Inventory shortages and increasing demand in the Florida housing market continued to drive prices up and decreased the average number of days listings spent on the market in June, according to data released by Florida Realtors. For the 78th consecutive month, median sales prices of both single-family and townhouse-condo properties rose in Florida to $260,000, a 6.1 percent increase over June 2017.
“Florida is still experiencing a shortfall in for-sale homes in many local housing markets and that continues to put upward pressure on median prices,” said Florida Realtors president Christine Hansen in a news release. “And in June, home sellers received more of their original asking price at the closing table. Sellers of existing single-family homes received 96.9 percent (median percentage) of their original listing price, while those selling townhouse-condo properties received 95.2 percent (median percentage).”
The total sales of single-family homes in Florida reached 27,836 last month, down 1.3 percent compared to last year. The Florida Realtors report noted the national sales price of existing single-family homes in May 2018 was $267,500, up 5.2 percent from the previous year.
For townhouse-condo properties, the median price last month was $190,000, a year-over-year growth of 7.5 percent. The statewide total sales of these properties totaled 11,128 last month, a 1.2 percent jump compared to last year. The data suggest that short sales and foreclosures are dwindling, falling 50 percent and 30 percent respectively.
In the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area, the median sales price for single-family homes was $359,900, while the median price for townhomes or condos totaled $205,000 last month.
“Buyer demand remains high as well. It took fewer days for a home or condo sale to go to contract in June compared to a year ago: 34 days for single-family homes, down 10.5 percent from June 2017; and 44 days for townhouse-condo properties, down 15.4 percent,” Hansen noted.
Dr. Brad O’Connor, Florida Realtors chief economist, suggested that the lackluster June performance for existing homes largely reflected the downward trend of active listings, especially those in affordable price ranges. Despite this finding, some areas are beginning to see stable inventory levels.
“For instance, the statewide inventory of active single-family home listings at the end of June was only about 1 percent below where it was in June of the previous year, which is a much smaller year-over-year decline than we’ve seen in most months going back a couple of years,” O’Connor said in a news release. “Some of this is attributable to a rise in new listings of single-family homes, which are up 3 percent so far this year, despite being relatively flat in June.”
For-sale inventory in June remained low with 3.9-months’ supply for single-family homes while townhouse-condo properties faced a 5.5-months’ supply, according to Florida Realtors.