Orlando Realty Blog

Orlando’s Job Market Ranked 13th Hottest

Maureen — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:15:29 +0000

This article was printed in the Sept. 19, 2008 edition of the Orlando Business Journal.

The past year has been a rocky one for the U.S. economy.

The nation has seen 394,000 private-sector jobs slip away since mid-2007, equaling a loss of 7,570 jobs each week. The unemployment rate has shot up a full point during the same span — from 4.7 percent at the halfway point of 2007 to 5.7 percent this year.

But a few sections of the country have managed to dodge this economic carnage. The most prominent exception is Texas, which is home to America’s three hottest labor markets, according to a new Bizjournals study.

Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth are 1-2-3 in the latest employment rankings of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. The three Texas markets have added a total of 107,200 private-sector jobs since mid-2007, while keeping their unemployment rates below 5 percent.

Texas’ impressive performance, ironically enough, is partially the result of higher energy costs, the same factor that has bedeviled much of the rest of the nation.

“The state’s natural resources and mining industry, helped by higher oil prices, posted an annual employment growth rate of 6.4 percent from June 2007 to June 2008 and ranked first among Texas industries in employment-growth rate,” said a midyear report from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

Texas also has been able to avoid the mortgage bubble that burst with devastating effect in other high-growth states such as California and Florida. A Bizjournals study in March identified Houston as one of the nation’s 10 most-affordable housing markets, with Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin close behind in 15th and 22nd place, respectively.

The top-rated labor market outside of Texas — fourth in the overall standings — is Raleigh. Its job base has ballooned by 22.1 percent since 2003, dwarfing the national five-year growth rate of 6.3 percent.

The recent volatility in the U.S. economy has shuffled the standings dramatically since they were last compiled a year ago. Phoenix, which was No. 1 in Bizjournals’ 2007 employment rankings, has dropped all the way to 28th place this year. Six of last year’s 10 hottest markets have fallen out of the top 10 this year.

Orlando, meanwhile, came in at No. 13, with 983,600 private-sector jobs as of June 2008, up 19.4 percent since 2003.

Last place belongs once again to Detroit, which has ranked as the coldest job market in America the past two years. The biggest problem remains Detroit’s heavy reliance on domestic automakers, resulting in a loss of 30,800 jobs since mid-2007.

The second-coldest labor market has suffered a dramatic decline the past couple of years. Sarasota-Bradenton, which was fourth-best in Bizjournals’ 2006 employment rankings, now sits in 99th place, a victim of Florida’s real-estate woes. It has lost 11,400 jobs since mid-2007.

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Orlando Housing Market Improves in July

Maureen — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:52:28 +0000

Good News- Bad News in the Orlando Resale Market in July. The number of homes sold increased 11.6% from July, 2007, but the me diam sale price decreased 19% from $258,000 in July, 2007 to $209,100 in July 2008. Here’s the complete story form Orlando’s Business Journal, published 8/25/208:

The Orlando housing market saw an improvement in July sales when compared with the previous year, according to the latest report from the Florida Association of Realtors.

Existing single-family home sales in the Orlando area were up 11.6 percent in July, from 1,484 in July 2007 to 1,656 last month. The median sales price of an existing home fell 19 percent, from $258,000 in July of last year to $209,100 last month.

Condominium resales, however, fell 15.6 percent, from 179 last July to 151 in July 2008. The median price of an existing condo also dropped to $121,900, a 17.5 percent decline from July 2007’s $147,700.

Meanwhile, the Daytona Beach area saw a 3.5 percent increase in July existing home sales, from 575 in July 2007 to 595 last month. The existing sales price on a Daytona market home fell to $171,100, a 16 percent decline from last July’s $204,600.

Condo resales totaled 103 in the Daytona Beach MSA last month, a 13 percent improvement from the 91 resales posted in July 2007. The median price of $265,600 for a Daytona Beach area condo showed a 17 percent decline from July 2007’s $320,600.

Statewide, a total of 11,498 existing single-family homes sold last month, a nearly 1 percent improvement over the 11,492 homes sold in July 2007. Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $193,600, 19 percent less than the $238,900 reported in the same month a year prior.

Condo resales in Florida totaled 3,375, a 7 percent drop when compared with the 3,641 sold in July 2007. The statewide median sales price fell 13 percent, from $194,100 in July 2007 to $168,500 last month.

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Rebound in Florida Housing Market for 1st Half of Year

Maureen — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:23:18 +0000

This article was published in the Jacksonvile Business Journal on August 8, 2008 by Chtistian Conte:

Since hitting a low in January, local single-family house and condominium sales have doubled in the first six months of 2008, a trend some hope is proof the residential market is starting to rebound.

The 1,013 existing single-family houses sold in June were up from the 518 sold in January, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. The January figure does not include data from the St. Augustine & St. Johns County Board of Realtors.

Condominium sales were also up, from 51 to 135, during the same period. The January figure for these sales also do not include data from the St. Augustine & St. Johns County Board of Realtors.

Although monthly single-family and condo figures have dropped each month compared with the same month last year — from 34 percent in January to 20 percent in June for single-family houses and from 68 percent in January to 9 percent in June for condos — they’ve increased each month so far this year for single-family houses and every month except for a 12 percent dip in April for condos.

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Heathrow FL Home Sales Decline 54% from Last Year

Maureen — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:29:13 +0000

This is Part 3 of 2008 1^st Half Heathrow, FL Real Estate Sales

Heathrow is a lovely, gated, golf course community located north of Orlando, FL. It consists of custom and semi-custom single family homes, condos, and townhouses. 112 single family homes were sold in Heathrow in 2007, of which 51 were custom homes and 61 were semi-custom homes. During the first half of 2008, 31 single family homes were sold, of which 13 were custom homes and 18 were semi-custom homes. This represents a decrease of 54% in homes sold from the 1^st half of last year to this year. Here’s the breakdown by quarter:

Prices have also decreased during this time period. Custom home price per sq. foot have decreased 33% from $280.23 $/SF in Q1, 2007 to $189.01 $/SF in Q2, 2008. Semi custom homes decreased 7% during this period.

For information on the specific Heathrow neighborhood, please see my previous blogs, Heathrow Fl 2008 1^st Half Custom Home Sales (http://orlandorealtyblog.com/2008/07/06/heathrow-fl-custom-home-sales-decline-58-from-last-year/) and Heathrow Fl 2008 1^st Half Semi-Custom Home Sales . (http://orlandorealtyblog.com/2008/07/06/heathrow-fl-custom-home-sales-decline-58-from-last-year/)

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Heathrow FL Custom Home Sales Decline 58% from Last Year

Maureen — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:22:39 +0000

This is Part 2 of 2008 1^st Half Heathrow, FL Real Estate Update

Heathrow is a lovely, gated, golf course community located north of Orlando, FL. It consists of custom and semi-custom single family homes, condos, and townhouses. 51 custom homes were sold in Heathrow in 2007. During the first half of 2008, 13 custom homes were sold. This represents a decrease of 58% in custom homes sold from the 1^st half of last year to this year.

Within the custom home segment, Heathrow Woods and East Camden led the pack having sold 4 each of the 13 custom homes sold. The following chart shows the number of custom homes sold by neighborhood.

Average sold prices vary dramatically between the various neighborhoods. Heathrow Woods had the highest average sales price of $1,625,000. Heathrow Woods also had the most expensive homes sold at $2,800,000. Regency Green had the lowest average sold price at $346,000. Here’s the average sale by neighborhood for Heathrow custom homes.

More important than average sold price is the relationship between sold price and the size of the home. Thus, sold price per square foot ($/SF) is a better indicator of relative value. Heathrow Woods again led the pack with an average sold price/SF of $235.82.The following chart shows the average sold price/sq. ft. for the various custom home neighborhood.

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Heathrow FL Semi-Custom Home Sales Decline 51% from Last Year

Maureen — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:15:13 +0000

This is Part 1 of 2008 1^st Half Heathrow, FL Real Estate Updatw

Heathrow is a lovely, gated, golf course community located north of Orlando, FL. It consists of custom and semi-custom single family homes, condos, and townhouses. 61 semi-custom homes were sold in Heathrow in 2007. During the first half of 2008, 18 semi-custom homes were sold. This represents a decrease of 51% in semi-custom homes sold from the 1^st half of last year to this year.

Within the semi-custom home segment, Kentford Gardens led the pack having 6 homes sold. The following chart shows the number of custom homes sold by neighborhood.

Average sold prices vary dramatically between the various neighborhoods. Kentford Gardens had the highest average sales price of $632,917. Kentford Gardens also had the most expensive homes sold at $707,500. Carrington had the lowest average sold price at $260,000. Here’s the average sale by neighborhood for Heathrow semi-custom homes.

More important than average sold price is the relationship between sold price and the size of the home. Thus, sold price per square foot ($/SF) is a better indicator of relative value. Wembley Park and Stratford Gardens had the highest average sold price/SF of $199.The following chart shows the average sold price/sq. ft. for the various semi-custom home neighborhood.

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# of $ Million+ Seminole County FL Homes Sold Drops 46% from 2007

Maureen — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:37:56 +0000

The slow real estate market is taking its toll on the once almost immune Luxury Home Market segment. Previously luxury home sales remained substantially constant despite downturns in the non-luxury market. This was due to several factors:

· Blimps in the economy have had less impact on the wealthy

· Real estate has proven to be a good long term investment and a good place to diversify one’s portfolio

· Lifestyle remains an important consideration for this market segment

However, the present impact on the economy has now crept up to this price segment. As shown on the following chart, the number of million dollar plus home sold in Seminole County decreased 46% from Q1, 2007 to Q1, 2008.

Price per square foot, however, only decreased a modest 8% from $286 to $263. However, the mounting inventory will continue to put pressure on home prices in every segment. There are currently 225 $1M+ Seminole County homes listed for sale on MLS. With an average of 5 homes selling per month in this price band, that equates to 45 months (almost 4 years) worth of inventory (Yipes!).

For the first quarter of this year Alaqua Lake led the pack with 8 $1M+ homes sold sales or 57% of total. Heathrow Woods was a distant second with 2 $1M+ homes sold, or 14%.

Data Courtesy of MFRMLS

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Median Price of Homes Sold in Orlando FL Continues to Stabilize

Maureen — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:56:01 +0000

February’s Median Sales Price for homes sold was $223,000, up slightly from the January median sales price of $221,500. The average price, however, decreased to $276,200, down 14.4%% from January. The number of homes sold, however, increased from 813 homes sold in January to 932 homes sold in February. January’s volume of 813 was the lowest level of sales per month in the past several years.

At the end of February the residual inventory (on MLS) was 25,984 units, just slightly up from the 25,724 level in January, 2008.

Data is courtesy of Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association.

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Gentle Relief to Housing Market This Year - Time for Buyers to get off the Fence!

Maureen — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 15:54:30 +0000

The National Association of REALTORS, a.k.a. NAR, is predicting a flat market for existing home sales over the next few months, and then gentle relief to the housing market in the 2nd half of this year. Many buyers having been sitting on the fence, waiting for the “bottom of the market”. It’s time to move to take advantage of the huge selection of homes and low interest rates. Even though the median price is expected to fall 1.2% this year, that amount can be easily factored into an offer. Here’s the complete article from NAR:

Existing-home sales are expected to remain flat for the next few months at an annual level of 4.9 million before beginning a gradual recovery at a 5.8-million pace in the second half of this year, NAR announced in a forecast released this morning. But total existing-home sales for 2008 are projected to be 5.38 million, 4.8 percent below the 2007 level, and rise 3.5 percent to 5.60 million in 2009. The median sale price of existing homes is projected to fall 1.2 percent to $216,300 this year, then increase 3.5 percent to $223,800 in 2009.

New-home sales are expected to drop 23.7 percent to 590,000 this year before rising 7.2 percent to 633,000 in 2009, reports NAR. Housing starts are projected to fall 25.1 percent to 1.01 million units in 2008 and slip another 2.7 percent to 987,000 in 2009. The median new-home price is expected to fall 6.1 percent to $232,200 in 2008 and rise 5.1 percent in 2009.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in January, remained unchanged from December, but was 19.6 percent below a year ago. The PHSI in the West jumped 13.0 percent in January, but was 12.7 percent below a year ago. The index rose 0.6 percent in the Midwest but is 13.3 percent below January 2007. The PHSI fell 4.1 percent in the Northeast and was 28.0 percent below a year ago, and it fell 6.1 percent in the South, which was 23.8 percent below January 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said the steady January index data gives reason for optimism. “This additional sign of a stabilizing market is encouraging, and our members are telling us there’s been a pickup in shopping activity,” he said. “Our hope is that the increased traffic of buyers looking at homes will translate soon to more contract offers” Source: NAR

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Buyer’s Market Expected to Continue for Sanford, FL Real Estate

Maureen — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:26:55 +0000

Home prices continue to decrease in Sanford, FL. In fact, since the market peak in 2006, the Median Price for single family homes has decreased 17% from $465,450 in 2006 to $385,000 for YTD, 2008. The < $200,000 price band of single family homes saw a similar impact with a price decrease of 35% from the peak median home price of $195,000 in 2007 to the YTD median price of $127,450. Because of varying home sizes, a more accurate indicator of value is the price per square foot ($/SF). Here we’ve seen a 22% drop from the peak for all single family homes sold, and a 20% drop for single family homes sold for less than $200K.

Unfortunately many sellers haven’t embraced the changing conditions and are still pricing their homes at the 2006 year price per sq. foot. Here’s a summary of the active listings for Sanford courtesy of Mid Florida Regional MLS.

So, what’s in store for the future? Because of mounting inventory, and fewer sales, there will be additional pressure on prices. Overall in Sanford On Hand Inventory exceeds 31 Months (over 2/1/2 years – yipes!). It is slightly better in the < $200K price band where on hand inventory is currently at 27 months. However, Foreclsoures.com shows that there are 574 residential units (1- 4 units) in the pre-foreclosure stage. Many of these properties are not yet listed and are not included in the 732 active listing number/31 months of inventory. Many of these pre-foreclosures will result in short sales, thus bringing down the price of comparable sales even more. My advice for sellers, if you need to sell within the next 2 to 3 years DO IT NOW! My personal belief is that we will continue to see prices decrease over the next 2 – 3 years due to the basic principles of supply and demand. Price your home aggressively, and get ahead of the curve. With so much inventory only homes that scream value are going to be viewed. You also should make sure that your home is in tip top condition, and that it is completely de-cluttered. My advice for buyers is that now is an excellent time to purchase. However, work with your realtor to factor the anticipated decrease in home prices in to your offer, or focus on the pre-foreclosure homes, many of which have built in equity.(Data provided courtesy of Mid Florida Regional MLS)

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