Floridas real estate market continues to rebound, according to data unveiled by the Florida Realtors on Monday.
Were seeing double-digit gains in statewide closed sales, new listings, pending sales and higher median prices, said Florida Realtors President Dean Asher, an Orlando-based Realtor. And these increases are happening in both the single-family and the town home-condo markets. July marks the 19th consecutive month that weve seen the statewide single-family home median sales price increase year-over-year. Floridas housing market is growing and thats good news for our economy.
In July, there were closed sales on more than 21,200 single-family homes across the Sunshine State, an increase of almost 21 percent from July 2012. Pending sales are also on the rise, with almost 26 percent more pending sales last month than in July 2012. The average single-family home in Florida sold for $177,500 in July 2013, a gain of 18.7 percent from July 2012. Single-family homes in Florida sell for less than the national average, which stood at $214,000 last month.
Town house and condo sales are also increasing across Florida. In July 2013, 9,430 town houses and condos were sold, representing an increase of almost 17 percent from last July. Pending sales are also up for town houses and condos with a 20.7 percent increase last month, when compared to July 2012. While the average town house or condo in Florida sold for $128,000 last month, an increase of almost 22 percent from July 2012, this is still far below the national average of $209,600.
Once again, the market is continuing its steady improvement. There are, however, some straws in the wind that would suggest that the inventory crunch may be easing, said John Tuccillo, the chief economist of the Florida Realtors. Specifically, new listings have been up, year-over-year, for all of 2013. This suggests that sellers are more eager to place their homes on the market. In addition, the months supply of inventory numbers have remained fairly static for the past three months, suggesting we may be reaching the bottom of the inventory decline.
Last month, there was a five months supply on single-family homes and a 5.2 months supply of town houses and condos across Florida.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
