’” Eric says. “I got premium service — absolutely the full service of what you would expect from a Realtor’s office, with no corners cut – at a discounted rate. 

He says he and his wife, Carmen, speak of them highly every opportunity we get, and refer them to anyone they can. 

“They even have the post-sale saying,” explains Eric. “You’re family now. They have get-togethers and social events, and they invite us. It’s not a business feeling; it’s a family feeling. I don’t feel like a customer; I feel like a friend.” 

Joe and Christina say a couple of things their clients really appreciate include their partnership with Zillow to showcase the homes they market. 

Also, Tampa Bay Home Team has an in-house media department for photography and videography. When they used to outsource photography, pictures were snapped quickly in less than an hour, but now their staff can spend all day getting the perfect pictures to best showcase a home online. 

“Clients like it because they don’t feel rushed,” Christina explains. “This is a big step for them, putting their biggest asset on the market. They want someone to come in and care about it as much as they do.” 

They also say their background in the financial industry and mortgages also is a benefit to their clients. 

“A lot of agents are not trained on the mortgage side,” Joe says. “You want to make sure the person you’re hiring as a listing agent has the background knowledge to know what questions to ask the lender so there are no issues with the mortgage.” 

He says they’ve heard a lot of horror stories about deals that don’t close. “The worst thing is after you’ve made plans, you’re packed up and ready to move, and the deal dies,” he says. 

Guaranteed Offers, Too 

That’s one reason people are tempted by online companies that offer convenience and a sure thing, such as Open Door and Offerpad. But Joe says his company offers a better option. 

Tampa Bay Home Team will make a guaranteed cash offer on your home. 

“We have investors that will give full market value for homes,” Joe explains. “It’s a unique program that gets people a lot more money.” 

He says online companies typically offer about 80 percent of a home’s value. Recently, Joe says a seller got $30,000 more from Tampa Bay Home Team than they were offered from an online source. 

“If consumers go to Open Door or Offerpad, they are not being represented,” explains Joe. “Our fiduciary responsibility is to the client to represent their best interest. Those companies’ responsibility is to their shareholders.” 

He says the most important thing when buying or selling a home is to work with someone who has a track record of selling a lot of homes, with the experience and education to navigate the transaction. 

For example, Robert Holbert and his wife Carrie have 2-year-old twins and a 10-year-old. They are another client of The Home Team who recently moved to Wesley Chapel from New Tampa. They’re also repeat customers who first bought a house with Home Team in 2020. Then, The Home Team helped Robert’s parents move into the area in 2022. 

“Joe is super knowledgeable about the market and has done a great job of keeping the relationship with us,” Robert says. “It’s not just a deal, but he’s been someone we see around town, who has helped us with follow-up questions about schools and when we needed a recommendation to replace our A/C. He’s been available for us, not just for one transaction.” 

Tampa Bay Home Team is located at 2818 Cypress Ridge Blvd., Ste. 150. For more information about Tampa Bay Home Team, contact Joe and Christina at (813) 321-HOME (4663), email info@TampaBayHome.com or visit TampaBayHome.com. 

The professional real estate team at Tampa Bay Home Team also enjoys spending time together outside of work. 

Commissioners Talk Affordable Housing After Vote Opting Out Of ‘Live Local’ 

What the vote means for two Wesley Chapel properties & what Pasco County’s affordable housing plans are moving forward 

The Tapestry at Cypress Creek apartments, located at the intersection of Wesley Chapel Blvd. and S.R.s 54 & 56, is one of two existing apartment communities that have applied to greatly reduce their property taxes under Florida’s “Live Local” law. (Source: TapestryCypressCreekApartments.com) 

When the Pasco County Board of Commissioners (BOC) voted unanimously on May 21 to opt out of a portion of the state’s recently revised “Live Local” law that was originally passed last year, it didn’t stop the BOC from continuing to look to find other ways to bring affordable or “workforce” housing to the county. 

“We all agreed that although those in the workforce need more affordable housing,” says District 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman, “Live Local just did not seem to accomplish that goal.” 

To that end, Pasco’s senior assistant county attorney David Goldstein made a presentation to the commissioners at their May 21 BOC meeting which summarized the reasons why the county was choosing to opt out of the provision of the Live Local law (pushed by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo during the 2023 State Legislative session) that was modified towards the end of the 2024 session to allow local jurisdictions the opportunity to “opt out.” 

Pasco, led by Comm. Weightman, was at the forefront of the fight to get the law changed during this year’s session, as one of the two properties that applied for the Live Local tax break — the Tapestry at Cypress Creek apartments (where Jannah and I have lived the past five years, since the complex first opened), where Wesley Chapel Blvd., S.R. 54 and S.R. 56 meet — is located in his district. I can personally vouch for what Comm. Weightman said at the May 21 meeting: 

“That complex has been around for a number of years and was never intended to be an affordable housing project. It’s Class A multifamily living with amenities, right next to Wesley Chapel and the Outlet Mall.” 

Goldstein outlined the conditions that will allow the county to opt out of the 80%-120% of Average Monthly Income (AMI) provision of Live Local for 2025, although both Tapestry and a complex in the Trinity area both already have applied — but neither one had yet been granted that exemption by county property appraiser Mike Wells at our press time — for 2024. 

The 80%-120% provision allows rental communities to receive the Live Local tax exemption if their units rent for 80-120% of the AMI for an individual in Pasco County, which Goldstein said worked out to rents averaging about $2,000 per month. “These $2,000-per-month rents are not what our school teachers, county employees, firefighters and law enforcement officers can afford,” Goldstein told the commissioners. “It doesn’t make sense to give large tax exemptions essentially to complexes that are charging market rate rents with no charitable purpose.” 

He added that Pasco also has a large surplus of apartments in that 80-120% range. 

“Our deficit is only in rental units charging less than 80% of AMI, which is truly affordable or workforce housing,” he said. “But, we don’t have any communities offering rents under that 80% AMI range coming before you for approval.” 

Goldstein also noted that even with the changes to the Live Local law, Pasco is still grouped with Hillsborough, Pinellas and Hernando counties in the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which is what is being used to determine if a community already has a surplus or a deficit in the number of rental units in the 80-120% AMI range, “So although our MSA has a surplus of 3,994 units at present, even if Pasco has a surplus in the future, but Hillsborough or Pinellas has a large enough deficit to more than offset our surplus, we might not be allowed to opt-out of Live Local in the future. I’m hoping the law will be refined again in the next legislative session.” 

He also said he hoped that other counties in MSAs with surpluses of the 80-120% AMI units will follow Pasco’s lead and opt out of the law. 

Pasco County’s senior assistant county attorney David Goldstein provides information about the changes to the state’s Live Local law to the county’s Board of Commissioners prior to the BOC’s vote to opt out of a portion of the state law regarding affordable housing. (Photo: Screenshot from Pasco BOC meeting) 

Goldstein also told the commissioners that counties that still qualify under the provisions of the law will have to opt out every year, and that the apartment complexes trying to receive the tax breaks also will have to apply for those breaks every year. 

“Fortunately, we only have the two complexes who may be able to receive the tax break this year,” he said, “but even just for this year, the county would lose 75% of the $1.7 million the two complexes paid in taxes last year (or more than $1.275 million combined)” if Wells does allow them to receive the Live Local tax break for 2024. “But, we can only opt out of Live Local for county taxes,” he added. “I have drafted a letter to the Pasco School Board, Mosquito Control District and the cities in the county instructing them to also opt out of the 80-120% AMI provision of Live Local for 2025.” 

Goldstein also mentioned that there are flaws in the way the data that would allow Pasco and other jurisdictions to opt out of Live Local is being used. 

“We can only opt out if the latest University of Florida Shimberg (Center for Housing Studies) Report, which uses American Community Survey data (based on the Census) shows that our Tampa Bay MSA has a surplus of rental units in the 80-120% AMI range,” he said. “But, that does not include recent construction — it’s always two years behind. If we have a recent apartment complex — and we have a lot of recent apartment complexes being built — it’s not counting those in the surplus inventory. We did raise that as a concern and we’re hoping it’s something else that can be refined during the next Legislative Session. The problem is that the Shimberg Report could show we have a deficit when we actually have a surplus on the ground.” 

He also noted that of all of the large counties in the state, only Broward and Miami-Dade counties have large deficits of units in the 80- 120% AMI range, “So it seems like this state law was enacted only to help southeast Florida. The law really should only be applied to those areas.” 

Goldstein also noted that the change in the law for 2025 only applies to tax breaks for existing communities, “So we’re hoping to get the land use part of the law changed during next year’s session. If we don’t have a deficit of those units, why should we have to give up job-creating commercial and industrial properties in the future to have more of them?” 

Pasco’s five commissioners — including new Dist. 4 Comm. Lisa Yeager in her first BOC meeting since being appointed to fill the seat of the late Comm. Gary Bradford by Gov. Ron DeSantis — voted unanimously to approve opting out of the tax portion of Live Local. 

Even so, at the insistence of Dist. 5 Comm. Jack Mariano — despite the fact Goldstein said it wasn’t necessary to do so — the BOC also voted 5-0 to draft a letter to the property appraiser asking him to not grant the exemption to the two rental communities that applied for it for 2024. “I’ve been in constant contact with Mr. Wells’ attorney’s office,” Goldstein said. “They’re well aware of how we feel about this.” 

Talking Affordable Housing 

Following their regular BOC meeting, the commissioners held a workshop on what Pasco can do to provide more affordable housing options for those in the workforce — county employees and others — especially after Goldstein noted during the regular BOC meeting that Pasco does indeed have a shortage of affordable units for those whose monthly incomes are below the 80% of the county’s AMI. 

The workshop was led by Cathy Pearson, Pasco’s assistant county administrator for public services, who said she was discussing affordable housing with David Lambert, the chairman of the Pasco Housing Authority and the Executive VP and general manager of the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, “And we both said we have never had an affordable housing plan for Pasco County. David took me to his Pasco Housing Authority Board and convinced the Board to pay for this study for us,” Pearson said. “How wonderful.” 

She also said that for the year-long study, “affordable housing was defined as housing that costs less than 30% of a household’s income.” For someone earning Pasco’s average median income of $63,187 per year, an affordable rent would be $1,579 per month, although starting teachers and many other workers only earn about 80% of that median income, so those workers could only afford rents of $1,263 per month or less. 

Among the options put forth by the study to help increase affordable housing options in Pasco include legalizing “accessory dwelling units,” sometimes called backyard homes or “granny flats,” adding duplexes or even quadraplex units in existing single-family communities, the possibility of requiring developers to include or pay for affordable housing in their unit totals to receive approval for those developments, as well as expanding some kinds of public rental or home-buying assistance. Goldstein also noted that the county already has reduced mobility and impact fees for developments that include affordable housing. 

Pasco Planning & Economic Growth director David Engel says the county is expected to add more than 101,000 workers to fill the jobs in the projects that are already under design or that the Board has already approved. 

“So we’re going to have a tremendous need for housing in the future for that workforce.”