March Sales Figures Are Encouraging
I've been waiting a long time to report some good news about real estate sales in Pinellas County, and that time appears to have finally arrived.
March sales figures showed continued improvement. In fact, sales have been on the upswing for the entire first quarter of 2009.
Does this mean the real estate crisis is over? Does this mean we are coming out of the recession?
Well, let's not go overboard. But it may be the beginning of improved times. Let's take a look at the numbers.
We begin, as usual, with a look at the Absorption Rate (AR). This is the inventory turn. It is calculated by dividing the number of units sold in a month by the total number of units in the MLS.
For single family homes, the AR was 7.7-percent in March. That's up from 6.0-percent in February and 4.9-percent in January of 2009.
For condos, the AR for March was 4.9-percent, February was 3.9-percent and January was 2.8-percent.
If nothing else, these AR percentages show continual growth for the first quarter of 2009 -- and I think that's encouraging. It means there are buyers out there and they are making deals. They may be short sales in many cases, but they are transactions nonetheless.
Single Family Sales
During March the Pinellas MLS had a total of 7,492 single family homes listed in inventory. That's a decrease in total inventory from the 7,799 in February and the 7,835 in January. As you can see, each month there have been fewer units in inventory in the MLS. We have to get this excess inventory off the market before prices can stabilize and the market reaches the so-called "bottom". Reducing inventory each month is a good sign.
Sales increased during March as well. Sales grew to a total of 574 units for the month, an increase over February's 467 and January's 381. Increasing sales is a very good sign of better things to come, don't you think?
The median price was at $140,000 for March. That's a drop of 22.2-percent in median price from March of 2008.
Condominium Sales
Condo listings remained at about the same level in March as they were in February and January. In March, there were 6,671 condos in the Pinellas County MLS system. In February there were 6,775, and in January 6,701. Those figures are pretty much stable.
Condo sales, however, have been steadily rising this quarter. In January, 189 were sold; in February, 265; and in March, 330 condos were sold. Again, we're seeing a nice steady increase in sales so far this year.
The median price for condos in Pinellas was $125,000. That's a decline of 21.9-percent from March of 2008.
So, I'm encouraged! How 'bout you? It looks like buyers are starting to get the deals they want from sellers who recognize that prices have to come down, and indeed those prices are coming down to the point where folks can actually buy property again. That's a win-win situation. If this trend continues, well, things just might start looking up for everybody.
For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website at www.TheStPeteRealEstateSite.com.
March sales figures showed continued improvement. In fact, sales have been on the upswing for the entire first quarter of 2009.
Does this mean the real estate crisis is over? Does this mean we are coming out of the recession?
Well, let's not go overboard. But it may be the beginning of improved times. Let's take a look at the numbers.
We begin, as usual, with a look at the Absorption Rate (AR). This is the inventory turn. It is calculated by dividing the number of units sold in a month by the total number of units in the MLS.
For single family homes, the AR was 7.7-percent in March. That's up from 6.0-percent in February and 4.9-percent in January of 2009.
For condos, the AR for March was 4.9-percent, February was 3.9-percent and January was 2.8-percent.
If nothing else, these AR percentages show continual growth for the first quarter of 2009 -- and I think that's encouraging. It means there are buyers out there and they are making deals. They may be short sales in many cases, but they are transactions nonetheless.
Single Family Sales
During March the Pinellas MLS had a total of 7,492 single family homes listed in inventory. That's a decrease in total inventory from the 7,799 in February and the 7,835 in January. As you can see, each month there have been fewer units in inventory in the MLS. We have to get this excess inventory off the market before prices can stabilize and the market reaches the so-called "bottom". Reducing inventory each month is a good sign.
Sales increased during March as well. Sales grew to a total of 574 units for the month, an increase over February's 467 and January's 381. Increasing sales is a very good sign of better things to come, don't you think?
The median price was at $140,000 for March. That's a drop of 22.2-percent in median price from March of 2008.
Condominium Sales
Condo listings remained at about the same level in March as they were in February and January. In March, there were 6,671 condos in the Pinellas County MLS system. In February there were 6,775, and in January 6,701. Those figures are pretty much stable.
Condo sales, however, have been steadily rising this quarter. In January, 189 were sold; in February, 265; and in March, 330 condos were sold. Again, we're seeing a nice steady increase in sales so far this year.
The median price for condos in Pinellas was $125,000. That's a decline of 21.9-percent from March of 2008.
So, I'm encouraged! How 'bout you? It looks like buyers are starting to get the deals they want from sellers who recognize that prices have to come down, and indeed those prices are coming down to the point where folks can actually buy property again. That's a win-win situation. If this trend continues, well, things just might start looking up for everybody.
For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website at www.TheStPeteRealEstateSite.com.
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 5:13 AM
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