Real Estate in Detail
A new report from the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association details how the real estate market fared in 2020 compared to recent years. Despite the pandemic and its impacts, the median home price in Orlando rose as buyers struggled to find homes in a market with dwindling inventory.
According to the report, the average annual price of a home in Orlando for 2020 ($265,000) was 9.1% higher than the average annual price for 2019 ($243,000), thanks to another 12 months of year-over-year average price increases. Although the average home price rose each month, inventory continued to decline and hit a low in December 2020, when it reached the lowest level since July 2005.
Orlando home sales completed during 2020 accumulated a final tally of 36,871, which is 0.5% above the total sales accumulated in 2019 (36,707). As a historical comparison, annual sales in 2019 were 1.8% higher than total cumulative sales in 2018; annual sales in 2018 were 3.2% lower than in 2017.
"The Orlando area has been on the rise throughout 2020 as demand has increased and the number of homes on the market has dropped throughout the year. We expect this pattern to continue in 2021," said ORRA 2021 President Natalie Arrowsmith of NextHome Arrowsmith Realty. "Looking at the data, inventory has decreased significantly since the beginning of the year. In fact, December 2020 shows the lowest inventory we've seen in over 15 years, which creates an extremely competitive market for buyers."
Real estate market indicators
Average Price
The overall average price of Orlando homes (all types combined) sold in December is $275,000, which is 10.4% above the December 2019 average price of $249,000.
The average price of single-family homes sold in December increased by 12.1% compared to December 2019 and now stands at $296,950. The average price of condos increased by 5.7% to $148,000.
Sales and stock
ORRA members participated in 3,672 sales of all types of homes combined in December, which is 21.1% more than the 3,033 sales in December 2019 and 51.6% more than the 2,422 sales in December 2018.
Sales of single-family homes (2,890) in December 2020 increased by 20.1% compared to December 2019, while sales of condos (401) increased by 35.9% year-on-year.
The total stock of homes available for purchase in December (4,875) represents a decrease of 30.6% compared to December 2019 and 12.7% compared to the previous month. There were 42.6% fewer single-family homes and 12.1% more condos, year on year.
The current inventory, combined with the current pace of sales, created a 1.3 month supply of Orlando homes for December. There was a 2.3-month supply in December 2019 and a 3.3-month supply in December 2018, showing that inventory has decreased significantly.
The average interest rate paid by buyers in Orlando in December 2020 was 2.70%, the same as the previous month.
The houses that closed (signed the deed) in December took an average of 45 days to go from listed to pending status (when they receive an offer).
Pending sales in December 2020 increased by 20.9% compared to December 2019 and fell by 11.4% compared to last month.
Figures for the Metropolitan Region
Existing home sales in the entire Orlando metropolitan area (Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties) in December increased 17.5% compared to December 2019. Year-to-date, sales are down 2.8%.
The sales comparisons for each county are as follows:
- Lake: 26.8% more than December 2019;
- Orange: 13.0% more than December 2019;
- Osceola: 24.3% more than December 2019; and
- Seminole: 16.2% more than December 2019.
2020 market summary
Average Price
The average annual price of a home in 2020 ($265,000) is 9.1% higher than the average annual price in 2019 ($243,000) and 14.0% higher compared to the average annual price in 2018 ($232,500).
The average annual price of single-family homes increased by 9.6% to $285,000 in 2020, while the average price of condominiums increased by 7.4% to $145,000.
Sales
Sales in 2020 increased by 0.5% compared to 2019. A total of 36,871 homes were sold in 2020, compared to 36,707 the previous year.
Sales of single-family homes increased by 2.3% compared to 2019. Condominium sales fell by 10.2% and semi-detached sales by 1.2%.
At year-end 2020, 40,743 homes were sold in Metro Orlando, while 41,922 homes were sold at year-end 2019, a decrease of 2.8%. The year-end sales comparisons for each individual county are as follows:
- Lake: 0.5% less than 2019;
- Orange: 5.6% less than 2019;
- Osceola: 0.5% more than 2019;
- Seminole: 1.6% less than 2019.
This representation is based in whole or in part on data provided by the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association and Stellar Multiple Listing Service. Neither the association nor StellarMLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. The data maintained by the association or StellarMLS does not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Due to late closings, an adjustment is necessary to record closings published after the date of the report.
ORRA Realtor® sales represent sales involving Orlando Regional Realtor® Association members, who are primarily - but not exclusively - located in Orange and Seminole counties. Please note that the statistics released each month may be revised in the future as new data is received.
Orlando MSA figures reflect sales of homes located in Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties by members of any Realtor® association, not just ORRA members.