Pending Home Sales Up Again in January
By Bobby Freeman, Florida Realtors® // February 27, 2013
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) announced today that pending home sales – contracts that are signed but not yet completed or closed – rose again in January.
This is the 21st consecutive month for pending sales to rise above year-ago levels.
“Favorable affordability conditions and job growth have unleashed a pent-up demand,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
“Most areas are drawing down housing inventory, which has shifted the supply/demand balance to sellers in much of the country. It’s also why we’re experiencing the strongest price growth in more than seven years.”
Yun says he expects total housing sales to be higher in 2013 than 2012, but he doesn’t expect the increase to be as dramatic. However, he expects price increases this year to beat 2012.
Statewide Townhome-Condo Median Up 18 Percent
The Florida housing market is reporting increased sales, higher median prices, more pending sales and less inventory levels in January, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.
Statewide the number of closed single-family homes sales totaled 13,679 in January, up 11.7 percent compared to a year-ago. The statewide median for townhouse-condo properties was $112,000, up 18 percent over the previous year.
Inventory for single-family homes was at a 5.6 months’ supply and inventory for townhouse-condos was at a 6.2-months’ supply in January according to Florida Realtors®.
“I’m particularly impressed with the rise in percentage of list price received by sellers,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo, referring to the January data.
Sellers of single-family existing homes in January received an average of 92.2 percent of their original list price; sellers of townhome-condo units received an average of 93 percent.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bobby Freeman, a life-time resident of Brevard County, has been a top Realtor in the area for two decades. In his first year as an agent, Freeman received a Rising Star award from his Brokers. Since then he has achieved numerous sales awards and has recently been presented with the prestigious RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award.
Freeman, Jennifer McCoy and Nikki McCoy Freeman are family partners for RE/MAX Elite’s McCoy-Freeman Group. Together they have more than 30 years of extensive experience in all aspects of the real estate industry and have sold over $150 million. Among McCoy-Freeman Group’s achievement are RE/MAX Hall of Fame, RE/MAX 100% Club, Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE), Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR) and voted Best Realtor in Brevard County. The group has been featured in many news publications including CNN Money Magazine, CNNMoney.com, WFTV 9 ABC News, Coastal Condo Living, & Hot Retirement Towns Magazine and SpaceCoastDaily.com.
For more information log on to BrevardRealtyConnection.
