- November 25, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Flagler County home sales reported to the Multiple Listing Service still are trickling in as I write this. But even without additional sales, August represents the fifth consecutive month of a strengthening local market. Selling prices remain stubbornly stuck in neutral, but every other measure shows continued improvement.
August saw 140 single-family Flagler County homes sold via MLS for a total of $21.1 million (compared to 124 and $20.1 million last August). The median selling price dropped slightly from $125,138 one year ago to $121,000.
Distressed properties continue to depress selling prices. Distressed sales accounted for 50% of all home and condo sales. Overly strict lending and appraisal standards are not helping. Fifty-three percent of home sales and 76.7% of condominium sales were reported as cash transactions. Foreclosure filings kept pace with recent months. Foreclosure sales (which include all property types) jumped to 141.
Although the first quarter of 2011 started slowly, a total of 1,078 single-family homes were sold, representing a 10.8% increase over the same period in 2010. The total dollar value of those transactions increased 9.5%. In the most recent four months, home sales jumped 27.2% from the same period last year. The value of these transactions rose 22.8%.
The inventory of homes for sale continues to decline — a positive indicator. As of Sept. 1, there were 1,037 homes listed for sale on MLS. Only four months ago, there were more than 1,200.
Although I’m buoyed by the good news, I cannot help but look back at the tragedy of the housing bubble’s burst. It hit our area more severely than others and took Flagler from the fastest growing county to the one with the highest unemployment. The depth and length of the housing depression would have been unimaginable only years ago.
Home sales peaked six year ago, in June 2005, when 338 homes sold, worth over $88 million. The median selling price topped out at just under $260,000 at the end of that year. August sales are strong when compared to a year ago. Yet only eight of the 138 homes sold fetched more than $260,000.
Homebuilders were hit hard, too. More than 400 building permits for new home construction were issued in February 2005. Compare that to the 11 issued in February of this year. April set the all-time low record when only three permits were issued. Twenty-one permits were issued in August. Potential new home buyers are challenged by lending and appraisal guidelines. Builders report that most of their new home contracts are either all cash or carry a significant cash component to bring the loan to value ratio into a range acceptable to lenders.
