Florida’s existing home, condo sales up in August
ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 23, 2010 – Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 1 percent in August, with a total of 13,997 homes sold statewide compared to 13,908 homes sold in August 2009, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Statewide existing home sales in August increased 3 percent over statewide sales activity in July.
Ten of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales last month, while 13 MSAs posted increased existing condo sales. Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $134,000; a year ago, it was $146,500 for a decrease of 9 percent. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in July 2010 was $183,400, up 0.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). In Massachusetts, the statewide median resales price was $333,000 in May; in California, it was $314,850; in Maryland, it was $267,489; and in New York, it was $227,000.
In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 5,706 units sold statewide last month compared to 4,662 units in August 2009 for an increase of 22 percent. Statewide existing condo sales last month increased almost 2.7 percent over July’s condo sales. The statewide existing condo median sales price in August was $81,600; in August 2009 it was $107,200 for a 24 percent decrease. The national median existing condo price was $176,800 in July, according to NAR.
The housing sector faces a long recovery process, due in part to slow job growth and the still-fragile economy, according to NAR’s latest industry outlook. “Home sales will remain soft in the months ahead, but improved affordability conditions should help with a recovery,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. The pace of sales has slowed since May, following the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit, Yun said, who predicted this “pause period” likely will last through September.
“However, given rock-bottom mortgage interest rates and historically high housing affordability conditions, the pace of a sales recovery could pick up quickly, provided the economy consistently adds jobs,” he said.
The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.43 percent in August, down from the 5.19 percent averaged in August 2009, according to Freddie Mac. Florida Realtors’ sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
Reprinted by Permission: © 2010 Florida Realtors®
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In Miami-Dade County specifically, we have also seen improvement in segments of the market. Overall, the county has experienced a slight increase in inventory of 1.2%, although inventory levels dropped 10.4% year-over-year as depicted in the graph below.
1 month |
1 year |
|
Jul 10 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
Aug 09 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
For Sale |
23976 |
24271 |
1.2%  |
27083 |
24271 |
-10.4%  |
New Listing |
5465 |
5391 |
-1.4%  |
4098 |
5391 |
31.6%  |
Sold |
1957 |
1832 |
-6.4%  |
1761 |
1832 |
4%  |
Pended |
2874 |
3327 |
15.8%  |
2618 |
3327 |
27.1%  |
The opposite was true with new inventory levels where a 1.4% drop in the month of August was reported, as compared to July, 2010. In contrast, notice the amazing increase in inventory levels year-over-year of 31.6%, signaling that possibly, we are seeing new foreclosure units come to market as compared to 2009.
The following charts depict non-distressed vs distressed property activity in Miami-Dade county. These charts demonstrate the state of affairs in the county and easily proves where the market activity is.
Non-Distressed activity:
1 month |
1 year |
|
Jul 10 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
Aug 09 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
For Sale |
13754 |
13773 |
0.1%  |
17674 |
13773 |
-22.1%  |
New Listing |
2317 |
2190 |
-5.5%  |
2477 |
2190 |
-11.6%  |
Sold |
686 |
633 |
-7.7%  |
820 |
633 |
-22.8%  |
Pended |
719 |
754 |
4.9%  |
1238 |
754 |
-39.1%  |
Distressed (Short Sales & REOs) activity:
1 month |
1 year |
|
Jul 10 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
Aug 09 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
For Sale |
10215 |
10491 |
2.7%  |
9409 |
10491 |
11.5%  |
New Listing |
3148 |
3201 |
1.7%  |
1621 |
3201 |
97.5%  |
Sold |
1271 |
1199 |
-5.7%  |
941 |
1199 |
27.4%  |
Pended |
2155 |
2573 |
19.4%  |
1380 |
2573 |
86.4%  |
To further brake it down, below is the chart depicting REO activity in Miami-Dade county, Florida:
1 month |
1 year |
|
Jul 10 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
Aug 09 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
For Sale |
2111 |
2298 |
8.9%  |
1029 |
2298 |
123.3%  |
New Listing |
1548 |
1613 |
4.2%  |
696 |
1613 |
131.8%  |
Sold |
767 |
779 |
1.6%  |
779 |
779 |
0% |
Pended |
1021 |
1425 |
39.6%  |
766 |
1425 |
86%  |
While the following chart depicts Short Sale activity in Miami-Dade county, Florida:
1 month |
1 year |
|
Jul 10 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
Aug 09 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
For Sale |
8104 |
8193 |
1.1%  |
8386 |
8193 |
-2.3%  |
New Listing |
1600 |
1588 |
-0.7%  |
925 |
1588 |
71.7%  |
Sold |
504 |
420 |
-16.7%  |
162 |
420 |
159.3%  |
Pended |
1134 |
1148 |
1.2%  |
614 |
1148 |
87%  |
Clearly, the Short Sale market seems to be the most active, showing a 159% increase in activity from last year from 162 units sold in August 2009 to 420 units sold in August, 2010. However, it also suffered the largest month-to-month decline in closed sales between July, 2010 and August, 2010 for a 16.7% drop from 504 units sold in 7/10 to 420 units sold in 8/10.
In the Coastal, Eastern Miami-Dade county areas I serve (Zip Codes: 33109, 33129, 33130, 33131, 33132, 33139, 33140, & 33141), the overal acticity chart follows:
Overal Market Activity for Miami Beach, Downtown-Biscayne and Brickell areas are as follows:
|
1 month |
1 year |
|
Jul 10 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
Aug 09 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
For Sale |
5601 |
5625 |
0.4%  |
6168 |
5625 |
-8.8%  |
New Listing |
982 |
951 |
-3.2%  |
778 |
951 |
22.2%  |
Sold |
300 |
274 |
-8.7%  |
230 |
274 |
19.1%  |
Pended |
433 |
452 |
4.4%  |
367 |
452 |
23.2%  |
Note again that, although new listings and sold units in August were down as compared to July, they’re both robustly up as compared to last year. Just the same,
Pending sales (a forward indicator), continues to show (except for non-distressed sellers), that the following months show promising results as those properties under contract close.
With 40-unit Onyx on the Bay near Downtown Miami going up for Bankruptcy auction on October 5, 2010, including 56 parking spaces and some storage units, it is easy to see that though we may be reaching a recovery point, we are also still on a long road to full recovery and reversal of current market conditions.
However, conditions are ripe for buyers to capitalize long-term on great deals. Only those who take action will benefit though.
1 month |
1 year |
|
Jul 10 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
Aug 09 |
Aug 10 |
% Change |
For Sale |
23976 |
24271 |
1.2%  |
27083 |
24271 |
-10.4%  |
Sold |
1957 |
1832 |
-6.4%  |
1761 |
1832 |
4%  |
Pended |
2874 |
3327 |
15.8%  |
2618 |
3327 |
27.1%  |
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