Existing Home Sales Plummet in Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg
The evidence of a cooling Florida real estate market continues to mount. Sales of existing homes fell 22 percent in March, the fifth straight down month, the Florida Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
“We were in a market where someone sold something for $400,000, the next person put it on the market for $450,000 and the next person listed it for $475,000,” said Realtor Carolyn Kling of Tierra Verde Realty Inc. “That kind of rapid acceleration in price is not happening any longer, but people who are properly pricing properties are selling them.”
In other words, there’s a fine Florida home loan line being walked. She called the slowdown a return to stability after an incredible year.
Unsold homes lower consumer confidence
However, rising numbers of unsold homes likely will hurt consumer confidence, which already is feeling the impact of higher gasoline prices, said Chris McCarty, director of survey research at the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research. The bureau reported Tuesday that its Florida consumer confidence index dipped two points in April, even as the national index rose two points to its highest level in almost four years.
McCarty said he expects most of the state to see a return to single-digit appreciation in home prices, but some parts might see a decline in prices for high-end homes. He said homeowners who hoped to tap their Florida home equity will feel the impact.
Florida home sale numbers
Statewide, 18,881 homes sold in March, down from 24,091 in March 2005. The median sale price of $248,200 was 17 percent higher than in 2005 and double the median price of $121,600 in March 2001. However, it is little changed so far this year.
In the Tampa Bay area, sales fell 26 percent, while the median sales price of $222,800 was up 24 percent over last year, but flat so far this year. The Miami market was the state’s strongest in March, with sales up 21 percent.
“It’s like a stock market correction,” said Virginia Lomagno, who manages St. Petersburg offices for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. “I think what we’ve lost are the speculators.”
In Pinellas County, listings have tripled in the last year. The imbalance between sales and listings is particularly striking in the condo market.
David Lereah, the Realtors’ chief economist, said he was still looking for a gradual slowdown in housing that would result in a drop of around six percent in home sales this year and a slowing in price gains to around six percent, compared with the double-digit gains in prices in recent years.
This year’s rise in Florida home loan rates is dampening sales of both existing and new homes and forcing builders to cut back on construction of new homes. While housing has been one of the standout performers in the current four-year-long economic expansion, the current state of Florida home loans favors buyers over investors.
