Florida condo sales jump 21 percent in May

Florida's real estate market continued on a warming trend in May, according to statistics released by the Florida Association of Realtors, with sales of existing condo units rising 21 percent and existing single family homes 16 percent, as compared to last year.

“Activity is starting to pick up,” said ECAR past president Cliff Chaplin, the current vice president of FAR's District 9. Chaplin, the broker-owner of Niceville's The Realty Leaders, said savvy buyers are not only becoming aware of available housing incentives, but are utilizing them.

“The associations (ECAR, FAR and the National Association of Realtors) along with many businesses are making an effort to publicize these housing incentives, and it seems to have been effective,” Chaplin noted.

As part of this ongoing effort, ECAR will host “The $8,000 Tax Incentive and How to Get It,” July 16 at 1 p.m. The two-hour seminar will be presented by financial expert and noted author, Ed Oneto, who will address who is eligible for the incentive and how they can get it, along with other “need-to-know” details. The seminar is free of charge and open to the public.

Housing incentives such as the tax credit to be addressed by Oneto, along with appealing prices and financing terms, appear to have already had a positive effect on many, if not most, of Florida's housing markets. Miami, for example, a market that typically experienced double digit declines last year, continued its more recent upward trend, experiencing a 76 percent jump in sales of existing single family homes and a 36 percent leap in sales of existing condo units in May.

A few markets, however, have yet to rebound as heartily. Sales of existing single-family homes in Gainesville dipped 34 percent and existing condo sales, 55 percent. Tallahassee was also down, dropping 25 and 57 points.

The Emerald Coast market was up and down, with sales of existing single-family homes gaining 6 points and existing condo units slipping 5 percent. The median sales price here, however, continued its longtime trend of decreasing less than the state average. Most notably, sales of existing single-family homes declined a mere 14 percent, as compared to the state's average decline of 29 percent. At 37 percent, the median sales price of an existing condo unit in May also managed to finished less than the state, skating under the average by one percentage point.

Real estate insiders say they view FAR's numbers for May as encouraging, especially when compared to recent years.
“Condo sales are not dropping as drastically as they previously did,” Chaplin explained. “Last year they were down over 10 percent, and this year it's only 5 percent.”

In direct contrast to the Emerald Coast market, Panama City and Pensacola each showed decreases in sales of existing single-family homes of 8 and 4 percent, while sales of existing condo units increased in both markets by 4 and 15 percent.

Chaplin and other real estate professionals advise that it's important for buyers, sellers and renters to “rely on a Realtor” for all of their market needs. Realtors are familiar with the local market as well as the many special programs and incentives currently available, and are upheld to a strict code of ethics implemented by the NAR.

For more information about the local real estate market, area Realtors, or how to become a Realtor, visit www.EmeraldCoastRealtors.com or call 243-6145.

This article was contributed to The Log by the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors.