February 13, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Sales of existing homes and condominiums in Florida followed seasonal trends and declined from the third quarter of 2011 to the fourth quarter but continued to show improvement compared to a year ago according to the latest data from the Florida Realtors®.
An estimated total of 60,596 existing homes and condos were sold in the Sunshine State in the fourth quarter. That was 9.7 percent lower than the 67,142 homes sold in the third quarter but still 6.0 percent higher than the 57,277 homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Existing single-family homes accounted for 42,038 of the total sales in the fourth quarter. That was 10.0 percent lower than the 46,759 homes sold in the third quarter but 6.8 percent higher than the 39,355 homes sold in the same quarter in 2010.
The median sales price for an existing single-family home in Florida fell 2.9 percent to $132,000 from $136,000 during the quarter and was 1.0 percent lower than the median price of $133,400 in the fourth quarter of 2010.
John Tuccillo, Florida Realtors Chief Economist, stated, “The quarterly numbers continue to show the steady improvement of the housing market in Florida. The upward movement in sales has been pretty much across the state. Prices have stabilized, and in general, the state’s economy is improving. With that improvement, we expect continued growth in housing activity.”
Condominium sales accounted for 18,558 of the total sales in the fourth quarter, down 8.9 percent from 20,383 sales in the third quarter but still 3.5 percent higher than the 17,922 units sold in fourth quarter of 2010.
The median sales price for a condo in the fourth quarter was $88,800, which was 0.9 percent lower than the $89,600 median sales price in the third quarter but 5.2 percent higher than the $84,400 median sales price for a condo in the fourth quarter of last year.
For all of 2011, there were a total of 273,502 existing single-family homes and condos sold in Florida, 10.0 percent higher than the 248,671 homes sold in 2010. It was the third consecutive year that yearly home sales surpassed the previous year’s total.
Tags: existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices, florida
Source:
Florida Realtors®