Resale Numbers Low in Daytona Beach Housing Market
The number of single-family home sales in the Volusia-Flagler housing market in August was down sharply from August 2005, while the median price slipped slightly, the Florida Association of Realtors reported Monday.
However, Richard Sluzewski, president of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors, said it’s difficult to make comparisons between this year and last in terms of Florida home mortgage demand.
“Last year was a frenzy market,” Sluzewski said. “We’ve never had one like that.”
Home prices continued climbing last year in an overheated real estate market, he continued, and this year sellers wanted to add on to such an appreciation factor. But now, with more homes available, sellers are starting to lower their asking prices.
Part of the sales slowdown can be attributed to high property taxes and expensive insurance, Sluzewski said. Combined, those “can almost equal a house payment,” he noted.
Jalene Stockhausen, president-elect of the West Volusia Association of Realtors, said West Volusia’s home sellers are bringing their asking prices to more realistic levels. The aim is to encourage even lower-income families to submit an application for a Florida home mortgage loan.
“Sellers are having to be competitive in their pricing and be more realistic in what they’re asking,” Stockhausen said.
She figures with better pricing, more home sales will be completed in the coming months, especially if Florida mortgage rates continue to stay below seven percent. Freddie Mac, the national organization that links home buyers with mortgage lenders, reported the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.52 percent last month, up from 5.82 percent a year earlier.
Home re-sales and median prices in the Volusia-Flagler market closely tracked statewide statistics for August. A total of 14,736 homes changed hands, 34 percent fewer than in the previous August’s mark of 22,421 homes. The existing-home median price in Florida was unchanged at $248,400, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
It’s all part of an adjustment. Despite naysayers, industry analysts predict 2006 will be the third-strongest sales year on record nationally. Florida home loans remain sought after due to the climate and reasonable rates of interest in the state.
