ORLANDO HOME SALES NUMBERS STRONG FOR APRIL
The Orlando Regional Realtors Association (ORRA) has released the April performance numbers for Central Florida and the numbers are promising.
Total inventory of homes for sale increased slightly from March totaling out at 10,647. 4,401 new properties hit the Orlando area real estate market for April.
The average mortgage rate dropped from 4.43% in March to 4.39% in April. The median and average sold home prices stayed about that same at $163,000 and $204,000 respectively.
The average days on market also remained steady at 77 days.
The most impressive number for me was the days to close average which was 46 days. This is the average time it takes a property to close once it goes under contract. Why do I feel this is so important? Because it is an indicator of a shifting market from a pre-foreclosure market (aka: short sales) to a more conventional market. Cash buyers are still major players in the market but even cash deals are subject to long delays when dealing with short sales. This shortened time frame, almost 20 days shorter than the same time last year and the lowest in the last three years, shows signs of a recovering market in my opinion. This with the addition to the increasing inventory of new homes for sale in the Orlando market also shows me that sellers are finding the market more palatable in terms of what fair market value is for their homes.
A recovering market means recovering communities, conventional sales bring back the days of well kept, move in ready homes, home warranties and negotiations no longer on “As Is” contracts. Its a win for the seller, the buyer and the community at large. The next big hurdle, as I see it, is having the banks relax their credit restrictions a bit so that financed buyers can get back in the game. Cash buyers won’t last forever and if we want to continue our positive strides back to a healthy Orlando real estate market, financed buyers must be allowed back in to the game.
-Rob Sassos
Broker/President
*for more information on the orlando real estate market or assistance with financing, please e-mail Rob: Rob@SimplicityRE.com