Orlando Housing Market Ends 2018 with Mixed Signals

Orlando home prices up, homes sales down in December

According to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association's 2018 year-end report, Orlando's annual median home price for 2018 ($232,500) is 5.7 percent higher than the 2017 annual median price ($220,000) thanks to another 12 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases.

Orlando home sales completed during 2018 racked up a final tally of 36,048, which is 3.2 percent below the cumulative sales total of 37,237 for 2017. By comparison, annual sales in 2017 were 3.9 percent greater than in 2016.

ORRA President Jeffrey M. Fagan sees Orlando's 2019 market as a bright spot for the aspiring homebuyers who have struggled with competition, rocketing prices, and tanking inventory for the past several years. "As evidenced by slipping sales in the last months of 2018, we expect Orlando's year-over-year sales to further decline in 2019. Such a slowdown will help the market to finally move toward a better balance between buyers and sellers." "We also expect the market's median price to either continue rising in very small increments or to even experience slight declines," continues Fagan. "Along with an anticipated increase in inventory, this is more good news for prospective buyers."
 
Orlando Median Home Prices

The overall median price of Orlando homes (all types combined) sold in December is $232,750, which is 1.2 percent above the December 2017 median price of $230,000 and 0.1 percent below the November 2018 median price of $233,000.

Year-over-year increases in median price have been recorded for the past 90 consecutive months; as of December 2018, the overall median price is 101.5 percent higher than it was back in July 2011. The median price for single-family homes that changed hands in December increased 3.7 percent over December 2017 and is now $254,000.

The median price for condos increased 10.5 percent to $132,000. The Orlando housing affordability index for December is 132.03 percent, up from 123.01 percent last month. (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.)

The first-time homebuyers affordability index increased to 93.89 from 87.48 percent last month.

Orlando Home Sales and Inventory

Members of ORRA participated in 2,412 sales of all home types combined in December, which is 20.8 percent less than the 3,045 sales in December 2017 and 6.7 percent less than the 2,585 sales in November 2018.

Sales of single-family homes (1,872) in December 2018 decreased by 21.9 percent compared to December 2017, while condo sales (302) decreased 11.4 percent year over year.

Sales of distressed homes (foreclosures and short sales) reached 92 in December and are 39.5 percent less than the 152 distressed sales in December 2017. Distressed sales made up just 3.8 percent of all Orlando-area transactions last month.

The overall inventory of homes that were available for purchase in December (7,872) represents an increase of 4.9 percent when compared to December 2017, and a 6.6 percent decrease compared to last month. There were 4.5 percent more single-family homes and 17.1 percent more condos, year over year.

Current inventory combined with the current pace of sales created a 3.3-month supply of homes in Orlando for December. There was a 3.3-month supply in November 2018 and a 2.5-month supply in December 2017.

The average interest rate paid by Orlando homebuyers in December was 4.38 percent, down from 4.97 percent the month prior.

Homes that closed in December took an average of 56 days to move from listing to pending and took an average of 92 days from listing to closing.

Pending sales in December are down 15.3 percent compared to December of last year and are down 10.6 percent compared to last month.
 
Orlando MSA Numbers

Sales of existing homes within the entire Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in December were down by 22.5 percent when compared to December of 2017. Each individual county's sales comparisons are as follows:

• Lake: 21.7 percent below December 2017;

• Orange: 22.7 percent below December 2017;

• Osceola: 23.8 percent below December 2017; and

• Seminole: 21.3 percent below December 2017.

Orlando 2018 Median Home Price Comparisons to 2017

• The 2018 annual median price of $232,500 is an increase of 5.7 percent when compared to 2017's annual median price of $220,000.

• The annual median price of single-family homes increased 6.1 percent to $252,500 in 2018, while the median price of condos increased 13.5 percent to $126,000. Sales

• Sales in 2018 were down by 3.2 percent over 2017. A total of 36,048 homes were sold in 2018 compared to 37,237 the previous year.

• Sales of single-family homes decreased 4.3 percent over 2017, while condo sales were unchanged.

• By year's end in 2018, 42,437 homes were sold in the Orlando MSA whereas 44,376 homes had been sold by year's end in 2017, for a 4.4 percent decrease.

Each individual county's year-end sales comparisons are as follows:

• Lake: 6.1 percent below 2017;

• Orange: 5.4 percent below 2017;

• Osceola: 1.6 percent below 2017;

• Seminole: 2.5 percent below 2017.