Some More Market Data For Number Crunchers

We are seeing an up-tick in sales activity both locally and nationally. Take it with a grain of salt though- inventory levels are still high, and there are plenty of investors out there with ARM’s or negative amortization loans that will be adjusting payments soon. I expect to continue seeing higher than normal amounts of property coming on the market though prices seem to have somewhat stabilized. On a national level, the number of homes that were pended slipped a bit statistically- about .5%. This number is actually encouraging considering the departure from the double digit decreases around this time last year (Source NAR). In Florida, a total of 11,912 homes sold in November of 2006 (the most recent month of completed statistics) while 17,088 homes sold in November of 2005. This is a decrease in volume of roughly 30%, and at the same time median sales prices slipped 3% to $242,500. David Lareah, chief economist for NAR predicts that this period of price adjustment is nearing its conclusion and that all markets will feel a lift in consumer confidence and sales in the first quarter of 2007 (Source FAR). The Sarasota market’s individual numbers were up for the first time in a while, with the November sales mark of 294 homes besting October’s numbers by 9.6%. In these sales the median was up about 3% to $315,000 (Source SAR). We are still in a tough market, but indicators show that more sales are occurring and the consumer confidence is rising. Most forecasters look for this to be the 3rd best year on the books, with activity returning to 2001-2003 or comparable levels.