Real Estate in Detail
Homes in the Orlando area continue to come off the market this fall, while inventory remains tight, according to a new report from the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association. Data from the September 2020 monthly housing report reveals fewer homes and higher prices than last year (September 2019), with a 23.3% drop in inventory and a 10.2% increase in the overall median sales price of homes to $270,000.
"While spring is usually the busiest time for home sales, fall doesn't seem to show any signs of slowing down. COVID-19 changed the dynamic in 2020. We saw mortgage rates continue to drop to an average of 2.74%, giving buyers additional incentives this fall. However, most of the Orlando market, priced at $500,000 or less, is still favorable to sellers, with so few homes on the market," said ORRA President Reese Stewart, RE/MAX Properties SW. "If we sold every single-family home priced between $90,000 and $500,000 in the Orlando area right now, it would probably take less than two months."
Real estate economists generally consider a 5 to 6 month supply to indicate a healthy and balanced market between buyers and sellers.
Houses sold in September spent an average of 48 days on the market, down from 51 in August.
Real estate market indicators
Average Price
In September, the average price of single-family homes remained stable, increasing just $500 from August to $295,500. However, this figure increased by 11.5% compared to September 2019, when the average price was $265,000.
The average price for condos showed a smaller gain, hovering around $140,000, an increase of 5.8% compared to September 2019. For townhomes/duplexes, the September average price increased 6.9% year-over-year to $229,999.
Sales and stock
Houses sold in September spent an average of 48 days on the market, down from 51 in August.
ORRA member brokers participated in 3,478 sales of all types of homes combined in September, a dramatic gain of 16.36% over last year. Sales were down slightly (1.7%) from August.
This fall marked a large increase (19.4%) in the number of single-family home sales, but a sharp drop in inventory compared to last year. A total of 2,750 single-family homes were sold, and the supply of homes fell by 34.6% to 3,986 homes on the market, compared to 6,102 in the same period last year.
For condos, stock grew by 18.2% between September 2019 and September 2020, when 1,240 came onto the market. However, the number of sales remained stable from 400 last year to 399 this year.
More townhouses/duplexes came on the market and sold in September 2020 compared to 2019. The number of sales showed a 15% gain compared to 2019. Inventory increased by 17.8%, from 633 last year to 746 this year. The average price, sales and stock all increased from August 2020 to September 2020.
In September, there were 43 distressed home sales(foreclosures and short sales), representing 1.24% of all home sales.
Future Indicators
The Orlando area real estate market shows no signs of slowing down, as pending sales remain stable from August (5,467) to September (5,429). Compared to last year, there were 23.3% more homes pending this year.
New contracts also increased year-on-year, from 2,757 to 3,400. However, they have decreased since last month by 4.5%.
[Pending sales and new contracts refer to transactions that have not yet been completed, so they do not count in the total sales yet].
Figures for the Metropolitan Region
Tight inventory has affected existing home sales throughout the Orlando MSA (Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties). For the year, sales were down 9.25% overall. However, all local counties saw gains in September 2019.
The sales comparisons for each county are as follows:
- Lake: 16.1% more than September 2019;
- Orange: 13% more than September 2019;
- Osceola: 10.8% more than September 2019; and
- Seminole: 10% more than September 2019.