The Florida property market continued to show solid and sustainable growth in March, a month that notched up the state’s 40th consecutive rise in median houses prices. Closed sales also boomed while inventory levels dropped nearly 10 per cent.
All signs point to a full recovery in the Florida property market where completed sales for single family homes in March this year rose by almost 25 per cent compared to March 2014. Hand in hand with this intense activity went price rises. The median price for a single family home reached US$190,000 in March, a 9.2 per cent increase over 12 months. Activity in the Florida condo and townhouse sector was also high with completed sales up 13.7 per cent on March 2014. Median prices rose to US$152,000, 8.6 per cent more than the previous year.
Prices for Florida property remain considerably below the national average – in February, these were US$204,200 for a single family home and US$190,200 for a condo-townhouse property – but well ahead of their all-time low of US$122,200 during the height of the economic crisis. And March median prices mark the 40th consecutive month of rises in Florida property.
Other signs of intense market activity are found in inventory figures – Florida’s property market had a supply of 5.1 months in March, a year-on-year drop of nearly 10 per cent. The number of days properties spend on the market also fell by 3 per cent for single family homes.
Commenting on the figures, Florida Realtors Chief Economist John Tuccillo said that the housing market “continues to thrive in the growing Florida economy – jobs are up and so are sales”. He believes that the figures show that “demand is coming from household owner-occupants, a trend that bodes well for market stability”.
The wider economic picture for Florida points to more of the same. The latest Florida & Metro Forecast 2015-2018, published by the University of Central Florida, makes some promising predictions for the state economy, expected to grow ahead of the national average. State GDP is forecast to grow at 3.8 per cent a year, a figure matched by personal income growth. Job creation is expected to increase by 2.3 per cent a year with the construction sector leading new employment. Activity in the Florida property market, both in number of sales and house price increases, will undoubtedly reflect the economic surge forecast for the next four years.
Source: Florida Realtors, University of Central Florida
