Florida’s housing market continued its positive track in August, with more closed sales, increased pending sales, more new listings and rising median prices, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors® Wednesday.
Sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 25,235 last month, up 0.9% compared to August 2016. The data do not reflect the affects of Hurricane Irma, which did not reach Florida until Sept. 10.
“Housing market trends we have been seeing for months in Florida continued in August,” said 2017 Florida Realtors President Maria Wells, broker-owner with Lifestyle Realty Group in Stuart. “More owners are deciding to enter the market and list their homes for sale, while demand from buyers continues to grow, especially for homes in the $250,000-and-under range. Homes are continuing to sell quickly, though tight inventory is putting pressure on rising median prices and creating affordability challenges for many first-time buyers.
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $240,000, up 6.7% from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Research department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in August was $170,000, up 6.3% over the year-ago figure. August marked the 69th consecutive month that statewide median prices for both sectors rose year-over-year. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
In the townhouse-condo market, statewide closed sales totaled 9,716 last month, up 2.6% compared to August 2016. Closed sales data reflected fewer short sales and foreclosures last month: Short sales for townhouse-condo properties declined 39.4% and foreclosures fell 49.1% year-to-year; short sales for single-family homes dropped 34.8% and foreclosures fell 45.4 percent year-to-year. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.
“As August’s data shows, the winding down of the niche market for distressed properties that has existed in Floridaover the past several years, along with the general shortage of homes for sale on the more affordable end of the market, has slowed down year-over-year sales growth,” said Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “At the same time, we’re seeing strong price growth year-over-year, but it’s actually quite modest relative to the double-digit percentage growth we’ve experienced in recent years.”
Inventory continued to tighten in August with a 3.8-months’ supply for single-family homes and a 5.4-months’ supply for townhouse-condo properties, according to Florida Realtors.
