Orlando Sales figures

Orlando home prices rise; inventory shrinks



By Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel

11:37 a.m. EDT, April 14, 2011


Existing home prices in Orlando edged up in March for the second straight month with distress sales continuing to dominate the market, according to a report released Thursday by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.



The median price for an existing home in Orlando, mostly Orange and Seminole counties, during March was $103,000 - up 2 percent from a month earlier. Compared to a year earlier, prices were down 6 percent.



More than 70 percent of the 2,485 homes sold during March were foreclosures or houses selling for less than the mortgage, down from 75 percent in February.



"Short sales and foreclosures continue to dominate and account for 70.5 percent of sales in March," said Mike McGraw, chairman of the board for the association and broker for McGraw Real Estate Services. "A consistently high percentage of these sales types is something that we want to see; the sooner they flush through the system the sooner we can get back to a market based on normal sales."



Some reporting groups have estimated that about half of local sales are distress, possibly reflecting that they consider a larger area with Osceola and Lake in addition to Orange and Seminole. Differences may also take into account that the association only reports on member sales.



The uptick in prices reported by the association may be partly due to the 28 percent monthly increase amount of "normal" sales, which fetch higher prices that debt-laden properties. The median prices in March included: traditional sales, $152,500; bank-owned properties, $80,000; and short sales, $102,500.



Homes spent an average 103 days on the market before landing a sales contract _ the longest period in more than two years. The average sales price was 95.4 percent less than the list price - the highest level since last summer.



Buyers had 23 percent fewer homes to select from in March than they did a year earlier. With 3,690 houses listed for sale, the current pace of sales translates into five months of supply, which is the shortest amount since December 2005.



mshanklin@tribune.com or 407-420-5538