Florida’s Existing Home Sales in Line With Pre-Housing Boom Years

August 27, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on August 2007 With positive economic conditions such as low mortgage interest rates and job growth continuing in Florida, statewide sales of existing single-family homes totaled 11,674 in July, a 24 percent decrease from July 2006, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.

That level is closer to activity in July 2001 and 2002, before the housing boom years.

Florida’s median sales price for existing single-family homes last month was $237,500; a year ago, it was $250,400 for a 5 percent decrease. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. In July 2002, the statewide median sales price for single-family homes was $141,700, for an increase of 67.6 percent over the five-year-period, according to FAR records.

In June 2007, the national median sales price for existing single-family homes was $230,300, up 0.1 percent from the previous year, according to the National Association of Realtors. In California, the statewide median resales price was $594,260 in June; in Massachusetts, it was $364,000; in Maryland, it was $325,427; and in New York, it was $250,000.

NAR’s latest market outlook calls for existing home sales to gain momentum by the end of the year, with broader improvement in sales activity in 2008.

“Existing-home sales should be relatively stable over the next few months, holding in a modest range, with some pent-up demand growing from buyers who’ve been on the sidelines,” said NAR Senior Economist Lawrence Yun. While noting that sales could be temporarily affected by recent mortgage industry disruptions, Yun added that the “fundamental momentum clearly suggests stabilizing price trends in many local markets.”