Real estate climate stabilizes
Prices settle off boom and post-hurricane highs

Values are available to buyers in the current market. Remax on the Coast recently sold this 3,400 sq. ft. home on Soundside Drive in the past few months for $790,000. The home has 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, a screened pool area and many amenities.

ORLANDO - With positive economic conditions such as low mortgage interest rates and job growth continuing in Florida, statewide sales of existing single-family homes totaled 11,674 in July and were closer to activity in July 2001 and 2002 - before the housing boom years - than the July 2006 figures, when 15,378 homes sold for a 24 percent decrease in the year-to-year comparison, according to the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR).

Florida's median sales price for existing singlefamily homes in July was $237,500; a year ago, it was $250,400 for a 5 percent decrease. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. In July 2002, the statewide median sales price for single-family homes had been $141,700.

In June 2007, the national median sales price for existing single-family homes was $230,300, up 0.1 percent from the previous year, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). In California, the statewide median resales price was $594,260 in June; in Massachusetts, it was $364,000; in Maryland, it was $325,427; and in New York, it was $250,000.

The latest market outlook calls for existing home sales to gain momentum by the end of the year, with broader improvement in sales activity in 2008. NAR Senior Economist Lawrence Yun predicts "existing-home sales should be relatively stable over the next few months, holding in a modest range, with some pent-up demand growing from buyers who've been on the sidelines." While noting that sales could be temporarily affected by recent mortgage industry disruptions, Yun added that the "fundamental momentum clearly suggests stabilizing price trends in many local markets."

Sales of existing condominiums in Florida also decreased last month, with a total of 3,610 condos sold statewide compared to 4,449 in July 2006 for a 19 percent decline, according to FAR. The statewide median sales price for condos last month was $193,900, down 7 percent from July 2006's condo median price of $209,100.

Last month, interest rates for a 30-year fixedrate mortgage averaged 6.70 percent, according to Freddie Mac, which was lower than the average rate of 6.76 percent in July 2006. FAR's sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

Condo sales were down 19 percent from the 696 condos sold the previous year. The existing condo median sales price in July was $187,200; a year ago, it was $209,100 for a 10 percent decrease.

Buyers and sellers must adjust to the new market, but the climate has definitely stabilized.

Florida enjoys a beautiful coastline, and is seeing gains in attracting new industry and businesses. Mortgage rates are still very favorable and buyers have more options right now. For most people, buying a house is a long-term investment in a place to call home for themselves and their families.

In Santa Rosa County, especially hard hit by the storms in 2004 and 2005, prices escalated further and the downward adjustment resulting is more defined. Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser Greg Brown recently adjusted tax rolls by a 20 percent decrease.