Single family home sales in Florida declined 1.2% from a year earlier to 23,829 in April, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.
“Low inventory means fewer homes on the market and increased competition for those homes,” said 2017 Florida Realtors President Maria Wells, broker-owner with Lifestyle Realty Group in Stuart. “It puts consumers in a position where they have to be prepared and ready to buy, as many Realtors around the state report seeing more instances of multiple offers. And, without more for-sale homes, median prices will continue to rise due to demand. In April, sellers of existing single-family homes received 96.2% (median percentage) of their original listing price, while those selling townhouse-condo properties received 94.7% – an indication that the listed price is extremely close to market value.
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $234,900, up 10.3% 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 April was $172,000, up 7.2% over the year-ago figure. April was the 65th month in a row that statewide median prices for both sectors rose year-over-year.
Statewide closed sales of condominiums and townhouses totaled 10,292 last month, down 4% compared to April 2016. Closed sales data reflected fewer short sales and cash-only sales last month: Short sales for townhouse-condo properties declined 38.5%while short sales for single-family homes also dropped 33.8%. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.
“Closed sales of single-family homes were down in 14 of Florida’s 22 metro areas compared to last April, and fell by 1.2% statewide – but there is no indication that demand is falling off,” said Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “Rather, all signs continue to point to a market being held back by a shortage of homes for sale. As of the end of April, the statewide inventory of single-family homes for sale was down by nearly 5% compared to where it was a year ago.
“Additionally, single-family homes that did sell in April were snapped up as quickly as in any month in recent years. According to Florida Realtors median-time-to-sale metric, half of the single-family homes selling in April of last year went from listing to close in 90 days or less, but this April, that figure fell to 85 days or less – a 5.6% decline.”
He noted that the townhouse-condo market has been relatively more balanced than the single-family market from a statewide perspective for several months, but local markets experience more variance in townhouse-condo inventory levels.
April’s inventory remained constricted with a 4-months’ supply for single-family homes and a 6.1-months’ supply for townhouse-condo properties, according to Florida Realtors.
