Bay County Housing Market Outlook Promising
The Bay County housing market came back to earth last year, but will gain momentum and continue building steam in early 2007, according to the Panama City News-Herald.
The Bay County Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes rose in November, following a 0.5-percent sales increase in October and marking the first back-to-back sales gains since the spring of 2005, according to the association.
Acknowledging that 2006 was a “tough and challenging” year for the North Florida housing market in terms of sales and prices, Association President Teresa Dyer said she thought the area’s market had corrected itself and started a mild upswing heading into the New Year.
“I’ve talked to other people, and business is picking up,”Dyer said.
David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said he believed that September’s sales activity may represent the low point for total sales the national real estate market, but he cautioned that home prices probably will continue declining for a few more months.
Tom Neubauer, owner of ERA Neubauer Real Estate, said a six-year history of sales and other market information drawn from the third quarter of each year since 2000 showed that Bay County’s 2006 real estate market registered total sales levels comparable to 2002, a then-record year.
“We really have a pretty healthy market,” Neubauer said.
He believes there are a lot of buyers waiting to see when the market would bottom out and looking to time purchases just right, with Florida mortgage rates still hovering around 6 or 6.25 percent. He said it looks like home prices will stabilize as housing inventory is absorbed.
The Panama City multiple listing service showcased 2,199 residential single-family homes and 2,157 condominiums for sale late last week.
Neubauer said the county has high housing inventory, with an 18-month supply of single-family housing and a 3- to 4-year supply of condominium units. Some homeowners are still in denial about their homes’ values.
“The ones that are realistic are selling their homes,” Neubauer said.
They’re not out of the woods yet. Prices for existing area homes dropped 12 percent this November, with a median sales price of $201,200. The median sales price in November for an existing Panama City-area condo declined to $275,000.
Despite the 2006 decline in housing sales and prices, Dyer said there are still 1,461 members in her organization. She said the association will not know until January 25 what its numbers will be for next year.
The bottom line: If you’re a buyer on Florida’s north Gulf Coast, proceed with caution, but bear in mind that conditions have already shifted in your favor. Waiting too long could mean missing a chance to capitalize on low Florida home mortgage loan rates!
