The Florida property market continued its path to full recovery during the third quarter of this year. Sales and median prices rose across the board while inventory listings and supply fell, indicating the new property reality – Florida is moving towards a seller’s market.
Figures released last week by Florida Realtors for the three months between June and September this year confirmed analysts’ expectations. The property market in Florida remains on track to recovery fuelled by increasing employment opportunities and booming tourism across the state.
Florida Realtors’ Chief Economist Dr John Tuccillo referred to the three months as “a solid quarter for residential real estate in Florida” and said the Sunshine State is leading the entire country in terms of sales and price growth. Figures are certainly impressive across the board with double-digit increases in some instances.
Single family homes up, up, up
Single family homes are a case in point. Sales in this Florida property sector rose by a massive 14.7 per cent in the three months to October this year. The number of sales of single family homes priced above US$100,000 increased across the spectrum with those in the US$100,000 to US$150,000 experiencing a 6.7 per cent rise.
Median prices went up by 9.8 per cent in year-on-year terms to reach US$199,900 and sellers are now achieving 94.4 per cent of their asking price. Analysts see this as particular proof of the improvement in market conditions for sellers after several years of a reversed situation.
Indications of the urgency in the market can be found in the inventory and listings statistics for the Florida single family home market. The number of days needed to sell this type of Florida property dropped to 46 days in Q3, a 19.3 per cent decrease on the same quarter last year.
The inventory currently stand at 4.4 months, well below the 5.5 months’ supply considered by Florida Realtors to be a balanced market where buyers and sellers operate in equal conditions. Inventory supply for single family homes has dropped by 19.1 per cent over the last year. The number of listings for single family homes in Florida has dropped by 6.5 per cent since September 2014 and has experienced a particular dip in the US$50,000 to US$200,000 price bracket.
Florida condos and townhouses moving upwards
Further signs of big movement in the Florida property market can be seen the condo-townhouse sector. According to Dr Tuccillo, this type of property had been trailing the single family market, a situation that was reversed during Q3 this year. “Even the condominium market is moving in a positive direction,” he commented, “and we are seeing a sellers’ market developing,”
Sales of condominiums in Florida went up by 8.9 per cent between June and September with all price brackets seeing an increase. Median prices rose by 7.9 per cent year-on-year and now stand at US$150,000.
The number of days spent by Florida condos on the market dropped by 11.7 per cent to 53 days during the quarter. Inventory listings fell by 4.1 per cent across the board, although the decreases were much more pronounced in certain sectors. For example, the number of available condos priced between US$50,000 and US$100,000 dropped by 22.3 per cent. The supply for condos in Florida now runs to just 5.2 months, below the 5.5 months’ balance for the first time in many years.
