Market Trends - Monday November 23rd, 2009 12:04pm
The Orlando Regional REALTOR Association (ORRA) published their sales figures for October and reported home sales were up 80% compared to October 2008. Condo sales increased the most, 411 units vs. 122 in October 2008, up 237%. Of these, 215 (52%) sold for $50,000 or less.
This surge in activity is partly due to home buyers rushing to take advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit which was due to expire the end of November. Now the tax credit has been extended through April 30, 2010. The program has also been expanded; it offers a $6500 tax credit to non-first-time home buyers provided they've lived in their principal residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight. The income eligibility limits have also been raised, as of Dec. 1st, to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples. To what degree these significant increases are due to the tax credit is unknown. Orange County represents the largest chunk of ORRA's October volume (41% closings and 44% of the sales dollars) and the jump in activity there started in March and has been virtually steady at the 5 month average of 1511 sales per month since June.



ORRA reports that their members experienced a 4% increase in the median sold price October 2009 compared to September 2009; in Orange County that increase was 4.2%. The average price in Orange County fell from $151,383 to $150,969 or 2.7%. The average price is down 52% from the average for October 2006 of $315,206, and nearly matches the average price of a home in October 2000, $146,537.

The amount of time on the market for Orange County properties sold in October, or Days On the Market (DOM) is down 28% from 153 days last October to 110 days October 2009, but still 3 and a third times as long as the 33 days experienced in October 2005.


While the inventory of active listings for the ORRA region was effectively flat last for 2008 at approximately 25,000 listings, inventory began to fall in December and continued to smoothly decline each month by nearly 700 listings per month. October 2009 inventory of 15,743 is down more than 36% compared to October 2008's number of 24,657.

Although the tax credit surely must be a component of these positive trends it is impossible to say to what degree. Manipulation of supply and demand may just be bringing buyers forward in time, stealing activity from the second half of 2010 and beyond (similar to what happened with Cash for Clunkers). That not withstanding, these very strong market statistics are causing a buzz of optimism in Central Florida Real Estate circles.