Angie Shull's Blog

DAYTONA BEACH -- Sales of homes and condominium units slowed last month in the Volusia-Flagler area.

While the home median sale price fell locally in June, condo prices exceeded year-ago prices for the third time this year.

The decline in sales of existing single-family homes and condos last month marked a slight reversal of the trend that had been developing so far this year with sales volumes increasing and median home prices continuing to dip.

But last month's year-over-year decline in sales volumes could in part be because last June was when home sales peaked in 2010 as homebuyers rushed to qualify for a federal income tax credit program that expired at the end of that month.

The national incentive program required a contract be signed by the end of April last year. Homebuyers had until June 30, 2010 to close the deal to receive the tax credit.

"This is exactly the pattern of bumping along the bottom that we've been talking about the past couple of months," said John Leitschuh, a Realtor with Adams, Cameron & Co. Realtors in Ormond Beach.

"We may have turned a corner, but the gas pedal still has a lot of play in it and naturally we'd all like to go faster," said Leitschuh, who also is this year's board president for the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors.

The median price -- where half sell for more and half for less -- of condo units sold in the Volusia-Flagler area last month was $144,300, according to a Florida Realtors association report released Wednesday. That's up 10 percent from the median sale price of $131,700 in June 2010. It's the second consecutive month of year-over-year increases and the highest monthly median sale price for the two-county area since December 2009 when it hit $158,000.

"One month might be a blip, but three has put a grin on my face," said Ellen Darden, a Realtor with Watson Realty Corp. who specializes in condo sales.

Darden is also president of the New Smyrna Beach Board of Realtors.

"Buyers have the sense that prices have hit rock bottom, and there is a sense of urgency. We saw prices skyrocket before and buyers do not want to miss this window of opportunity. Many are buying with cash, seeing a good investment," she said.

The rising condo prices last month did dampen the number of sales, which fell below last year's sales figures for the first time this year. Area Realtors sold 186 condo units in June, down 8 percent from 202 a year ago, but still above the 2011 monthly average of 170. Of the four Realtor associations in the area, only the Flagler County Association of Realtors reported an increase in condo sales among its members to 43 in June from 31 a year ago.

For the first six months of this year, 1,035 existing condos have changed hands in the two counties compared to 940 last year.

"Sellers are holding tight, but the buyers are still coming and want the product," said Lynn Byrne, a Realtor with CenterPointe Realty in Ormond Beach. "For those who have been thinking about buying for a long time, they realize we are at or near the bottom."

Prices are also being pushed up because a new condo has not been built in three years and it may be another two to three years before another is started, officials said.

Sales of existing single-family homes in the Volusia-Flagler area declined 4 percent to 867 in June from 906 a year ago. That broke a five-month steak of better year-over-year sales figurers compared with last year, which was assisted by the federal tax credit.

Again, only Flagler County's Realtors association posted an increase of the area's four Realtor groups: 183 homes sold last month, up from 169 a year ago.

Through the first six months of this year, 4,688 homes have been sold compared to 4,577 during the same time last year.

The median price of existing homes sold in the two-county area in June was $114,700, down 8 percent from $125,200 in June 2010.

"I am busier than I have been in a long time, writing more offers," said Sandy Alford, a Realtor with Swann & Associates in DeLand. Alford is president-elect of the West Volusia Association of Realtors. "We've also seen pending sales here increase 43 percent in June, which points to increased activity."

The National Association of Realtors on Wednesday reported that many pending contracts for homes nationally were being cancelled because banks will not loan enough to meet the sales offer and are holding tight to high loan qualifying standards.

Cancelled contracts have not been an issue in the Volusia-Flagler area, Leitschuh said. Likewise, while 2011 is on track to be the worst year for home sales nationally in 14 years, so far that has not been the case locally, despite last month's declines.