September Sales Figures Remain Flat But Prices Drop Bigtime
The September real estate figures are in for Pinellas County. They remain flat.
Let's look at the Absorption Rate (AR) for September for single family homes. The rate stood at 6.2%. In July and August it was 6.1%, virtually identical. For condos, the rate got worse in September. It stood at 3.6%. In July and August it was 4.3%. Remember, AR is the inventory turn and is calculated by dividing the number of units sold in the month by the total number of properties listed in the MLS.
For single family homes, there were 8,642 properties listed in the MLS for September. This is virtually the same as in August (8,621) and July (8,643). Clearly, there has been no reduction in inventory for the past three months. Sales are flat. For September, 536 houses were sold. In August, there were 526 sales and in July just 529 for Pinellas County.
The biggest bit of news for September was that prices seem to have fallen substantially. The median price for a single family home in Pinellas County for the month was $165,000. In August it was $175,900 and in July it was $180,000. Do you see a trend? The last time the median price for a single family home in Pinellas County was at the current level was February, 2003. Any seller who does not keep these figures in mind will probably overprice his property and see it sit unsold for months on end. The real estate market is extremely price sensitive right now. There are buyers out there, but they are only making offers on homes that represent great values. Sellers have to recognize that market value today is about the same as it was in early 2003 for single family homes.
For condos, well, things are not any better either.
In Pinellas County, there were 7,061 condos in the MLS for September. That is pretty close to the 7,134 in August and 7,276 in July. This slight drop in inventory can not be attributed to sales as only 251 condos were sold in September. In August there were 306 condos sold and in July there were 312 condo sales.
What is more, condo prices have flattened. The median price for September stood at $150,000. In August it was $150,800 and in July it was $152,000.
The last time we saw a median for condos at $150,000 was in November, 2004; in December 2003 it was $151,000. We can only hope that the fall and winter buying season will breathe some new life into the condo market, but recent national and international financial problems which are resulting in the erosion of buying power among retirees may limit the number of condo sales in the Pinellas County area and statewide.
So, there you have it. We hear news reports that in some areas of Florida, such as the Miami-Dade area, that sales have taken a bit of an upturn recently. The reports also point out that this upturn is driven by low prices. Today's buyers are motivated to buy based on price. So, if you are a seller, you should keep in mind that in today's market the price you want may not be the price you get -- or even the price you should ask.
For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website, http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.
Let's look at the Absorption Rate (AR) for September for single family homes. The rate stood at 6.2%. In July and August it was 6.1%, virtually identical. For condos, the rate got worse in September. It stood at 3.6%. In July and August it was 4.3%. Remember, AR is the inventory turn and is calculated by dividing the number of units sold in the month by the total number of properties listed in the MLS.
For single family homes, there were 8,642 properties listed in the MLS for September. This is virtually the same as in August (8,621) and July (8,643). Clearly, there has been no reduction in inventory for the past three months. Sales are flat. For September, 536 houses were sold. In August, there were 526 sales and in July just 529 for Pinellas County.
The biggest bit of news for September was that prices seem to have fallen substantially. The median price for a single family home in Pinellas County for the month was $165,000. In August it was $175,900 and in July it was $180,000. Do you see a trend? The last time the median price for a single family home in Pinellas County was at the current level was February, 2003. Any seller who does not keep these figures in mind will probably overprice his property and see it sit unsold for months on end. The real estate market is extremely price sensitive right now. There are buyers out there, but they are only making offers on homes that represent great values. Sellers have to recognize that market value today is about the same as it was in early 2003 for single family homes.
For condos, well, things are not any better either.
In Pinellas County, there were 7,061 condos in the MLS for September. That is pretty close to the 7,134 in August and 7,276 in July. This slight drop in inventory can not be attributed to sales as only 251 condos were sold in September. In August there were 306 condos sold and in July there were 312 condo sales.
What is more, condo prices have flattened. The median price for September stood at $150,000. In August it was $150,800 and in July it was $152,000.
The last time we saw a median for condos at $150,000 was in November, 2004; in December 2003 it was $151,000. We can only hope that the fall and winter buying season will breathe some new life into the condo market, but recent national and international financial problems which are resulting in the erosion of buying power among retirees may limit the number of condo sales in the Pinellas County area and statewide.
So, there you have it. We hear news reports that in some areas of Florida, such as the Miami-Dade area, that sales have taken a bit of an upturn recently. The reports also point out that this upturn is driven by low prices. Today's buyers are motivated to buy based on price. So, if you are a seller, you should keep in mind that in today's market the price you want may not be the price you get -- or even the price you should ask.
For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website, http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 3:22 AM
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