Home sales are up in Florida...really

For the second month in a row, single-family home sales rose in Florida last month, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. However, median sales prices continued their decline.
FAR President Chuck Bonfiglio noted that Realtors are seeing signs that investors think the market has bottomed out in many areas, and are starting to jump back in.

I would agree with this as well priced homes are selling extremely quickly, well below average marketing times of 3-4 months. This is definitely an indication that home buyers are perceiving value in the price levels which I would say are on average at 2003/2004 prices depending on condition and location of the property. We are back to basics: the properties with less desirable locations in premium neighborhoods and deferred maintenance are no longer getting anywhere near premium pricing as they did in 2005 and are tanking big time.

Fort Lauderdale reported 604 existing home sales in August, up slightly from the prior year’s 538 sales. The median sales price fell 27 percent, to $269,800 from $368,800.

Miami reported 469 existing homes sold in August, a 22 percent increase from 385 home sales during the same period last year. The median sales price declined to $276,000 from $392,900.

Condo sales also ticked up slightly, but prices remain depressed.

In Fort Lauderdale, sales remained flat at 550 from 551, but prices decreased 25 percent, to $133,300 from $178,800.

In Miami, condo sales were up 13 percent, to 483 from 426. Median prices were down 20 percent, to $210,400 from $262,000.

In West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, condo sales increased 11 percent, to 483 from 435. Median prices were down 37 percent, to $131,600 from $209,000.

Nationwide, existing home sales – including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – dropped 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million units in August from an upwardly revised pace of 5.02 million in July, but are 10.7 percent below the 5.50 million-unit pace during the same time last year.

NAR said obtaining a mortgage over the last few months has become more difficult.
The national median existing-home price for all housing was $203,100 in August, down 9.5 percent from a year ago, when the median was $224,400