Real Estate in Detail
The average price of homes sold in May increased by almost 7%, while transactions fell by 44% (compared to May 2019) during the second month that illustrates the impact of COVID-19 on the Orlando real estate market. Inventory registered an 11% year-over-year decline, reports ORRA - Orlando Regional Realtors Association.
"Despite a year-over-year comparison that is in the red, our month-over-month indicators show signs of anxiety in the market," says ORRA President Reese Stewart, RE / MAX Properties SW. "For example, when compared to the previous month, pending sales, new listings and new contracts are up double digits. In fact, the number of new contracts in May was up 61% over April."
Real estate market indicators
Average Price
The overall median price of Orlando homes (all types combined) sold in May is $259,900, 7.0% higher than the May 2019 median price of $243,000 and 1.5% lower than the April 2020 median price of $263,750.
The average price of single-family homes sold in May increased by 5.4% compared to May 2019 and now stands at $277,250. The average price of condos increased by 2.8% to $140,000 and townhomes/duplexes increased by 3.1% to $218,250.
The housing affordability index in Orlando in May is 138.37%, compared to 136.60% 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 needed to qualify for a median-priced home.
The affordability index for first-time buyers rose to 98.4% from 97.14% last month.
Sales and stock
ORRA member brokers participated in 2,127 sales of all home types combined in May, which is 44.1% lower than the 3,806 sales in May 2019 and 11.1% lower than the 2,393 sales in April 2020.
Sales of single-family homes (1,732) in May 2020 decreased 42.5% compared to May 2019, while sales of condos (193) decreased 55.3% year-on-year. Duplexes, townhomes and sobrados (202 combined) decreased 44.5% compared to May 2019.
Sales of homes in financial distress(foreclosures and short sales) reached 70 in May and are 46.1% less than the 130 distressed sales in May 2019. Distressed sales represented 3.3% of all transactions in the Orlando area last month.
The overall stock of homes that were available for purchase in May (7,260) represents a 10.6% drop compared to May 2019 and a 5.2% drop compared to last month. There were 18.4% fewer single-family homes; 9.5% more condos; and 35.3% more duplexes/townhomes/lofts, year-over-year.
The current inventory combined with the current pace of sales has created a 3.4 month supply of homes in Orlando for May. There was a 2.1 month supply in May last year and a 3.2 month supply last month.
The average interest rate paid by Orlando home buyers in May was 3.22%, up from 3.20% the previous month.
Houses whose deeds were signed in May took an average of 48 days to go from listed to pending (when the sales contract is signed) and an average of 39 days between pending and closed (when the deed is signed), for an average total of 87 days from listing to closed (up from a total of 84 days in the previous month).
Pending sales (contract signed but pending the signing of the deed) in May fell 13.5% compared to May last year and 34.0% 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 May were 43.9% lower than in May 2019. Year-to-date, sales in the MSA are down 16.4%.
The sales comparisons for each county are as follows:
- Lake: 30.4% less than May 2019;
- Orange: 46.2% less than May 2019;
- Osceola: 50.5% less than May 2019; and
- Seminole: 42.2% less than May 2019.