Florida Home Sales Increase 16th Straight Month
ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2010) – "Florida’s existing home sales rose in December, marking 16 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the Florida Realtors. Existing home sales rose 33% last month with a total of 14,630 homes sold statewide compared to 11,013 homes sold in December 2008. Statewide existing home sales last month increased 4.3% over statewide sales activity in November.Seventeen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing home sales and higher condo sales in December. A majority of the state’s MSAs have reported increased sales for 18 consecutive months.
Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $140,400; a year ago, it was $155,300 for a 10% decrease, and in November it was $139,000 for a 1% increase."
5 Comments:
Yep, Florida home existing sales are finally back to 1999 levels!
Oh, but the population has grown almost 20% since then.
House prices have climbed back to 2003 levels! Houses bought in Miami at the peak between 2Q06 and 1Q07 are now only worth about 47% less than their purchase prices!
23 quarters of home purchase vintages in Florida between 2Q03 and 4Q08 are under water. Florida homes purchased between 1Q04 and 3Q08 are more than 10% under water (19 quarters). Homes in Florida bought between 3Q04 and 2Q08 (16 quarters) are under water by more than 20%.
Low tier homes in Florida (topping out at $129,000) have lost 49% of their value from peak. Middle tier homes have lost 47% of value from peak.
1-4 family building permits have risen slightly from the lowest level in series history back to 1980.
Other than that, Florida's housing market is doing great! I'm smoking green shoots in celebration.
Acre: Obviously things could be better in FL but would you prefer that they were still deteriorating? Almost all major metro areas in FL showed double digit sales gains in 2009 from 2008. This will clear inventory and presages sustained general price increases. Keep the faith, my friend.
"Obviously things could be better in FL but would you prefer that they were still deteriorating?"...
Hey Bill if this RealtyTrac site is credible you might find this interesting: Foreclosure Activity Hits Record High in Third Quarter
Oct. 15, 2009
Its the chart that caught my eye...
Florida was ranked fourth behind Nevada (1), Arizona (2), and California (3)...
A journey of a thousand miles, Bill?
Sales are not the measure of a recovering market in this case. The house are, as I pointed out, selling at half price. Think of all the bank and personal losses that entails.
Miniscule price increases from dismally low levels aren't encouraging. This is a slow uphill slog. But more to the point, house prices don't follow cycles. This upturn does not mean prices won't fall again or stagnate for years.
Juandos is correct. Foreclosures are accelerating in most states, not slowing down.
If you're a surviving Florida realtor, things are getting better. If you're a bank these loans aren't covering your huge losses. If you're a seller you are only slightly happier than you were a few months ago but still pissed off. If you're a buyer you're getting a good bargain if the house hasn't been stripped.
Ifyoure a politician or someone trying to paint a picture of a false recovery, this is not evidence.
@ Acre,
Of course the prices have come down....that's why sales are up. Prices have finally dropped to the levels that accurately reflect what the properties are worth. I'm not sure how, in the face of lagging demand and over-supply, one would both keep prices high AND increase sales. Secondly, these transactions are not zero sum. Yes, investors, homeowners, and banks may take some losses....that was the risk they took when they made the purchase. But look at the bright side....new homeowners can realize the dream of home ownership at prices that are both affordable for them and are more accurate reflections of what the propery is really worth.
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