Real Estate Activity in Detail
A slow spring for real estate transactions spurred an increase in buyer activity that continued into August and pushed home sales in the Orlando area into positive territory for the second consecutive month, according to the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association. The median price in Orlando also continued to rise, while inventory fell again to a new low.
“The lack of inventory—not a lack of buyer activity, as you might expect—is clearly becoming the most concerning outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said ORRA President Reese Stewart of RE/MAX Properties SW. “In fact, the availability of single-family homes within our most sought-after price ranges of $160,000 to $400,000 is surprising; there’s less than a single month’s supply.”
Real estate economists generally consider a 5- to 6-month supply to indicate a healthy market with a balance between buyers and sellers.
Real Estate Market Indicators
Average Price
The overall average sales price in Orlando (all property types combined) in August is $275,000, which is 10.0% higher than the average price of $250,000 in August 2019 and 1.9% higher than the average price of $270,000 in July 2020.
The median price for single-family homes sold in August rose 9.3% compared to August 2019 and now stands at $295,000. The median price for condos rose 11.3% to $152,500, and that for townhomes and duplexes rose 4.2% to $225,900.
Orlando's housing affordability index for August is 137.47%, down from 137.74% last month.
*An affordability index of 99% means that buyers with the state’s median income earn 1% less than the income required to purchase a median-priced home. Conversely, an affordability index greater than 100 means that median-income earners make more than what is required to qualify for a median-priced home.
The affordability index for first-time homebuyers fell to 97.76%, down from 97.95% last month.
Sales and Inventory
ORRA member real estate agents were involved in 3,539 sales of all types of homes combined in August, which is 4.2% more than the 3,397 sales in August 2019 and 3.8% more than the 3,679 sales in July 2020.
Sales of single-family homes (2,868) in August 2020 increased by 7.5% compared to August 2019, while sales of condos (367) decreased by 12.8% year-over-year. Townhomes and duplexes (304 combined) decreased by 1.6% compared to August 2019.
Sales of distressed homes (foreclosures and short sales) totaled 82 in August, down 4.7% from the 86 distressed sales in August 2019. Distressed sales accounted for 2.5% of all transactions in the Orlando area last month.
The average interest rate paid by homebuyers in Orlando in August was 2.85%, down from 2.97% the previous month.
Homes for which deeds were signed in August took an average of 49 days to go from “listed” to “pending” (when the sales contract is signed) and an average of 44 days from “pending” to “closed” (when the deed is signed), for an average total of 93 days from listing to closing (the same as the 93-day total in the previous month).
The total inventory of homes available for purchase in August (5,958) represents a 22.1% decrease compared to August 2019 and a 4.2% decrease compared to the previous month. There were 34.3% fewer single-family homes; 20.3% more condos; and 28.3% more townhomes and duplexes, year over year.
Future Indicators
Pending sales in August rose 15.8% compared with August of last year and fell 1.7% compared with last month.
New contracts rose 11.4% year-over-year, and new listings increased by 3.3%.
Metropolitan Area Statistics
Home sales across the Orlando metropolitan area (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in August were 0.7% lower than in August 2019. So far this year, sales in the MSA have fallen 11.3%.
The sales comparisons for each county are as follows:
- Lake: 6.0% higher than August 2019;
- Orange: 4.4% less than August 2019;
- Osceola: 6.3% higher than August 2019; and
- Seminole: 2.5% less than in August 2019.