There was a significant drop in Orlando condo sales, which are down 48.11 percent from January of last year. Single-family homes, in comparison, are only down 5.26 percent.
Members of the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association participated in 1,677 Orlando area home sales in January 2012. More than 36 percent of those were normal sales; short sales made up 37.98 percent and foreclosure sales made up 25.76 percent. By comparison, in January 2011 normal sales accounted for 24.84 percent while short sales accounted for 25.23 percent and foreclosures accounted for 49.93 percent.
The increase in short sales and normal sales — with the higher prices these sales types typically command — plus a nice increase in the median price of foreclosure sales, lifted Orlando’s overall median price 13.80 percent over that in January 2011 ($108,000 in January 2012 and $94,900 in January 2011).
However, the January 2012 overall median price is 9.24 percent lower than it was in December 2011.
The January 2012 median prices of both normal sales and short sales dropped in comparison to January 2011: normal sales by 2.10 percent (from $143,000 to $140,000) and short sales by 5.26 percent (from $95,000 to $90,000). The median price of foreclosure sales, however, increased by 13.33 percent in January 2012 (from $75,000 to $85,000).
The average interest rate paid by homebuyers in January was 4.01 percent. This rate average interest rate is just two-tenths of a percent higher than the rate in December 2011, which at 3.99 percent was the lowest since ORRA began tracking the statistic in January of 1995. A year ago, homebuyers paid an average interest rate of 4.84 percent.
Inventory
Current overall inventory (9,258) of homes for sale in Orlando is down 35.70 percent compared to January 2011, and down 4.87 percent compared to December 2011. Single-family home inventory is down 36.35 percent compared to January 2011, while current condo inventory is down 26.46 percent compared to January 2011.
At the current pace of sales, there is a 5.52-month supply of homes in Orlando’s inventory (down from a 7.05-month supply in January 2011 and up from a 4.40-month supply in December 2011).
Affordability
The drop in overall median price has led to an increase in Orlando’s affordability index: the January index of 273.32 percent is almost 23 percentage points higher than December 2011’s index of 250.44 percent. (An affordability index of 99 percent means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 1 percent short of the income necessary to purchase a median-priced home. Conversely, an affordability index that is over 100 means that median-income earners make more than is necessary to qualify for a median-priced home.)
Buyers who earn the reported median income of $54,188 can generally qualify to purchase one of 5,600 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local multiple listing service for $295,188 or less. First-time homebuyer affordability in January increased to 194.36 percent from last month’s 178.09 percent.
First-time buyers who earn the reported median income of $36,848 can qualify to purchase one of the 4,113 homes in Orange and Seminole counties currently listed in the local multiple listing service for $178,425 or less. Affordability index aside, credit issues and the ability to qualifying for a loan is still an issue for many.
Orlando area by county- Each individual county’s home monthly sales comparisons are as follows:
- Lake: 0.67 percent below January 2011 (297 homes sold in January 2012 compared to 299 in January 2011);
- Orange: 24.47 percent below January 2011 (1,062 homes sold in January 2012 compared to 1,406 in January 2011);
- Osceola: 28.12 percent below January 2011 (363 homes sold in January 2012 compared to 505 in January 2011); and
- Seminole: 5.93 percent below January 2011 (365 sold in January 2012 compared to 388 in January 2011).
