Low Housing Inventory in Orlando Driving Up Median Prices

According to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, Orlando's housing market in January 2020 marked a second consecutive month of double-digit year-over-year sales increases.

Sales improved by more than 16 percent compared to January 2019, while the median price experienced an 8 percent increase. However, the numbers of homes available for purchase in Orlando dropped by nearly 15 percent.

ORRA President Reese Stewart points toward few interesting pieces of data in this month's housing report. "First off, Osceola County's 25 percent increase in sales was by far the greatest of the four counties that make up the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area," says Stewart. "Secondly, sales of duplexes, townhomes, and villas surged 37 percent above the January 2019 tally, and likely reflects our ongoing shortage of single-family homes priced below $300,000."

Orlando Median Price

The overall median price of Orlando homes (all types combined) sold in January is $245,000, which is 7.9% above the January 2019 median price of $227,000 and down 1.6% compared to the December 2019 median price of $249,000.

The median price for single-family homes that changed hands in January increased 6.9% over January 2019 and is now $265,000. The median price for condos increased 11.2% to $139,000.

The Orlando housing affordability index for January is 140.36, up from 135.73% 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 increased to 99.81% from 96.52% last month.

Orlando Sales and Inventory

Members of ORRA participated in 2,270 sales of all home types combined in January, which is 16.4% more than the 1,950 sales in January 2019 and 25.2% less than the 3,033 sales in December 2019.

Sales of single-family homes (1,751) in January 2020 increased by 17.0% compared to January 2019, while condo sales (294) increased 1.7% year over year. Duplexes, townhomes, and villas (225 combined) leapt 37.2 percent over January 2019.

Sales of distressed homes (foreclosures and short sales) reached 108 in January and are 16.1% more than the 93 distressed sales in January 2019. Distressed sales made up 4.8% of all Orlando-area transactions last month.

The overall inventory of homes that were available for purchase in January (7,030) represents a decrease of 14.7% when compared to January 2019, and a 0.1% increase compared to last month. There were 16.0% fewer single-family homes; 11.9% less condos; and 7.0% less duplexes/townhomes/villas, year over year.

Current inventory combined with the current pace of sales created a 3.10-month supply of homes in Orlando for January. There was a 4.2-month supply in January 2019 and a 2.3-month supply in December 2019.

The average interest rate paid by Orlando homebuyers in January was 3.55%, down from 3.66% the month prior.

Homes that closed in January took an average of 60 days to move from listing to pending and an average of 38 days between pending and closing, for an average total of 98 days from listing to closing (static from a total of 91 days the month prior).

Pending sales in January are up 7.8% compared to January of last year and are up 25.9% compared to last month.

Orlando MSA Numbers

Sales of existing homes within the entire Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in January were up by 11.8% when compared to January of 2019.

Each individual county's sales comparisons are as follows:

• Lake: 9.2% above January 2019;
• Orange: 9.9% above January 2019;
• Osceola: 25.3% above January 2019; and
• Seminole: 6.9% above January 2019.