Something Remarkable Happened In October!
Every month, the Pinellas Multiple Listing Service opens it's report with two charts. One is based on single family homes, the other on condos. They chart the difference between the median list price and the median sale price.
As you can imagine, the median list price is always higher than the median selling price. Always. I can't ever remember when it was the other way around. Ever.
Well, this month for single family homes, the two figures converged on the chart. Mind you, this is only for single family homes, not for condos. This month the median list price moved down a little but the median selling price moved up a good bit so the two figures met.
I don't know if this has any real significance. I don't know if this is the start of a trend. Other than being interesting, I don't know if it's even important. But it sure as heck is interesting. It tells me that during October people seemed to be willing to pay more for single family house as measured as a percentage of the asking price. If you're a seller, you might find that bit of data particularly encouraging.
Let's take a look at the absorption rate (AR) for Pinellas County. For those of you who may be new to looking at AR data, the AR is really the inventory turn. It is calculated by dividing the number of units sold in a month by the total number of listings in the Pinellas Multiple Listing Service.
For single family homes, the AR for October was 7.9%. That's a decrease from September's 9.3% AR and from August's 9.0%. So, we're selling fewer houses as a percentage of total listings. It also means that it will take longer for single family homes to be sold. I think it shows a cooling market.
For condominiums, the AR during October was 6.6%. That is a slight decrease from September's 7.0% but it's a slight uptick from August's 6.5%. Essentially, these statistics are so close that you can almost say the condo market has been pretty close to flat for the last few months.
Single Family Sales Info
During October there were 528 single family home sales according to the MLS in Pinellas County. That's down from September's 567 sales and down from August's 611 sales. So, it appears as though the single family home market is slowing.
Single family listings are about the same as usual. In October there were 6,666 single family homes on the market throughout Pinellas County according to MLS data. In September there were 6,882 and in August 6,770. That's really pretty flat.
The median sale price for single family homes in Pinellas during October was $156,000. That's up quite a bit and may explain why the single family home charts mentioned earlier in this report are about equal. In September the median was $130,000 and in August it was $135,000. A year ago in October of 2009 the median was at $146,300.
Condo Info
Condos just seem to move along at the same speed month after month. In October there were 5,484 condos for sale in Pinellas County. In September there were 5,511 and in August there were 5,446. Statistically, that's pretty darn flat.
Sales seem flat too! In October there were 362 condo sales. In September the sales were at 387 and in August it stood at 360. Not much change month to month. Perhaps that is because demand for condos has not been going upward in Pinellas County for several years.
The median sales price for condos took a bit of a nosedive during October. The median fell to $104,000. That's the lowest median price for condos I can remember in the last few years. During September the median sale price was at $113,500 and in August it was $115,000. If we go back a year to October 2009, the median sale price was $113,000; that's a drop of 8% for condos year over year.
So it looks like a bit of good news but overall things seem about like they have been for quite a long time -- let's call it lackluster. Let's hope things pick up this fall.
Happy Selling Everybody ... and Happy Thanksgiving!
-30-
As you can imagine, the median list price is always higher than the median selling price. Always. I can't ever remember when it was the other way around. Ever.
Well, this month for single family homes, the two figures converged on the chart. Mind you, this is only for single family homes, not for condos. This month the median list price moved down a little but the median selling price moved up a good bit so the two figures met.
I don't know if this has any real significance. I don't know if this is the start of a trend. Other than being interesting, I don't know if it's even important. But it sure as heck is interesting. It tells me that during October people seemed to be willing to pay more for single family house as measured as a percentage of the asking price. If you're a seller, you might find that bit of data particularly encouraging.
Let's take a look at the absorption rate (AR) for Pinellas County. For those of you who may be new to looking at AR data, the AR is really the inventory turn. It is calculated by dividing the number of units sold in a month by the total number of listings in the Pinellas Multiple Listing Service.
For single family homes, the AR for October was 7.9%. That's a decrease from September's 9.3% AR and from August's 9.0%. So, we're selling fewer houses as a percentage of total listings. It also means that it will take longer for single family homes to be sold. I think it shows a cooling market.
For condominiums, the AR during October was 6.6%. That is a slight decrease from September's 7.0% but it's a slight uptick from August's 6.5%. Essentially, these statistics are so close that you can almost say the condo market has been pretty close to flat for the last few months.
Single Family Sales Info
During October there were 528 single family home sales according to the MLS in Pinellas County. That's down from September's 567 sales and down from August's 611 sales. So, it appears as though the single family home market is slowing.
Single family listings are about the same as usual. In October there were 6,666 single family homes on the market throughout Pinellas County according to MLS data. In September there were 6,882 and in August 6,770. That's really pretty flat.
The median sale price for single family homes in Pinellas during October was $156,000. That's up quite a bit and may explain why the single family home charts mentioned earlier in this report are about equal. In September the median was $130,000 and in August it was $135,000. A year ago in October of 2009 the median was at $146,300.
Condo Info
Condos just seem to move along at the same speed month after month. In October there were 5,484 condos for sale in Pinellas County. In September there were 5,511 and in August there were 5,446. Statistically, that's pretty darn flat.
Sales seem flat too! In October there were 362 condo sales. In September the sales were at 387 and in August it stood at 360. Not much change month to month. Perhaps that is because demand for condos has not been going upward in Pinellas County for several years.
The median sales price for condos took a bit of a nosedive during October. The median fell to $104,000. That's the lowest median price for condos I can remember in the last few years. During September the median sale price was at $113,500 and in August it was $115,000. If we go back a year to October 2009, the median sale price was $113,000; that's a drop of 8% for condos year over year.
So it looks like a bit of good news but overall things seem about like they have been for quite a long time -- let's call it lackluster. Let's hope things pick up this fall.
Happy Selling Everybody ... and Happy Thanksgiving!
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 3:18 AM
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