The number of existing single-family homes sold in October in the Tampa area fell 30 percent, compared with a year ago, and the median price took another beating, sliding 7 percent.
Despite the declines, there was a blip of good news.
The median sales price for existing homes in the Tampa metro area rose by 4 percent in October, compared with the previous month, according to data released Wednesday by the Florida Association of Realtors.
The median sales price in October for a single-family home was $209,000. That's up from $200,700 in September. The median is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.
But home sellers shouldn't get too optimistic. Economists typically look at year over year comparisons to assess the real estate market, and the Bay area's October median price dropped 7 percent compared with October 2006 when the median price was $225,800. The yearlong drop is in keeping with the recent trend of falling home prices.
Still, it's refreshing to see a positive change, said Brenda Wade, a real estate agent with Signature Realty in Brandon. However, she warns not to read too much into the jump in the median sales price between September and October.
"Buyers may be spending the same amount of money, but they're getting a lot more home for their money," Wade said. She noted that some of her sellers have dropped prices by as much as tens of thousands.
Wednesday's home sales data comes on the heels of a report released Tuesday that showed Tampa leading the nation in yearlong price declines. The Standard & Poor's Case Shiller Home Price Index showed September prices dropped 11.1 percent, compared with the same month last year.
Mike Larson, an analyst with Weiss Research in Jupiter, said the increase in the median sales price in October may be mildly encouraging to sellers, but he doesn't expect a trend.
"I think it's just a little noise in the numbers," he said. "The bigger story is still intact."
Larson predicts housing prices in the Tampa area will fall 5 percent to 10 percent more before the price slide ends and the market starts to improve in late 2008.
The number of single-family home sales in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area dropped 30 percent to 1,700 in October, the Florida Realtors group said.
Wade said clients who purchased homes in 2004 or earlier generally are making money when they sell, but those who purchased in 2005 or later are having trouble getting any significant appreciation. Buyers who purchased in 2006 typically are losing money if they sell now, she said.
Statewide, Florida saw an 8 percent drop in median price to $222,100 and a 29 percent drop in the number of sales in October, compared with the same month last year.
In other Florida cities, the price and sales trends were similar:
•In Miami, home prices remained essentially flat year over year with a median price of $354,800. The number of sales fell 33 percent.
•In Orlando, prices dropped 11 percent to $238,500, and the number of sales fell 36 percent.
•In the Sarasota-Brandenton area, prices dropped 5 percent to a median of $263,900, and sales fell 17 percent.
Nationally, sales of existing homes fell for the eighth consecutive month in October, with median home prices falling by a record amount. Analysts blamed the worsening housing slump on the credit crunch that hit in August.
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums dropped by 1.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million units.
The median price of a home sold last month declined to $207,800, a drop of 5.1 percent from a year ago, the biggest year-over-year price decline on record.
Analysts blamed the October weakness on the fallout from a serious credit crunch that roiled financial markets. Banks and other lenders have tightened credit standards in response to soaring defaults, especially on subprime mortgages, loans provided to borrowers with weak credit histories.
Source : http://www2.tbo.com/
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