2020 continues to defy conventional wisdom. In a normal year, spring is the busiest time of the year for real estate. However, as we have learned, this year is anything but normal. The market hasn’t slowed down this fall and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down in the near future.
The challenge for the local and national real estate markets continues to be extremely low levels of inventory. According to the most recent housing report from the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association, September revealed fewer homes on the market, with a 23% drop in inventory compared to last year.
Even with the low level of inventory, we are seeing a lot of activity from buyers. This continued activity remains influenced by the record low interest rates. These low interest rates continue to allow buyers to maximize their purchasing power and empower a continued robust market. In fact, the average interest rate for September was almost a full percentage point lower than just a year ago.
The good news for sellers is that homes sold in September only spent an average of 48 days on the market. In fact, it would only take approximately 2 months to sell all the homes in Orlando that are priced between $90,000 and $500,000. The other positive news reported by the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association was a 10% increase in the overall median home price to $270,000.
SEARCH FOR HOMES
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LOW INVENTORY OF HOMES FOR SALE CONTINUES TO DRIVE UP ORLANDO AREA HOME PRICES
Orlando-area homes continue to fly off the market this fall, as inventory remains tight, according to a new report from the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association. Monthly housing report data from September 2020 reveals fewer homes and higher prices than last year (September 2019), with a 23.3% drop in inventory and a 10.2% increase in the overall median home price to $270,000.
“While spring is usually the busiest time for home sales, fall seems to show no signs of a slow-down. COVID-19 has changed the dynamic for 2020. We have seen mortgage rates continue to decline to an average of 2.74%, giving buyers additional incentives this fall. However, the majority of the Orlando market, priced $500K and below, is still tipped in favor of sellers, with so few homes on the market,” says ORRA President Reese Stewart, RE/MAX Properties SW. “If we were to sell all the single-family homes, priced between $90K and $500K, in the Orlando area right now, it’s likely it would take less than two months.”
Housing economists generally consider a 5- to 6-month supply to indicate a healthy market that is balanced between buyers and sellers.
Homes sold in September only spent an average of 48 days on the market, a decrease from 51 in August.
Median Price
In September, the median price for single-family homes remained flat, only increasing $500 from August to $295,500. However, that number is up 11.5% from September 2019, when the median price was $265,000.
The median price for condos showed less of a gain, hovering around $140,000, an increase of 5.8% over September 2019. For duplexes, townhomes, and villas, the September median price rose 6.9% year-over-year to $229,999.
Sales and Inventory
Homes sold in September only spent an average of 48 days on the market, a decrease from 51 in August.
ORRA members participated in 3,478 sales of all home types combined in September, a dramatic gain of 16.36% over last year. Sales were down slightly (1.7%) from August.
This fall marked a large increase (19.4%) in the number of sales for single-family homes but a severe drop in inventory over last year. A total of 2,750 single-family homes changed hands, and the supply of homes dropped 34.6% to 3,986 homes on the market compared to 6,102 during the same time last year.
For condos, inventory was up 18.2% between September 2019 and September 2020, when 1,240 hit the market. However, the number of sales remained flat from 400 last year to 399 this year.
More duplexes, townhomes, and villas hit the market and were sold in September 2020, versus 2019. The number of sales showed a 15% gain from 2019. Inventory increased 17.8% from 633 last year to 746 this year. The median price, sales, and inventory all saw boosts from August 2020 to September 2020.
In September, there were 43 sales of distressed homes (foreclosures and short sales), accounting for 1.24% of all home sales.
Forward-facing Indicators
The Orlando area’s housing market shows no signs of slowing, as pending sales remain flat from August (5,467) to September (5,429). When compared to last year, there were 23.3% more homes pending this year.
New contracts have also risen year-over-year from 2,757 to 3,400. However, they have declined since last month by 4.5%.
MSA Numbers
Tight inventory has taken its toll on sales of existing homes within the entire Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties). For the year, sales are down by 9.25% overall. However, all local counties saw gains over September 2019.
Each individual county’s sales comparisons are as follows:
*Lake: 16.1% above September 2019;
*Orange: 13% above September 2019;
*Osceola: 10.8% above September 2019; and
*Seminole: 10% above September 2019.
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association and the Stellar Multiple Listing Service. Neither the association nor Stellar MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the association or by Stellar MLS does not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Due to late closings, an adjustment is necessary to record those closings posted after our reporting date.
ORRA REALTOR® sales represent sales involving Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association members, who are primarily – but not exclusively – located in Orange and Seminole counties. Note that statistics released each month March be revised in the future as new data is received.
Orlando MSA numbers reflect sales of homes located in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Lake counties by members of any REALTOR® association, not just members of ORRA.
