Strong local housing market, weak prices


  • By
  • | 10:00 a.m. July 7, 2012
  • Palm Coast Observer
  • Opinion
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June continued the trend established early this year. The Flagler County real estate market shows signs of strength: Inventory is down, sales and pending contracts are up. Yet prices remain stubbornly neutral.

June results:
• Only 722 single-family Flagler homes are listed for sale through the local MLS as of July 1, compared to 1,108 listings a year ago.

• July began with 611 pending or contingent sales contracts. There were only 507 under contract at the beginning of July 2011.

• During June, 180 single-family home sales have been reported as closing. Because of delays in posting, a few more sales are expected to be recorded. 183 home sales were closed in June 2011.

• The median price of homes sold was $113,200, reflecting the number of distressed sales. This year has seen lender-owned sales increase relative to short sales. The median price of the 59 lender-owned sales was only $100,000. The median price of the 36 short sales was $107,400.

• Median Days on Market dropped to 57 days compared with 128 days last June. DOM measures the amount of time it takes to sell a property.

• Cash is king, accounting for 52.8% of MLS home sales and 80% of condominium sales.
First half results:

• Single-family home sales grew 31.5% from 779 to 1,024.

• The total value of home sales for the first half of the year was $156,190,238, or 23.7% greater than the same period in 2011.

• The median home selling price dropped slightly from $120,000 to $118,000.

Builders and developers are demonstrating confidence that the market is beginning to move in the right direction. The Conservatory and Beach Haven are being re-launched. The Conservatory, the golf community across from Matanzas High School originally marketed by the Ginn Co., has repositioned its offering. New buyers have an opportunity to purchase a house/lot/membership package at prices starting in the $300,000s. It’s ironic, but a measure of the times, that the package is now offered at about the same price for which the lots alone once sold. Sales and marketing of The Conservatory will be handled by Front Door Communities and Luxury Team of Florida.

Beach Haven, near Marineland on A1A, is being remarketed by CBV Homes. A new model home is under construction.

 

 

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