Members of the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association in April sold nearly seven times more homes in the lower-price range categories than in the upper categories, which according to economists is typical of a rebounding market.
“Orlando’s housing market appears to be following a recognized healing pattern — from the bottom up — as evidenced by the greater number of sales in the lower-price categories,” explains ORRA President Les Simmonds, L.G. Simmonds Real Estate Corp. ”For example 75 percent of homes sold in April were purchased for less than $200,000, while 10 percent sold for more than $300,000. And, we expect the ratio of sales of lower-priced homes to increase exponentially as more and more first-time homebuyers seek to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit.”
Sales activity in the lower-price categories gradually stimulates sales in other categories as sellers who want to become trade-up buyers are able to sell their current homes.
Forward-looking factors also indicate an improving market: REALTORS® filed 3,412 new contracts in the month of April, nearly double than the number of contracts that were filed in April 2008 (2,012), and are awaiting the closing of a record 5,818 pending sales. There were 103.90 percent more homes under contract last month than in April 2008 (2,853).
The 1,741 completed closings in April is a 41.43 percent increase compared to April 2008 (1,231) and a 0.74 percent decrease compared to last month (1,754). Year to date, there have been 42.58 percent more sales than by this time last year (5,867 to 4,115).
The median price of all Orlando homes sold in April ($132,900) decreased by 37.01 percent compared to April 2008 while the area’s average interest rate increased to 4.86 percent, up from last month’s record low of 4.67 percent.
