Daily Archives: February 26, 2018

Florida Housing Market: Median Prices, New Listings Up in January 2018

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Orlando, FL – Feb. 21, 2018 (PRNewswire) Florida’s housing market reported rising median prices and more new listings in January, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.

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“There’s an ongoing shortage of housing inventory in many markets across Florida,” said 2018 Florida Realtors President Christine Hansen, broker-owner with Century 21 Hansen Realty in Fort Lauderdale. “January’s statewide homes sales reflected the tight supply, and – when combined with rising median sales prices – it puts pressure on potential homebuyers. Working with local Realtors can help buyers and sellers understand the factors influencing their local markets.

“On the buyer front, new pending sales for existing single-family homes in January ticked up slightly, 0.1 percent, year-over-year; pending sales for townhouse-condo units increased 8.1 percent. On the sellers’ side, new listings for single-family homes rose 1.1 percent year-over-year, while new townhouse-condo listings increased 3.6 percent.”

Sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 16,564 last month, down 1.3 percent compared to January 2017. Meanwhile, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $240,000, up 9.1 percent from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. The statewide median price for condo-townhouse properties in January was $179,900, up 11.7 percent over the year-ago figure.

January marked 73 consecutive months that the statewide median sales prices for both single-family homes and townhouse-condo properties rose year-over-year. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

According to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), the national median sales price for existing single-family homes in December 2017 was $248,100, up 5.8 percent from the previous year; the national median existing condo price was $236,500. In California, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in December was $549,560; in Massachusetts, it was $382,000; in Maryland, it was $275,674; and in New York, it was $260,000.

Looking at Florida’s condo-townhouse market, statewide closed sales totaled 7,634 last month, up 5.9 percent compared to January 2017. Closed sales data reflected fewer short sales and foreclosures last month: Short sales for condo-townhouse properties declined 32.5 percent and foreclosures fell 36.3 percent year-to-year; short sales for single-family homes dropped 46 percent and foreclosures fell 43 percent year-to-year. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.

“Florida Realtors’ data shows sales of existing single-family homes in Florida were off to a slow start in the first month of 2018,” said Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “However, it’s important to note that there was significant variation in this figure across different markets throughout the state – in fact, single-family home sales were actually up in 10 of the state’s 22 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).

“Lately, condo and townhouse sales growth has been outpacing that of single-family homes, and the reason is that the picture for condos and townhouses has been much more balanced. The single-family home market, by contrast, continues to be held back by inadequate levels of new construction.”

January’s for-sale inventory remained tight with a 3.9-months’ supply for single-family homes and a 5.9-months’ supply for condo-townhouse properties, according to Florida Realtors.

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.03 percent in January 2018, down from the 4.15 percent averaged during the same month a year earlier.

To see the full statewide housing activity reports, go to Florida Realtors Media Center at http://media.floridarealtors.org/ and look under Latest Releases, or download the January 2017 data report PDFs under Market Data at: http://media.floridarealtors.org/market-data

Florida Realtors® serves as the voice for real estate in Florida. It provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its 180,000 members in 54 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Media Center website is available at http://media.floridarealtors.org.

Pennsylvania Homebuyers Report Rapid Success In Finding A Home

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Lemoyne, PA – Feb. 20, 2018 (PRNewswire-USNewswire) Half of new Pennsylvania homebuyers are finding their home in less than three months, according to the Welcome Home survey, conducted quarterly for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®. And 75 percent of buyers said the process took less than six months from the time they began searching for a home until the transaction closed.

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“The current real estate market is creating some pressure on buyers to make an offer on a home more quickly and to make higher offers to ensure they get the home they want,” said PAR President Todd Umbenhauer. “With the challenging inventory situation many markets throughout the state are facing, buyers do have to make decisions in a shorter amount of time.”

The survey showed that location is a key factor for many homebuyers. “We saw 34 percent of new homebuyers chose their home because of location, whether that was what they deemed a ‘good neighborhood,’ proximity to schools, or easy travel to work,” Umbenhauer said. “Buyers over 65 focused more on interior features of a home and were driven by considerations like finding a home with one floor or a master bedroom on the ground floor.”

Pennsylvania homebuyers are sticking to traditional local banks and credit unions to get a mortgage. Thirty-five percent of new homebuyers used a local bank or credit union, while 27 percent used a mortgage broker. Only six percent of new buyers used an online-based lending company.

“The Welcome Home survey has shown consistently that Pennsylvania homebuyers choose a 30-year mortgage to purchase their home,” he added. “In fact, 49 percent of buyers under the age of 50 used a 30-year mortgage. Thirty-three percent of buyers over the age of 50 use cash to buy their home.”

The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® is a trade/professional association that serves more than 33,000 members in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.