Report: Home sales, values bounce back in February
Home sales and prices in metro Orlando began climbing again in February after months of drops in both as sales started during the holidays wrapped up, according to the latest real estate report.
Sales were up 33.8% last month after hitting their lowest point since 2009 in January, according to the monthly report from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, which looks at sales in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.
Still, sales were down 30% compared with the white-hot market of February 2022, which was the strongest February in 20 years, according to association records.
The median home price also rose from $350,000 to $358,000, the latest report shows. After peaking in June, prices have either been declining or flat for the past seven months.
Lisa Hill, president of the association, said in a statement that the spike in sales is likely due to closings that were initiated during the holiday season. “After the New Year, we tend to see those contracts close as home buying and selling activity rises,” she said.
Erika Brown, a real estate agent with the St. Cloud-based Keystone Residential Group, says the market is feeling more traditional than it has since the wild swings that followed the start of the pandemic, with more give-and-take from both sides of the deal.
“It’s not the crazy, crazy sellers’ market that it was,” Brown said. She said that while sellers are still reaping the benefits of the historic rise in home values over the past two years, soaring mortgage interest rates have dampened demand and given folks who do have the money to buy more power in negotiations.
“Some sellers are willing to help with closing costs or maybe a slight price reduction,” Brown said.
The median home price is $108,000 above where it was in February 2020. Interest rates for 30-year mortgages last month were 6.4%, according to the report, up 64.5% year-over-year.
Inventory decreased in February by 9.2% to roughly two and a half months’ worth of supply. Experts consider six months of supply to be balanced.
Last February, inventory hit its lowest point ever recorded by the association.
“Inventory is still low,” Brown said. “We are still seeing multiple offers on homes.”
Brown says signs are good that the spring buying season will be strong, particularly with the renters she says she has hunting for homes.
“Especially first-time homebuyers are starting to see more value in ... purchasing a home versus renting because rent has really become unpredictable,” she said. “They’re looking to get into homes so that they have a little more security with what they’re paying.”