Orlando Real Estate News

February sales increase - Orlando’s real estate market upheld its annual trend of increased sales over the month of January, which signals the start of the spring selling season. The 922 sales in this February are a 13.4 percent increase over January’s 813 sales; however, sales in February 2008 are down by 40.17 percent when compared to February of 2007.

The monthly statistical reports released by the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association revealed some additional interesting tidbits for the month of February:

Sales in Lake County were down by only 13.73 percent, compared to 45.69 percent, 41.76 percent, and 40.39 percent in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties respectively;
Sales of town homes, villas and duplexes increased by 37.04 percent from month to month; and the sales of condos increased by 15.22 percent from month to month.
The median sales price of a single-family home in the Orlando area increased by 0.68 percent ($1,500) from $221,500 in January to $223,000 in February. The median sales price for February 2008 is 12.55 percent below that of February 2007 ($255,000).

The increase in the median home price to $223,000 means that the area’s affordability index dropped in February to 101.62. (An affordability index of 99 percent means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 1 percent short of the income necessary to purchase a median-priced home. Conversely, an affordability index that is over 100 means that median-income earners make more than is necessary to qualify for a median-priced home.) Buyers who earn the reported median income of $51,449 can qualify to purchase one of 8,509 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local MLS for $226,568 or less.

The first time homebuyer affordability index dipped a bit in February, to 72.27 percent from 74.84 in January.

The number of sales in the Orlando area declined by 40.17 percent this February compared to last year’s (922 to 1,541), but the number of sales that took place in February 2008 increased over the number of sales that occurred in January (813).

There are currently 2,175 homes in the MLS with pending sales contracts (an indicator of future sales activity), up from 1,731 in January. The number of homes newly under contract increased by almost 300 in February; the increase from December 2007 to January 2008 was more than 200.

The area’s average interest rate was 5.87 percent in February 2008, up from 5.60 percent in January but down from 5.93 in December 2007.

Homes of all types spent an average of 123 days on the market before being sold in February 2008; the average home sold for 93.21 percent of its original asking price. In December 2007 those numbers were 113 and 92.75 percent, respectively.

The majority of single-family homes (188) that changed hands in February 2008 were sold for between $200,000 and $250,000. Another 117 homes sold in February for between $250,000 and $300,000. Two hundred twenty-nine homes sold for less than $200,000 in February, and 208 sold for more than $300,000. On the far ends of the scale, 15 homes were sold for $1 million or more while only nine (up from four in January) homes sold for less than $50,000.

Inventory

There are currently 25,984 homes available for purchase through the MLS. Inventory increased by 260 homes in February 2008, which means that 260 more homes entered the market than left the market. Compared to last year, the February 2008 inventory level (25,984) is 17.81 percent higher than it was in February 2007 (22,055).

The current inventory level reflects a 28.18-month supply at the current pace of sales, which is down from January 2008’s 31.64-month supply

There are 19,531 single-family homes currently listed in the MLS. Most (6,872) are listed in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range. Condos currently make up 4,242 offerings in the MLS, while duplexes/town homes/villas make up the remaining 2,211. Most condos (573) are priced at $120,000 to $140,000, but nearly equal numbers are posted in both the $160,000 to $180,000 and the $200,000 to $250,000 ranges. The majority of duplexes/town homes/villas (498) are listed in the $200,000 to $250,000 range.

Condos and Town homes/Duplexes/Villas

The sales of condos in the Orlando area declined by 54.31 percent in February: A total of 106 condos changed hands in February 2008 compared to 232 in February 2007. In a month-to-month comparison, February 2008 condo sales (106) increased by 15.22 percent from January 2008 (92).

The most (16) condos that changed hands in February 2008 fell into the $160,000 and $180,000 range.

Orlando homebuyers purchased 74 duplexes, town homes, and villas in February 2008, which is a 42.19 percent decline from February 2007 when 128 of these alternative housing types were purchased. However, duplex, town home, and villa sales in February 2008 were up by 37.04 percent compared to the number of sales that took place in January 2008 (54).

The majority (16) of duplexes, town homes, and villas sold in February 2008 fell into the $140,000 to $160,000 category.

MSA Numbers

Sales of existing homes within the Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in February were down by 39.42 percent when compared to February of last year. Throughout the entire MSA, 1,145 homes were sold in February 2008 compared with 1,890 in February 2007. Year-to-date, the MSA is down by 43.09 percent, with 2,079 homes sold far in 2008 compared to 3,653 sold through February 2007.

Seminole County’s February 2008 sales dropped 41.76 percent below that of February 2007 (212 to 364), while Orange County fell 45.69 percent (536 to 987). Lake County saw a 13.73 percent decline in the number of sales in February 2008 compared to February 2007 (245 to 284), and Osceola County experienced a 40.39 percent drop (152 to 255).

Each county’s year-to-date sales comparisons are as follows:

Lake: 23.44 percent below 2007 (405 homes sold to date in 2008 compared to 529 in 2007);
Orange: 47.39 percent below 2007 (996 homes sold to date in 2008 compared to 1,893 in 2007);
Osceola: 47.67 percent below 2007 (269 homes sold to date in 2008 compared to 514 in 2007); and
Seminole: 42.96 percent below 2007 (409 sold to date in 2008 compared to 717 in 2007).

The two largest sources of U.S. mortgage financing agreed on Monday to sponsor a new home appraisal watchdog to prevent inflated home values.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will uphold a new code of conduct meant to keep mortgage lenders at arm’s length from home appraisers and will also spend $24 million to jump-start the new oversight body in a deal to prevent lawsuits from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Starting January 1, 2009, the government-sponsored enterprises will buy home loans only from lenders that endorse an appraiser code of conduct that Cuomo said he hopes will become an industry standard.

“This is one of the greatest, most dramatic reforms of the housing industry in the last 20 years,” Cuomo said at a press event in New York announcing the deal. “We believe as a group that this will be a significant and dramatically positive reform.”

Since Wall Street gladly bought and bundled home loans for investors during the housing boom, lenders may have felt more comfortable inflating loan amounts. Cuomo filed subpoenas against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to determine whether the companies stood by as that happened.

The new code will prohibit mortgage brokers from selecting a home appraiser, while lenders may not use in-house assessors for initial reports on the value of homes. In another provision of the settlement, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will each provide $12 million over the five years to help establish an appraisal oversight body.

The companies’ federal regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, will host the new watchdog group, which will maintain a consumer hotline and promote appraiser independence.

The new standards will help break long-standing business practices under which lenders often had close ties to home appraisers.