Orlando Housing Inventory Continues Free-fall as Prices Spike

The Orlando Regional Realtor Association is reporting this week that Orlando's median price also continued on its upward path, while inventory again fell to a new low in August 2020.

"Lack of inventory -- not lack of buyer activity, as you would expect -- is clearly shaping up to be the concerning result of the COVID-19 pandemic," says ORRA President Reese Stewart. "In fact, the availability of single family properties within our most in-demand price ranges of $160,000 to $400,000 is startling; less than a single month of supply."

Housing economists generally consider a 5- to 6-month supply to indicate a healthy market that is balanced between buyers and sellers.

Orlando Median Home Price

The overall median price of Orlando homes (all types combined) sold in August is $275,000, which is 10.0% above the August 2019 median price of $250,000 and 1.9% above the July 2020 median price of $270,000.

The median price for single-family homes that changed hands in August increased 9.3% over August 2019 and is now $295,000. The median price for condos increased 11.3% to $152,500 and townhomes/villas/duplexes increased 4.2% to $225,900.

The Orlando housing affordability index for August is 137.47%, down from 137.74% last month.

Sales and Inventory

Members of ORRA participated in 3,539 sales of all home types combined in August, which is 4.2% more than the 3,397 sales in August 2019 and 3.8% more than the 3,679 sales in July 2020.

Sales of single-family homes (2,868) in August 2020 increased by 7.5% compared to August 2019, while condo sales (367) decreased 12.8% year over year. Duplexes, townhomes, and villas (304 combined) decreased 1.6% over August 2019.

Sales of distressed homes (foreclosures and short sales) reached 82 in August and are 4.7% less than the 86 distressed sales in August 2019. Distressed sales made up 2.5% of all Orlando-area transactions last month.

The average interest rate paid by Orlando homebuyers in August was 2.85%, down from 2.97% the month prior.

Homes that closed in August took an average of 49 days to move from listing to pending and an average of 44 days between pending and closing, for an average total of 93 days from listing to closing (equal to a total of 93 days the month prior).

The overall inventory of homes that were available for purchase in August (5,958) represents a decrease of 22.1% when compared to August 2019, and a 4.2% decrease compared to last month. There were 34.3.% fewer single-family homes; 20.3% more condos; and 28.3% more duplexes/townhomes/villas, year over year.

Forward-facing Indicators

Pending sales in August are up 15.8% compared to August of last year and are down 1.7% compared to last month. New contracts are up 11.4% year over year, and new listings are up 3.3%

MSA Numbers

Sales of existing homes within the entire Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in August were 0.7% lower than in August of 2019. To date, sales in the MSA are down by 11.3%.

Each individual county's sales comparisons are as follows:

• Lake: 6.0% above August 2019;
• Orange: 4.4% below August 2019;
• Osceola: 6.3% above August 2019; and
• Seminole: 2.5% below August 2019.