Orlando Housing Market Enjoys Healthy Sales Jump in May

According to Orlando Regional Realtor Association, Orlando's key housing marketing indicators all posted positive gains in May 2019, with sales jumping 10 percent compared to the same month last year. The median price rose more than 4 percent, and inventory enjoyed another consecutive monthly gain of 8 percent.

"We are expecting to see moderate sales gains for rest of the selling season to be supported by factors such as stabilizing prices; mortgage rates that are holding steady and even dropping a bit and Orlando's strong job growth," says Orlando Regional Realtor Association President Jeffrey M. Fagan. "Regular gains in inventory, albeit smaller than buyers would like, are boosting sales a bit as well."

Median Price

The overall median price of Orlando homes (all types combined) sold in May is $243,000, which is 4.3% above the May 2018 median price of $233,000 and up compared to the April 2019 median price of $235,000.

The median price for single-family homes that changed hands in May increased 4.0% over May 2018 and is now $263,000. The median price for condos increased 8.6% to $136,500.

The Orlando housing affordability index for May is 130.49%, down from 134.10% last month. (An affordability index of 99% means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 1% 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 decreased to 92.79% from 95.36% last month.

Sales and Inventory

Members of ORRA participated in 3,790 sales of all home types combined in May, which is 10.6% more than the 3,426 sales in May 2018 and 13.9% more than the 3,329 sales in April 2019.

Sales of single-family homes (2,993) in May 2019 increased by 12.0% compared to May 2018, while condo sales (434) increased 6.4% year over year.

Sales of distressed homes (foreclosures and short sales) reached 128 in May and are 4.9% more than the 122 distressed sales in May 2018. Distressed sales made up just 3.4% of all Orlando-area transactions last month.

The overall inventory of homes that were available for purchase in May (8,119) represents an increase of 8.5% when compared to May 2018, and a 2.9% increase compared to last month. There were 5.6% more single-family homes and 26.1% more condos, year over year.

Current inventory combined with the current pace of sales created a 2.1-month supply of homes in Orlando for May. There was a 2.2-month supply in May 2018 and a 2.4-month supply in April 2019.

The average interest rate paid by Orlando homebuyers in May 2019 was 4.15%, down from 4.20% the month prior.

Homes that closed in May took an average of 52 days to move from listing to pending and an average of 38 days between pending and closing, for an average total of 90 days from listing to closing (down from a total of 94 days the month prior).

Pending sales in May are down 1.4% compared to May of last year and are down 1.3% compared to last month.

MSA Numbers Sales of existing homes within the entire Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in May were down by 4.2% when compared to May of 2018. To date, sales are down 8.0%.

Each individual county's sales comparisons are as follows:

• Lake: 15.3% below May 2018;
• Orange: 3.0% below May 2018;
• Osceola: 4.4% below May 2018; and
• Seminole: 3.0% above May 2018.