Florida’s housing market continued its positive track in November, with more closed sales, more new listings, more pending sales and rising median prices, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 19,990 last month, up 1.3% compared to November 2016.
“In November, Florida’s housing market reflected the trends we’ve grown accustomed to seeing throughout this year,” 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. New listings for single-family existing homes rose 1.8% year-over-year, while new listings for existing condo-townhouse properties rose 5.9%. However, even with the increase in new listings, inventory was still tight and buyer demand was great. Homes continued to sell quickly, resulting in increased pending sales – up 5.5% for single-family homes and up 9.3% for condo-townhouse units.
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $240,000, up 9.1% from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. The statewide median price for condo-townhouse properties in November was $176,000, up 8.6% over the year-ago figure. November was the 71st 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 condo-townhouse market, statewide closed sales totaled 8,235 last month, up 5.8% compared to November 2016. Closed sales data reflected fewer short sales and foreclosures last month: Short sales for condo-townhouse properties declined 21.8% and foreclosures fell 41.7% year-to-year; short sales for single-family homes dropped 36% and foreclosures fell 45.9% year-to-year. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.
“How did Florida’s home resale market fare in November? Florida Realtors’ November statistics paint a picture of a market that looks a lot more like what we were seeing throughout 2016 and in 2017 prior to the hurricane, at least at the statewide level,” said Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “Through November, total statewide dollar volume across all residential property types is sitting at about 105 billion dollars, compared to about 96 billion dollars at this time last year.
“How did we do it? Certainly not due to sales growth – thanks to Hurricane Irma, only one-and-a-half percent more homes have sold so far in 2017 compared to this point last year. The obvious driving force here is the continuing upward march of home prices.”
November’s for-sale inventory remained tight with a 3.8-months’ supply for single-family homes and a 5.7-months’ supply for condo-townhouse properties, according to Florida Realtors.
