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April Real Estate Market Update

Closed sales for April covering the short term rental communities collated by myself were up over 22% from last month with 325 homes officially changing hands during the past month. Overall inventory levels fell for the 4th consecutive month to record a low for the year of 1471 homes which was down 10% from last months total of 1619. The average days that a home now takes to sell increased during the month by 2 days with the average home now selling in 148 days. During the month current owners withdrew 117 homes from the market having failed to attract a buyer. Total homes under offer/contract at the month end remained little changed from last month with 1085 homes still awaiting closure. At the current sales pace overall inventory levels reflect a 4.5 month supply of available homes which was down considerably from last months 6.08 month total.

Orlando…

Existing home prices by month in Orlando edged up slightly during March with distressed sales continuing to lead the market according to the monthly report from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. The median price for an existing Orlando home increased by 2% during the month to stand at $103,000 but was still 6% down when compared to last March. More than 70% of the 2,485 Orlando area sales in March were foreclosure or short sale related transactions. The median price in March by sale type broke down as follows: traditional sales $152,500; bank owned properties $80,000 and short sales $102,500. Homes on average in Orlando now spend 103 days on the market before selling which is the longest period for over two years. On closed homes the average sales price achieved stands at 95.4% of the listed price which is the highest level since last summer. Potential buyers had 23% less homes to select from in March compared to a year ago with a total of 3,690 homes listed for sale. The current Orlando sales pace of closed sales translates into a 5.0 month supply which is the lowest level seen since December 2005.

Orlando…

Members of the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association reported a 5.68% year on year increase in sales in February with total condo inventory falling 43.4% from this time last year. The $96,000 overall median price of an Orlando home sold in February was 1.1% up from last month but down 8.57% from the February 2010 median price figure of $105,000. Bank owned and short sold homes accounted for 73.48% of all Orlando sales last month and continue to exert a downward influence on overall median sales prices being achieved.  The number of homes under contract for purchase in February (9,223) was down 2.53% compared to one year ago. Homes of all types in Orlando now spend on average 99 days on the market before coming under contract and sell for an average of 94.47% of the listed price. Total inventory levels now stand at 13,480 homes which is 2,571 less than were available in February 2010. The current pace of Orlando sales translates into 6.47 month availability of supply. Condominium sales in the area increased by 2.14% in February when compared to February of 2010 but decreased by 10% when compared to January 2011. The highest level of sales in the condominium market continued to be in the lower $50,000 and under price band range.

Florida…

Florida’s existing home and condo sales increased in February according to the monthly report from Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 13% last month with a total of 13,701 homes closing statewide when compared to the 12,164 homes that sold in February 2010 with statewide existing condo sales rising 29% compared to the previous year’s sales figures. Seventeen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased sales in February with eighteen recording higher condominium sales. The Florida median sales price for an existing home last month was down 2% from one year ago at $121,900.  In Florida’s year on year condo comparison 6,984 units sold statewide last month compared to 5,424 in February 2010 representing a 29% increase. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month stood at $77,300 which was down 14% from February 2010 when the price then recorded as $90,400. The national median existing condo price in January 2011 was $154,900 according to the National Association Of Realtors.

Short Term Rentals

February saw 259 homes sell across the short term rental communities with the majority of these sales comprising bank owned and short sale related closings. Inventory of listed homes fell during the month to record 1858 at the month end compared to 1948 in January. The average days that a home now takes to sell increased by 1 from last month to stand at 146 with the average home now achieving 95.5% of the listed price. Awaiting closing 986 homes now record as pending/under offer which reflects an increase of 90 homes from last months total. During February 119 homes withdrew from the market having been unable to attract a buyer during the listed period. The February sales pace of 259 homes projected forward would suggest that current overall inventory levels now reflect a 7.17 month supply of available homes.

Orlando…

Members of the Orlando Regional Realtor Association reported a 7.14% year on year increase in sold homes in January 2011 with a record level of transactions comprising bank owned and short sold homes. The lower median prices achieved of bank owned and short sales accounted for 75.03% of all Orlando sales in January. The median sales price of all homes sold in the Orlando area fell 6.91% to $94,950 in January when compared against the January 2010 median figure of $102,000. The median sold price for 'normal' existing homes (neither a short sale or foreclosure related) in January was $145,000 with the median price for bank owned sales recording as $75,000 and short sales $94,500. In addition to the increase in closed sales January saw a 4.69% rise in new contracts over January 2010. The areas overall pending sales statistic increased by 2.18% with 8,777 homes currently under contract awaiting closure.  Homes of all styles spent an average of 96 days on the market with the average home now selling for 94.46% of its listed price. One year ago these figures recorded as 89 days and 93.73% respectively. Total inventory levels show 14,398 Orlando homes available for purchase through the MLS which is down 3.97% from December and 9.5% lower than January 2010. The current pace of sales translates into a 7.38 month supply and by style comprises 11,616 single family homes, 1,629 condominiums and 1153 duplexes/town homes/villas. Orlando area condominium sales increased by increased by 26.43% in January when compared to January of 2010. The highest sales volume (278) fell in the under $50,000 price range and accounted for 54.83% of all condo sales. The second highest volume range with 11.24% of total sales was in the $50,000 - $60,000 category.

January Update From Short Term Rental Land…

The opening month of 2011 saw 194 homes sell across the short term rental communities tracked by myself. 896 homes remain under offer/contract and 189 homes withdrew from the market having failed to achieve a sale. The average days that a home now takes to sell records as 145 with the average price being achieved standing at 96.62% of the listed price. Total inventory levels fell slightly during the month to 1948 homes from the December figure of 2065. At the current sales pace January overall listed inventory totals would suggest a 10.04 month supply of available homes listed for sale.

Orlando…

The Orlando median price of an existing home finished last year up from $105,000 in November to $106,000 in December according to the monthly report collated by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. In total, local Realtors sold 2,368 existing homes in December compared with 1,936 in November the report also stated. Overall  2010 home sales were assisted during the earlier spring months by the Federal Tax Credit which increased demand and helped lift the median price to a years high of $115,000 in April through to June. Orlando home prices reached a median low point of $99,900 in August but have edged up since then. December mirrored most of 2010 in that distress related sales continued to influence and define the overall Orlando market which has been one of the hardest hit in the country by foreclosures with more than 68% of all homes sold in the area last month being of a distressed nature. The median price achieved for a ‘normal’ existing home sale recorded as $160,000. For bank owned homes this was $75,000 and for short sales the figure recorded as $100,000.  The short sale process is used if the current owner and lender can reach agreement to sell the home for less than the current capital loan balance.  The average days on market that a home takes to sell increased in the latter stages of the year to 96 days which was a week longer than figures achieved earlier on in the year. The average price achieved of a sold home recorded as 94% of the listed price. The Orlando total inventory figure for December shows 14,993 homes as listed which was down 1.3% from November and 3.6% lower than the corresponding figure for December 2009.