Palm Beach County Housing Market “Very Sick,” New Data Suggests
How about an early peek at March sales of existing homes in Palm Beach County? Are you sure you want to know?
You’ll have an insider’s position for a day, thanks to the Palm Beach Post - the official Realtors report doesn’t come out until later today.
There are no real surprises, but an early report gives us a heads-up on what Wednesday’s headlines are probably going to say.
Here’s what one respected analyst has to say about the Palm Beach County housing market of existing homes for March:
“The combination of plunging sales and rising inventories is a symptom of a very, very sick housing market,” said housing economist Thomas Lawler of Lawler Economic & Housing Consulting in Vienna, Va.
Strong words, even in a year of declining Florida mortgage demand? See for yourself. Here are Palm Beach County’s sales figures for March, according to HomeDiscovery.com:
SINGLE FAMILY HOMES
- Inventory: 15,028 for sale, compared with 12,737 in March 2006
- Sold: 716, compared with 956 in March 2006
- Backlog (based on rate of sales): 21 months, compared with 13 months in March 2006
CONDOS
- Inventory: 17,368 for sale, compared with 13,413 in March 2006
- Sold: 640, compared with 1,082 in March 2006
- Backlog: 27 months, compared with 12 months in March 2006
“There is a high likelihood that Florida home prices will decline fairly significantly during the remainder of this year,” Lawler said.
Lawler will be one of the speakers Thursday at the National Association of Home Builders’ semiannual Construction Forecast Conference in Washington.
Thanks to HomeDiscovery.com and the Palm Beach Post for this early report. While it may not give us any new information about the direction of Florida mortgages, it’s an indicator of the overall housing climate in what is shaping up to be a tenuous year in South Florida.
