Central Florida Home Prices Close to 2006 Levels

The median Orlando home price last month nearly matched the May 2006 price of $250,000, the Orlando Regional Realtor Association reported yesterday.
The good news was that the $249,900 median home price in the Central Florida housing market for May was significantly higher than the $242,100 reported a month prior.

Sales, meanwhile, continued to fall with 1,550 recorded last month, a 45.5 percent drop from the 2,842 sales posted in May 2006, but up slightly from the 1,530 homes sold in April. That improvement could be attributed to the end of the school year and the start of the summer selling season.

About 7,869 homes sold through May, a 36.4 percent decline from the 12,373 sold through the first five months of 2006, as Florida mortgage activity slowed down drastically.

Condo sales in May dropped by 67 percent, as 155 condos sold, compared to 466 in the same period a year prior. Sales of duplexes, townhomes or villas totaled 231 last month, a 44 percent decline over May 2006 when 130 were bought.

In Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, May 2007 sales were down 47 percent from 3,501 in May of last year to 1,856 this year. To date, 9,491 homes have sold this year while 15,175 homes sold the same period last year, which represents a 37.5 percent decline.

Homes available for purchase through the Multiple Listing Service, meanwhile, went up by 1,028 homes in May 2007 to a total of 25,463, which is a 40 percent jump since May of last year. Inventory also reflects a more than 16-month supply at the current pace of sales.

All homes spent an average of 97 days on the market before being sold and the average home sold for 95.44 percent of its original asking price. Such a reductions means it is at least somewhat of a buyer’s market and interested Florida mortgage loan applicants should act quickly.