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April, 2007 Market Pulse Analysis and Commentary
I was confident there would be news of significant improvement this month after a much slower than expected first quarter. Generally April, May and June are pretty good months in terms of sales. According to the latest Market Pulse Report, homes sales averaged fewer than 1,600 homes per month sold in Orange and Seminole Counties in the first quarter of 2007. April's sales unfortunately did not improve as expected and actually declined to 1,469 homes sold in April, 2007 (preliminary figure, could be adjusted).
The Market Pulse Report covering April 2006 to April 2007 real estate activity was released this week and is linked below for your review. The report covers listings, sales, days on market and other critical statistics regarding real estate transactions in Orange and Seminole Counties comparing and showing trends for the past thirteen months. View this information at www.orlrealtor.com/Pages/marketpulse/Market%20Pulse%205-07.pdf or anytime at www.MartysBlog.com
The active listing numbers increased again to 24,435 homes for sale in the two county area. This is the highest inventory level in the history of Central Florida real estate, and it's a record which has been broken monthly for four consecutive months. While homes for sale increased, homes sold during the month declined to only 1,469 homes closed in April, 2007. This is a 40% drop from last year's number when 2,467 home sales were recorded. I continue to be surprised that the number of Realtors in our Association is remaining pretty steady and is actually above the number from one year ago (11,970 members in 2007 compared to 11,642 in April, 2006). It seems impossible that nearly 12,000 agents would survive with about 1,600 sales among them each month so far this year (on average 6 out of 7 didn't have a sale)!
The number of homes on the market has increased by 52% (24,435 in April, 2007 compared to 16,036 in April, 2006). Prices have remained fairly stable for the time being with some areas showing more substantial declines. The days on market to sell have nearly doubled. Keep in mind that days on market is a misleading number because it calculates only the homes that have sold! While 1,469 homes sold last month, there were over twice as many homes (3,296) that came off the market unsold. Homes that come off the market unsold do not count in the days on market calculation. The Absorption Rate (the number of homes for sale 2,435 divided by the monthly closed sales 1,469) calculates there is currently more than a sixteen month supply of homes on the market!
My biggest concern at this point is to make sure each client who has a home on the market today is positioned in the market to sell based on your individual needs and time frame. If 1,600 homes are sold per month and each buyer looks at ten homes in person (and that might be a high estimate in this Internet age), that would mean the average home gets LESS THAN ONE SHOWING per month. There are many homes that have not had a single showing in two months or more! Have your home 100% ready (sparkling, impeccably clean, well maintained lawn, flowers and shrubs) when you get that showing. Each viewing by every buyer is critical in this market. On behalf of the entire Marty Hunt Team, we are here to assist you in this interesting market. Buying or selling, feel free to contact me directly at (407) 869-7779 or (888) 412-8681 with any real estate questions or concerns you may have.
Marty Hunt
Marty Hunt, Realtor® ABR, CRS, GRI, e-PRO
Marketing Specialist and Real Estate Consultant
Realty Executives Orlando
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