Orlando Hits Rock Bottom
Orlando Hits Rock Bottom
A third consecutive start Orlando’s median price plus one more drop in inventory plus a month-to-month increase in sales are strong indications of continuing improvement in Orlando’s housing industry, reports the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association Skyliving Orlando Group Keller Williams Realty.
The entire median price of Orlando homes has risen 12.75 percent over March 2011’s median price of $102,000, to $115,000. Additionally, the March 2012 overall median price is 3.60 percent higher than that recorded in February 2012 ($111,000).
The March 2012 median prices of both bank-owned sales and normal sales increased compared to March 2011: bank-owned sales by 5.25 % (to $84,200 from $80,000) and normal sales by 3.33 percent (to $155,000 from $150,000). The median cost of short sales decreased by 0.73 percent (from $102,000 to $102,750).
Latest Breaking News on Housing industry
Orlando Real Estate
First up is some positive breaking news for the housing market. Shadow inventory of homes is declining, providing a dose of fine news for the glum housing marketplace. Shadow inventory, or homes on the verge of foreclosure, fell to 1.6 million units representing a five-months supply in July compared to 1.9 million units representing a six-months supply a year ago, according to CoreLogic. It’s a great sign that troubled homes, normally headed toward foreclosures, are receiving sold faster. Lesser inventory may help stabilize falling prices on homes for sale. Of course we won’t be visiting a drastic change in numbers, but even a small percentage of troubled homes off of the market is a blessing for sellers and the industry as a whole.
"The steady improvement in the shadow inventory is really a positive development for that housing market," CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Gleming said inside a press release. "However, continued price declines, high amounts of negative equity plus a sluggish labor market can keep the shadow supply elevated to have an extended period of time."
Housing Prices Increase, but not Enough
Some more indication of small steps toward a market recovery. For that fourth consecutive month, house values were on the upswing in July compared to the previous month. But the bump wasn’t good enough to provide the market a clean bill of health, yet. In accordance with data released by S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, house values across 20 major towns in July remained flat when adjusted seasonally, and down 4.1 percent compared to a year earlier, despite showing a 0.9 percent gain. The trend of prices rising is a good sign, analysts said.
"With July's data we are seeing not only anticipated monthly increases, but some fairly broad improvement within the annual rates of change in home prices," said S&P's David Blitzer, based on an AFP story. However, he said, "if you look at the state with the overall economy and, specifically, the recent large decline in consumer confidence, these combined statistics always indicate that the housing marketplace is still bottoming and has not turned around." Prices across the country were at the level of 2003, according to the report.
Rates on mortgages rising Continue to Slide
Here’s more music for your ears of potential homebuyers. Nudged through the Federal Reserve’s proposal to lessen borrowing costs, rates on mortgages rising fell to the lowest in Freddie Mac’s recorded history immediately. Rates on a 30-year-fixed loan hit an unimaginable 4.01 percent, down from 4.09 percent. On the 15-year loan rates dropped to three.27 percent. The lucrative rates are aimed to lure consumers toward buying and refinancing their existing mortgages. The majority are taking the bait. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, there was clearly a 9.7 percent increase in loan applications last week. However, an excellent section of consumers haven't been able to take advantage of the rates because of stricter lending standards.
Existing Home Sales Drop
Some good news for buyers which actually is not-so-good news for sellers. Sale of existing homes dropped 1.2 percent in August, according to an index by the Nar. The measure implies that sales dipped to 88.6 percent in August from 88.7 percent the last month. The data, that can take into consideration signed contracts but unclosed deals, demonstrates the numbers are higher as compared to the same period this past year, but that’s hardly a consolation since last year’s showing was suffering from the expiration of the federal tax credit for homebuyers. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist in the press release blamed the numbers with an uneven market.
“The biggest monthly decline was in the Northeast, which was significantly disrupted by Hurricane Irene inside the closing weekend of August,” he was quoted saying. “But broadly speaking, contract signing activity has been holding in a narrow range for a lot of months.” If you are looking to purchase, now may be a time for you to get involved in the market, Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist for Capital Economics, told the Wall Street Journal. But, many people have been unable to make the most of the situation, he said. Some analysts blame the task market and slipping consumer confidence. During these shaky times, lots of people prefer to rent than invest their savings on the new home.
Orlando Real Estate
Members of ORRA participated in 2,327 home sales in March 2012, a growth of 17.82 in comparison to February 2012 but a reduction in 10.95 percent when compared with March 2011. A lot more than 40 percent of March 2012 sales were normal; short sales made up 33.00 percent and foreclosure sales constructed 26.51 percent. By comparison, in March 2011 normal sales included 29.16 percent while short sales accounted for 24.34 percent and foreclosures taken into account 46.50 percent.
The average interest rate paid by Orlando homebuyers in March was 3.99 percent. The lowest average interest rate since ORRA began tracking the statistic hit in February 2012, if this was 3.92 percent. Last year, homebuyers paid the average interest rate of 4.91 percent.
Homes of all spent an average of 97 days on the market before coming under contract in March 2012, and the average home sold for 94.83 percent of its listing price. In March 2011 those numbers were 103 days and 95.35 percent, respectively.
Pendings
Pending sales - those under contract and awaiting closing - are currently at 9,748. The amount of pending sales in March 2012 is 2.50 percent higher than it was in March 2011 (9,510) and 4.28 percent more than it was in February 2012 (9,348).
Short sales, which take a lot longer to process from contract to shut, made up 69.07 percent of pending sales in March 2012. "Normal” properties taken into account 17.90 percent of pendings, while bank-owned properties accounted for 13.03 percent.
Inventory
The number of existing homes available for sale in Orlando is continuing a steady decline that began in back in July 2010 at 16,563 now rests at 8,666. In March 2012, inventory was 30.85 percent less than it was in March 2011.
The inventories of single-family homes and condos tend to be down: single-family by 31.95 % and condo by 20.78 percent.
The present inventory combined with the current pace of sales means a 3.72-month supply of homes in Orlando, a pace not seen since December of 2005 in the event it was a 3.58-month supply.
Affordability - Orlando Hits Rock Bottom
The increase in median price has resulted in a decrease in Orlando’s affordability index: the March index of 257.88 percent is more than 11 percentage points lower than February 2012’s index of 269.16 percent. (An affordability index of 99 percent means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 1 percent short of the income required to purchase a median-priced home. Conversely, an affordability index which is over 100 implies that median-income earners make more than is essential to qualify for a median-priced home.)
Clients who earn the reported median earnings of $54,302 can qualify to buy one of 4,858 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently placed in the local multiple listing service for $296,560 or less.
First-time homebuyer affordability in March dipped to 183.38 percent from last month’s 191.Forty percent. First-time buyers who earn the reported median salary of $36,925 can qualify to purchase one of the 3,551 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently indexed by the local multiple listing service for $179,254 or less.
Condos and Town Homes/Duplexes/Villas
The sales of condos within the Orlando area decreased by 23.20 % in March in comparison with March of 2011 (384 to 500).
Probably the most (155) condos in a single price category that altered in March were yet again in the $1 - $50,000 cost range and account for 40.36 percent of condo sales. Orlando homebuyers purchased 232 duplexes, town homes, and villas in March 2012, which is a 4.53 percent decrease when compared with March 2011. Most (44) fell within the $100,000 - $120,000 budget range; another 33 properties sold for under $50,000.
MSA Numbers
Sales of existing homes within the entire Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in March were down by 10.12 % when compared to March of 2011. Through the MSA, 2,993 homes were purchased from March 2012 in contrast to 3,330 in March 2011. To date, sales are down 11.56 percent for all counties combined.
Every individual county’s monthly sales comparisons are highlighted below:
Lake: 4.11 percent above March 2011 (431 homes bought from March 2012 when compared with 414 in March 2011);
Orange: 12.37 percent below March 2011 (1,509 homes purchased from March 2012 in comparison to 1,722 in March 2011);
Osceola: 18.46 percent below March 2011 (552 homes sold in March 2012 compared to 677 in March 2011); and
Seminole: 3.09 percent below March 2011 (501 sold in March 2012 compared to 517 in March 2011).
Orlando Hits Rock Bottom- This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association as well as the My Florida Regional Mls. Neither the association nor MFRMLS guarantees or possibly in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained from the association or MFRMLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Because of late closings, an adjustment is important to record those closings posted after our reporting date.