For the last three years, I’ve listened to many people talk about waiting until the real estate market hits bottom before they will purchase. We all know that the bottom is seen only in hindsight, but by watching the market closely and constantly, we can begin to see trends and changes in the market, which might alert us to shifts which we later recognize as peaks or troughs. The charts I created below are not intended to point out a bottom, because we won’t recognize a bottom until we are well off the bottom floor and it is behind us. However, if you look closely at the charts below, you will see a market shift over the last several months.
2009 vs 2008 South Walton Sales - Homes, Condos, Townhomes
I don’t want to throw too much historical data at you, but I will share a bit for context. Looking at the South Walton sales for Homes, Condos, and Townhomes, over the last several years, we see a common trend. Generally, we see an upward trend in sales from Jan through July of each year. Then, from August through December, we see sales decline.
Overall, detached homes lead the way in sales in South Walton for the month of June, with an increase in number of sales and total dollar volume over May 2009. The 67 Home sales totaled $40,373,300 for June, with almost $17 million of that being CASH sales, compared to 61 sales in May, totaling $36,108,400. HOWEVER, SoWal condo sales increased at a higher rate, with an increase in total sales dollars of about 15 % over May 2009 sales, coming from 53 sales at $21,050,850 for June, compared to the 41 sales in May totaling $18,109,950. Six Straight Months of Increased Sales
Each category of sales, including homes, town homes, and condos, saw increases in the number of sales and total sales dollar volume for the month of June, compared to May. Combining those three categories in South Walton, we sold 129 properties, for a total dollar volume of $63,761,350. The median price of sold listings in these three categories combined was $357,500, and on average, it took 256 to sell the properties. Average selling price as a percentage of listing price was 87%. Currently, there are 3403 listings on the market in these three combined types of properties. Up or Down? It Depends on Your Focus
Comparing year to date sales of the last several years, 2009 sales are down in total dollar volume,...
Whether you are looking to buy, or sell, real estate, you need a knowledgeable Realtor who knows the local market, but who also keeps a pulse on the market. What’s selling? What’s not selling? When you decide to work with a Realtor, I sincerely hope that you will select me to assist you with your real estate needs. I build my business, one customer at a time. Stats:
61 Sales
29% Cash
Total Sales Volume: $36.1 million
Median Sales Price: $420,000
Average Sale Price as percentage of List Price: 78%
Why is inventory slowly decreasing? — there are more listings selling or expiring, than there are new listings coming on the market. (see attached pdf file for more information) One number to notice is that while the median sold price is $420,000, the withdrawn, expired, and new listing median prices are well above that $420,000 level which is selling. If you are selling, it would make sense to know what is selling, and get close with your asking price, otherwise, your listing is likely to expire, unsold.
Looking at the 3-month moving average of median sold prices (black line in the graph above), we see a slight upturn over the last two months, but it doesn’t justify the higher prices of those new listings.
The sales data in my report is primarily compiled from Emerald Coast Association of Realtors and thought to be reliable, but not guaranteed.
Whether you are looking to buy, or sell, real estate, you need a knowledgeable Realtor who knows the local market, but who also keeps a pulse on the market. What’s selling? What’s not selling? When you decide to work with a Realtor, I sincerely hope that you will select me to assist you with your real estate needs. I build my business, one customer at a time.
Homes Outpace Other Categories for May 2009 Sales reports for May 2009 show Homes outselling Town Homes, Condos, and Residential Lots for South Walton. The graph above compares April to May, and shows that sales (dollar volume) were off slightly, except for Condos, which have seen five consecutive months of increases in total sales volume. Overall, inventory has continued to decrease slightly for the last two years. Along with that decrease, we have also seen a downward trend in median price over the last 24 months.
See Attached pdf file for graphs and more information
Residential Lots - 75% were Cash Sales
Detached Homes - 29% were Cash Sales
On average, sales price of Homes, Town Homes, and Condos, was 81% of the list price. However, remember that the better-priced property owners are less willing to negotiate because some demand is present. While these better-priced property owners may be a little tighter on their selling price, some of the over-priced property owners are much more willing to negotiate price. Don’t take...
How Does South Walton Real Estate to Florida as a Whole? by Murray Balkcom, GRI, Realtor murraybalkcom@yahoo.com
based on sales reported to Emerald Coast Association of Realtors (deemed to be reliable, but not guaranteed)
May 28, 2009
“Florida’s existing home sales rose in April – the eighth consecutive month that sales activity increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). April’s statewide sales showed gains over the previous month’s sales level in both the existing home and existing condominium markets….
…Florida Realtors also reported a 21 percent rise in statewide sales of existing condos in April; existing condo sales last month increased 6.2 percent over the total units sold in March…..”
In that report linked above, they show continued increases in the number of sales through the end of April 2009 for both Condos and Single Family Detached Homes for all Realtor reported sales in Florida. That is useful information, but real estate is local in nature, so I thought I would see how the area of South Walton (Walton County, FL) compares. I created some attached charts to see
