Abby Prentiss
Beach Fanatic
from NWFdaily
Single family home and condominium sales in July outpaced last year’s numbers, but property values continued to fluctuate in Northwest Florida.
Metro Market Trends released its July sales reports for Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties earlier this week. The number of single-family homes and condominiums sold in Okaloosa and Walton counties increased compared to July 2010, but sales of single-family homes in Santa Rosa County lagged by about 7 percent.
“I think we’re just going to build this year,” said Jean Floyd, a local Realtor and president of the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors. “The confidence is up and you’re at a great bargaining position on some of these distressed properties, and interest rates are still at an all-time low. It’s the best time for a buyer to get in a market.”
In Okaloosa, 305 single-family homes were sold last month. That’s an increase of nearly 22.5 percent compared to July 2010, when 249 homes were sold.
Condominium and townhome sales saw an even larger increase, at 80 percent.
Walton County saw similar increases. Single- family home sales were up 35.19 percent and condominium/townhome sales jumped 78.18 percent.
Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties both saw their average sale price for condominiums and townhomes increase compared to July 2010, while the average price of single-family homes dropped, according to Metro Market Trends.
The average price of each condo/townhome sold in Okaloosa in July was $290,741, while the average price in Santa Rosa was $241,071. In July 2010, the average price in Okaloosa County was $224,094 and the average price in Santa Rosa County was $214,380.
For single-family homes, the average price in Okaloosa dropped from $232,651 last July to $213,498 this year, In Santa Rosa, the price dropped from $182,132 in 2010 to $171,142 this year.
“What that means is the people are seeing good deals,” said David Goetsch, a local economist and vice president for community relations and workforce development at Northwest Florida State College. “The foreclosures are getting cleaned out of the inventory on the basis of cash sales, and that’s very good news because until the inventory is gone, people don’t start buying the new ones.
“Home values, I think, are going to continue to remain stably low for at least another period,” Goetsch added. “Sales are good. Although there’s an upswing in the selling of single-family residences, that’s still primarily cleaning out the (foreclosure) inventory. Until you really get that inventory completely cleaned out, your home prices are not going to start to go up. You almost have to be building new homes before you see home prices start to go up.”
In Walton County, values shot up dramatically in both the condominium/townhome market and in single-family homes.
The average price of each condo/townhome sold in July was $287,976, compared to $238,327 last July. Single-family homes had an even larger increase, from $328,640 last July to $619,942 last month.
Single family home and condominium sales in July outpaced last year’s numbers, but property values continued to fluctuate in Northwest Florida.
Metro Market Trends released its July sales reports for Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties earlier this week. The number of single-family homes and condominiums sold in Okaloosa and Walton counties increased compared to July 2010, but sales of single-family homes in Santa Rosa County lagged by about 7 percent.
“I think we’re just going to build this year,” said Jean Floyd, a local Realtor and president of the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors. “The confidence is up and you’re at a great bargaining position on some of these distressed properties, and interest rates are still at an all-time low. It’s the best time for a buyer to get in a market.”
In Okaloosa, 305 single-family homes were sold last month. That’s an increase of nearly 22.5 percent compared to July 2010, when 249 homes were sold.
Condominium and townhome sales saw an even larger increase, at 80 percent.
Walton County saw similar increases. Single- family home sales were up 35.19 percent and condominium/townhome sales jumped 78.18 percent.
Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties both saw their average sale price for condominiums and townhomes increase compared to July 2010, while the average price of single-family homes dropped, according to Metro Market Trends.
The average price of each condo/townhome sold in Okaloosa in July was $290,741, while the average price in Santa Rosa was $241,071. In July 2010, the average price in Okaloosa County was $224,094 and the average price in Santa Rosa County was $214,380.
For single-family homes, the average price in Okaloosa dropped from $232,651 last July to $213,498 this year, In Santa Rosa, the price dropped from $182,132 in 2010 to $171,142 this year.
“What that means is the people are seeing good deals,” said David Goetsch, a local economist and vice president for community relations and workforce development at Northwest Florida State College. “The foreclosures are getting cleaned out of the inventory on the basis of cash sales, and that’s very good news because until the inventory is gone, people don’t start buying the new ones.
“Home values, I think, are going to continue to remain stably low for at least another period,” Goetsch added. “Sales are good. Although there’s an upswing in the selling of single-family residences, that’s still primarily cleaning out the (foreclosure) inventory. Until you really get that inventory completely cleaned out, your home prices are not going to start to go up. You almost have to be building new homes before you see home prices start to go up.”
In Walton County, values shot up dramatically in both the condominium/townhome market and in single-family homes.
The average price of each condo/townhome sold in July was $287,976, compared to $238,327 last July. Single-family homes had an even larger increase, from $328,640 last July to $619,942 last month.