In line with the rest of Florida, Panama City home sales declined in March as the state saw significant drops in most housing markets.

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The Bay County housing market made a huge comeback in February, leading the state in percentage of sales over February of last year.

The Florida Realtors Association released February sales figures Friday, and only Panama City showed an increase in the number of single-family existing homes sold in the North Florida housing market.

The local numbers showed sales up 21 percent in Panama City, while Fort Walton Beach was down 27 percent, Pensacola was down by 19 percent and Tallahassee tumbled 20 percent.

Fort Walton Beach was the only Panhandle city with greater losses than the state average.

As far as home prices are concerned for existing property sales, home prices are down 3 percent statewide.

Down 4 percent in Ft. Walton Beach, down 9 percent in Panama City and down 2 percent in Tallahassee.

Maybe the reason Panama City enjoyed more home sales is because buyers got better deals. The median selling price was down about 9 percent from last year, and 6 percent less than the state average.

The existing condominium market in Panama City saw a major jump, percentage wise, although only talking about 20-more units than February 2006. At that time last year, Florida home mortgage rates were higher than right now.

Tallahassee also saw a large percentage jump, while the rest of the region mirrored the declining state average.

Locally, condo prices might have had something to do with the increase. The median selling price for existing condos was down 8 percent from 2006. Experts say cheaper Florida mortgage loans helped spark interest.

They also think housing prices have stabilized and that the outlook for Florida’s single-family residential housing market is brightening, with Florida mortgage costs remaining near historic lows.

In fact, one University of Florida researcher says it doesn’t look like prices are going to fall anymore. However, certain parts of the Sunshine State are very much inflated, so it remains situational.

SOURCE: WJHG-TV

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!