February Sales Slow
I think there is more activity in the real estate market today than there was at this time a year ago. The figures don't support that claim, but I just feel it in my bones.
There are no figures for "Phone Calls About Property" in the MLS statistics.
There are no figures for "Attendance At Open Houses" in the MLS statistics.
There are no figures for "General Inquiries" in the MLS statistics.
But I can tell you this: I think these numbers are going up. At my office we're getting more calls, more attendance at opens, and more general real estate inquiries. I think that's a good sign that real estate is beginning -- just beginning -- to start to see a return to normalcy.
Let's take a look at the Absorption Rate (AR) for February. The AR, as you know, is the inventory turn. It is calculated by dividing the number of units sold in a month by the total number of units listed in the MLS.
For single family homes, the AR for February was 4.3-percent. It stood at 3.8-percent in January, so that's a half percent increase. It's still down from where it was in February 2007 when the AR was 5.4-percent, but at least it is moving in the right direction.
For condos the February AR was 3.6-percent. That's up from January's 2.9-percent AR, and is about the same as February of 2007 when the AR was posted at 3.5-percent. So, not much of a gain year-over-year.
Single Family Details
There were 9,005 single family properties listed for sale in the MLS during February. In January there were 8,848. So, it appears that more people have decided it is time to sell.
Selling may be the goal, but it remains elusive. During February, only 390 single family homes were sold. That may not sound like many, but it is an improvement over January when only 333 changed hands. By comparison, in February of 2007 some 594 single family homes were sold. So, sales are down year-to-year.
The median price in February 2008 is down substantially over where it was in February 2007. In February '08 the median was $179,000 versus $198,000 a year ago.
Here's something else that's interesting if not significant. The last time we saw a median price floating around $179,000 was in May, 2003. Almost five years ago! Does that mean prices have dropped back to a 2003 level? Probably not. Just something to speculate about over lunch.
Condo Details
Condo sales still don't look very strong to me.
There were 8,117 condos in the MLS in February. That's just about the same number of listings as from January when 8,145 were listed.
Sales were a little stronger, but nothing to write home about. In February only 289 condos were sold as compared to January's 237. Condo sales are pretty flat and have been for quite some time. For example, in February 2007 there were only 254 condo sales. That's just about the same level of activity year-over-year, and it's really quite disappointing.
The median price for condos took a bit of a dip in February, falling to $155,000 from January's $168,000. In February 2007 the median price was $185,000, so that's a considerable drop year-over-year. The last time we had median condo sales near $155,000 was September of 2004. Same question: does this have any significance beyond lunchtime speculation?
Well, there you have it. Not much of a month from a sales standpoint. Let's hope things pick-up in March.
For more information about real estate in Pinellas County, visit my website at http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.
There are no figures for "Phone Calls About Property" in the MLS statistics.
There are no figures for "Attendance At Open Houses" in the MLS statistics.
There are no figures for "General Inquiries" in the MLS statistics.
But I can tell you this: I think these numbers are going up. At my office we're getting more calls, more attendance at opens, and more general real estate inquiries. I think that's a good sign that real estate is beginning -- just beginning -- to start to see a return to normalcy.
Let's take a look at the Absorption Rate (AR) for February. The AR, as you know, is the inventory turn. It is calculated by dividing the number of units sold in a month by the total number of units listed in the MLS.
For single family homes, the AR for February was 4.3-percent. It stood at 3.8-percent in January, so that's a half percent increase. It's still down from where it was in February 2007 when the AR was 5.4-percent, but at least it is moving in the right direction.
For condos the February AR was 3.6-percent. That's up from January's 2.9-percent AR, and is about the same as February of 2007 when the AR was posted at 3.5-percent. So, not much of a gain year-over-year.
Single Family Details
There were 9,005 single family properties listed for sale in the MLS during February. In January there were 8,848. So, it appears that more people have decided it is time to sell.
Selling may be the goal, but it remains elusive. During February, only 390 single family homes were sold. That may not sound like many, but it is an improvement over January when only 333 changed hands. By comparison, in February of 2007 some 594 single family homes were sold. So, sales are down year-to-year.
The median price in February 2008 is down substantially over where it was in February 2007. In February '08 the median was $179,000 versus $198,000 a year ago.
Here's something else that's interesting if not significant. The last time we saw a median price floating around $179,000 was in May, 2003. Almost five years ago! Does that mean prices have dropped back to a 2003 level? Probably not. Just something to speculate about over lunch.
Condo Details
Condo sales still don't look very strong to me.
There were 8,117 condos in the MLS in February. That's just about the same number of listings as from January when 8,145 were listed.
Sales were a little stronger, but nothing to write home about. In February only 289 condos were sold as compared to January's 237. Condo sales are pretty flat and have been for quite some time. For example, in February 2007 there were only 254 condo sales. That's just about the same level of activity year-over-year, and it's really quite disappointing.
The median price for condos took a bit of a dip in February, falling to $155,000 from January's $168,000. In February 2007 the median price was $185,000, so that's a considerable drop year-over-year. The last time we had median condo sales near $155,000 was September of 2004. Same question: does this have any significance beyond lunchtime speculation?
Well, there you have it. Not much of a month from a sales standpoint. Let's hope things pick-up in March.
For more information about real estate in Pinellas County, visit my website at http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 4:33 AM
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