Business Writer/Daytona Beach News Journal
DAYTONA BEACH -- House prices in Volusia and Flagler counties continue to fall and sales continue to rise.
"I think since the market has begun to stabilize, the people that were on the fence are realizing that we are through the bottom, or at least at the bottom. And if they were waiting to buy, now is probably the time," said Scott Nieminen with Realty Executives in Palm Coast and the new head of the Flagler County Association of Realtors.
Local buyers in December seemed to agree, contradicting a national slowdown over the holidays.
Realtors in December sold 807 existing single-family houses in the two-county area, according to the Florida Association of Realtors report released Monday. That is 57 percent higher than the 513 houses sold in December 2008.
It's also the highest monthly total for 2009. The summer of 2006 was the last time the 800 mark was broken.
The median sales price -- where half sell for more and half for less -- for houses that sold in December was $124,400, down 12 percent from $141,300 a year ago.
It also is the lowest median sales price for the year. The last time it was lower was February 2003 when the price was $114,500.
There were 160 sales of existing condominiums in December. That is up 240 percent from the 47 that sold a year ago. The median sales price of a previously occupied condo rose 2 percent to $158,000 from $155,000 in December 2008.
Statewide, sales increased 33 percent to 14,630 in December from 11,013 in December 2008. The median sales price fell 10 percent from a year ago to $140,400 from $155,300.
Condo sales statewide for December totaled 5,968, up 91 percent from a year ago. The median sales price of $107,000 was down 18 percent from $130,300 of a year ago.
Nieminen sees the local area leading a recovery.
"When you look at the housing slowdown, in the Flagler and Volusia areas, we were impacted early on. We were among the first to feel it," he said. "So, in a recovery stage, those areas that got hit first tend to come out of it first. We have such home affordability right now."
For the year, Realtors sold 7,934 single-family houses in 2009, up 30 percent from 6,087 in 2008 and up 18 percent from 6,737 in 2007. However, it's 12 percent below the 9,032 that sold in 2006 and 44 percent below the 14,142 houses that sold in 2005.
The median sales price of a house in 2009 fell 21 percent to $130,500 from $165,700 in 2008.
Yearly condo sales rose 51 percent to 1,482 from 981 in 2008. The median sales price declined 21 percent to $169,800 from $214,400.
Statewide for the year, house sales increased 31 percent to 163,148. The median sales price fell 24 percent to $142,600. Condo sales increased 47 percent to 55,985. The median sales price decreased 21 percent to $169,800.
Nationally house sales went the opposite way from the local trend, falling 16.7 percent in December from November, the largest monthly drop in 40 years.
The federal tax credit extension to April and expansion to include existing homeowners was to blame for depressed December sales, said officials at the National Association of Realtors.
Despite the decline, many national figures point to a recovering housing market.
Sales in 2009 totaled 5.16 million homes, up 5 percent from 2008 and the first year-to-year increase since 2005. Inventory is down to a more manageable 7.2 months at the current sales rate, according to the national Realtors group.
The median sales price in 2009 fell 12 percent to $173,500, the sharpest annual drop since the Great Depression.
Some real estate experts fear a softening of the market again after efforts to hold down mortgage interest rates ends in March and federal tax credits expire in April.
A continued housing recovery depends on creating more jobs during the second half of this year, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.
bob.koslow@news-jrnl.com
By the Numbers
Sales of existing houses in Volusia and Flagler counties have been on the rise for the past year. Here are the latest numbers:
DECEMBER: 807
NOVEMBER: 773
DECEMBER 2008: 513
SOURCE: Florida Association of Realtors
House Prices
The following are the annual median sales price for existing houses sold by Realtors in Volusia and Flagler counties. The median price for December was $124,400, compared to $141,300 in December 2008.
2009 $130,500
2008 $165,700
2007 $197,200
2006 $219,900
2005 204,400
2004 157,800
2003 131,300
2002 109,768
2001 96,770
2000 88,300
1999 84,500
SOURCE: Florida Association of Realtors