Real Estate in Detail
The Orlando real estate market in January marked the second consecutive month of double-digit year-over-year sales increases, reports the Orlando Regional Realtors Association - ORRA.
Sales improved by more than 16% compared to January 2019, while the average price experienced an 8% increase. However, the inventory (number of homes available for purchase) in Orlando fell by almost 15%.
ORRA president Reese Stewart, RE/MAX Properties SW, points to some interesting data in this month's housing report.
"First, Osceola County's 25% increase in sales was by far the largest of the four counties that make up the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area," says Stewart. "Second, sales of duplexes, townhomes and villas rose 37% above the January 2019 count and likely reflect our ongoing shortage of single-family homes priced below $300,000."
Real estate market indicators
Average Price
The overall median price of Orlando homes (all types combined) sold in January is $245,000, up 7.9% from the January 2019 median price of $227,000 and down 1.6% from the December 2019 median price of $249,000.
The average price of single-family homes sold in January increased by 6.9% compared to January 2019 and now stands at $265,000. The average sale price of condos increased by 11.2% to $139,000.
The housing affordability index in Orlando for January is 140.36%, compared to 135.73% last month.
*An affordability index of 99% means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 1% below the income needed to buy a median-priced home. On the other hand, an affordability index greater than 100 means that median wage earners earn more than necessary to qualify for a median-priced home.
The affordability index for first-time buyers rose to 99.81%, up from 96.52% last month.
Sales and stock
ORRA members participated in 2,270 sales of all types of homes combined in January, 16.4% more than the 1,950 sales in January 2019 and 25.2% less than the 3,033 sales in December 2019.
Sales of single-family homes (1,751) in January 2020 increased 17.0% compared to January 2019, while sales of apartments (294) increased 1.7% in one year. Duplexes, townhouses and villas (225 combined) jumped 37.2% compared to January 2019.
Distressed home sales(foreclosures and short sales) totaled 108 in January and are 16.1% more than the 93 sales in January 2019. Distressed sales represented 4.8% of all transactions in the Orlando area last month.
The overall stock of homes available for purchase in January (7,030) represents a drop of 14.7% compared to January 2019 and an increase of 0.1% compared to last month. There were 16.0% fewer single-family homes; 11.9% fewer condominiums; and 7.0% fewer duplexes / townhouses / villas, after one year.
The current inventory combined with the current pace of sales created a 3.1-month supply of homes in Orlando for January. There was a 4.2 month supply in January 2019 and a 2.3 month supply in December 2019.
The average interest rate paid by Orlando buyers in January was 3.55%, compared to 3.66% in the previous month [rate for resident loans].
Homes that had aclosing in January took an average of 60 days to go from "listed" to "pending" [when the sales contract is signed] and an average of 38 days between pending and closing [when the deed is signed], for an average total of 98 days from listing to closing (static from a total of 91 days in the previous month).
Pending sales [sales for which the contract has been signed but the deed has not yet been signed] in January increased by 7.8% compared to January last year and by 25.9% compared to last month.
Figures for the Metropolitan Region
Existing home sales in all counties of the Orlando metropolitan area (Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties) in January increased by 11.8% compared to January 2019.
The sales comparisons for each county are as follows:
- Lake: 9.2% more than January 2019;
- Orange: 9.9% more than January 2019;
- Osceola: 25.3% more than January 2019; and
- Seminole: 6.9% more than January 2019.