Sales of single-family homes in Florida totaled 16,564 last month, down 1.3% compared to January 2017, the Florida Realtors reported Wednesday. New listings for single-family homes rose 1.1% year-over-year while new townhouse-condo listings increased 3.6%.
“There’s an ongoing shortage of housing inventory in many markets across Florida,” said 2018 Florida Realtors President Christine Hansen, broker-owner with Century 21 Hansen Realty in Fort Lauderdale. “January’s statewide homes sales reflected the tight supply, and – when combined with rising median sales prices – it puts pressure on potential home buyers.
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes 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 January was $179,900, up 11.7% over the year-ago figure.
January marked 73 consecutive months that the statewide median sales prices for both single-family homes and townhouse-condo properties rose year-over-year. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
Statewide closed sales of condos and townhomes totaled 7,634 last month, up 5.9% compared to January 2017. Closed sales data reflected fewer short sales and foreclosures last month: Short sales for condo-townhouse properties declined 32.5% and foreclosures fell 36.3% year-to-year; short sales for single-family homes dropped 46% and foreclosures fell 43% year-to-year. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.
“Florida Realtors’ data shows sales of existing single-family homes in Florida were off to a slow start in the first month of 2018,” said Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “However, it’s important to note that there was significant variation in this figure across different markets throughout the state – in fact, single-family home sales were actually up in 10 of the state’s 22 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).
“Lately, condo and townhouse sales growth has been outpacing that of single-family homes, and the reason is that the picture for condos and townhouses has been much more balanced. The single-family home market, by contrast, continues to be held back by inadequate levels of new construction.”
January’s for-sale inventory remained tight with a 3.9-months’ supply for single-family homes and a 5.9-months’ supply for condo-townhouse properties, according to Florida Realtors.
