from staff
It’s good news and OK news for the local real estate market.
According to the latest numbers from the Florida Association of Realtors, homes sales in March are up from a year ago, but the median new home price has dipped a little.
In March, Duval County realtors reported closing on 1,701 new homes in March, a slight rise of 9 percent from the 1,555 closing in March 2005. The local median sales price, however, of a new home rose 15 percent over the past year from $172,300 to $197,400. The Lakeland-Winter Haven area experienced the largest increase in new home price: 43 percent from $123,700 to $176,300. However, that area also saw a 13 percent dip in the number of new home sales (627 to 545).
Statewide, new homes sales are down 22 percent over a year ago (24,091 to 18,881), but the average new home price has risen 17 percent from $212,600 to $248,200.
The condominium market isn’t faring as well. Locally, condo sales are up dramatically, 52 percent, from March of last year (154 to 234), but the average price has fallen off 12 percent ($180,000 in March of 2005 to $157,000).
Analysts still contend that Florida’s real estate market is one of the strongest in the nation, but slowly-rising mortgage rates and higher levels of for-sale inventory may contribute to an eventual cool down from a recent five-year record pace in sales and median price increase. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.32 in March, up from 5.93 a year ago.
Five years ago, the average price of a new home in Florida was $121,500. Today, it’s $248,200 — a 104 percent increase.
Florida ranks well behind California, where the median price of a resale home was $535,470 in February. Next are Massachusetts ($339,450), New York ($300,000) and Maryland ($294,577).