Sales of single-family homes in Florida totaled 24,546 in July, up 2% compared to July 2016, the Florida Realtors reported Thursday.
“Florida’s housing market gained momentum in July,” said 2017 Florida Realtors President Maria Wells, broker-owner with Lifestyle Realty Group in Stuart. “More owners decided to put their homes up for sale. However, even with the increase in new listings, inventory remains tight and buyer demand is great. New listings for single-family existing homes rose 6.1% year-over-year, while new listings for existing condo-townhouse properties rose 5.5%. Homes continue to sell quickly, resulting in increased pending sales – up 3.3% for single-family homes and up 3.6% for condo-townhouse units.
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $240,000, up 7.1% 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 July was $170,950, up 6.8% over the year-ago figure. July marked the 68th month-in-a-row that statewide median prices for both sectors rose year-over-year.
In the townhouse-condo market, statewide closed sales totaled 9,246 last month, up 3.6% compared to July 2016. Closed sales data reflected fewer short sales and foreclosures last month: Short sales for townhouse-condo properties declined 39.7% and foreclosures fell 47.7% year-to-year; short sales for single-family homes dropped 40.2% and foreclosures fell 44.2% year-to-year.
“We continue to see fierce competition among buyers for homes traditionally found on the more affordable end of the pricing spectrum,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “Florida’s rate of employment growth continues to outpace the nation’s, and a substantial number of Florida’s millennials have started looking for their first home. At the same time, however, rents are still quite high, so homes in these price ranges remain attractive to investors, as well.”
Inventory remained tight in July with a 3.9-months’ supply for single-family homes and a 5.6-months’ supply for townhouse-condo properties, according to the Florida Realtors.
