Orlando Home Sales Dip 9.6% in April as Prices Slide Another 5%, Inventory Down 27%

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According the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA), homebuyers have been gradually chipping away at Orlando's once-towering inventory and have reduced it down to 11,480 homes available for purchase. That's an inventory level not seen since the end of the red-hot housing market in 2005.

"In addition to sales, inventory level is affected by the steadily decreasing number of homes going on the market each month since March of 2010," explains ORRA Chairman of the Board Mike McGraw, McGraw Real Estate Services, PL. "New listings are down by 26 percent for the year and as a result, Orlando is resting on a market-healthy rate of 4.81 months of inventory."

The inventory levels of all home types are on the decrease, with condo inventory leading the slide at 53.65 percent lower than it was in April 2010.

Orlando Home Listing Inventory Comparison



Orlando sales in April of 2011 are down by 9.68 percent compared to April of 2010, with 2,388 homes changing hands last month. To date, sales in 2011 are 1.82 percent above sales in 2010.

Orlando's median price experienced its third month-over-month gain, with area homes selling for a median of $105,000. That median price is 8.70 percent lower than April 2010's median price of $115,000.

The lower median price of foreclosures and short sales -- which at 65.49 percent of all sales in April actually represents a 5 percent drop from last month -- continues to drag down the overall median price. The median price for bank-owned sales in April is $80,000 and the median price for short sales is $91,000. The median price for "normal" existing homes sold in April is $160,000.

In addition to a 6.67 percent month-over-month increase in the median price of "normal" sales, the number of Orlando's normal sales increased by 8.14 percent to 824 in April from 762 in March.

Homes of all types spent an average of 104 days on the market before coming under contract in April 2011, and the average home sold for 94.10 percent of its listing price. In April 2010 those numbers were 81 days and 95.81 percent, respectively.

The area's average interest rate decreased slightly in April 2011 to 4.89 percent, from the 4.91 percent posted in March 2011.

Affordability

The Orlando affordability index decreased to 251.18 percent in April. (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.) Buyers who earn the reported median income of $53,675 can qualify to purchase one of 8,350 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local multiple listing service for $263,734 or less.

First-time homebuyer affordability in April decreased to 178.61 percent from last month's 183.51 percent, which can be attributed in part to the rise in median price. First-time buyers who earn the reported median income of $36,499 can qualify to purchase one of the 5,843 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local multiple listing service for $159,413 or less.

Condos and Town Homes/Duplexes/Villas

The sales of condos in the Orlando area (465) decreased by 22.24 percent in April when compared to April of 2010 (598).

The most (228) condos in a single price category that changed hands in April were yet again in the $1 - $50,000 price range and accounts for 49.03 percent of all condo sales. Low-priced units have overwhelmingly dominated condo sales since March of 2009.

Orlando homebuyers purchased 215 duplexes, town homes, and villas in April 2011, which is a 10.04 percent decrease from April 2010, when 239 of these alternative housing types were purchased. Most sales (31) were in the $100,000 - $120,000 price range.

MSA Numbers

Sales of existing homes within the entire Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in April were down by 4.62 percent when compared to April of 2010. Throughout the MSA, 3,099 homes were sold in April 2011 compared with 3,249 in April 2010. To date, sales in the MSA are up 6.12 percent.

Each individual county's monthly sales comparisons are as follows:

• Lake: 2.24 percent below April 2010 (392 homes sold in April 2011 compared to 401 in April 2010);

• Orange: 10.58 percent below April 2010 (1,563 homes sold in April 2011 compared to 1,748 in April 2010);

• Osceola: 13.11 percent above April 2010 (647 homes sold in April 2011 compared to 572 in April 2010); and

• Seminole: 5.87 percent below April 2010 (497 sold in April 2011 compared to 528 in April 2010).

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