While the long-term forecast for home-owners in the northern region of Florida, the short-term outlook is not so rosy. A glut of available properties, due to aggressive building during and after the boom market that started in 2004, as well as the resulting post-boom correction of slower buyer activity, has left the four county area [...]
By closely monitoring the short term inventory trends in the Tallahassee housing market, we see evidence that we are poised to see the number of homes for sale in Tallahassee start to grow again, as home sellers begin to enter the spring selling season. Last month, I was pleasantly surprised to see that our short term inventory trends (30 day rolling average) still showed inventory reduction, but we have finally succumbed to the normal seasonal growth that usually runs from February through May.
Tallahassee closed home sales are increasing every day, with considerable proof that the market bottom was reached in August of 2009. But for Tallahassee homeowners who still wish to sell their homes, falling prices make them feel as if “market bottom” should be defined in terms of valuations as opposed to unit sales.
The current average price trend still shows a steep decline and we are confident this must continue until the supply and demand imbalance is corrected. But that does not mean it is a “waiters” market for home buyers, as rising interest rates and ending tax credit programs will affect affordability levels more than falling prices.
Condo and townhouse sales started the year off much stronger than we observed in 2009. As a matter of fact, out the last 20 years, the number of condo and townhouse sales during January of 2010 ranked this year right in the middle of the pack.
After seeing the short-term housing inventory move from consumption to growth yesterday, I figured a quick look at the long-term housing inventory trends was in order. Fortunately, the number of new listings and new failures continues to fall, while the number of new pending home sales and new closed home sales continues to rise. The [...]
The long term home sales success trend continues to rise in Tallahassee, meaning it is easier to sell a home today than it was one year ago. Unfortunately, this still translates to less than 1/2 of the market is seeing this success. We must keep an eye on incoming inventory as the short-term trends indicate [...]
The real estate graph below shows how significant a drop in the number of monthly home sales and the resulting drop in the average home price trend. It is interesting to not that home values continued to increase for over two years, even after the market had peaked and was coming down.
Tallahassee lot sales continue on the decline, mirroring the new home construction market. Unit sales are at a recorded low and seem to be going lower. The average price bumped up in December, with the one-year trend of lot sale prices averaging over $68,000.
Here is a favorite real estate graph, the Year over Year Home Sales Report. It gives one an idea of how sales are trending and how long the trend has run. After going 39 consecutive months of declining home sales, December of 2009 brought the second consecutive month of rising home sales in Tallahassee!