Florida’s housing market wrapped up 2013 with more closed sales, higher pending sales, higher median prices and a reduced inventory of homes for sale compared to the year before, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors on Tuesday.
“Throughout 2013, the state’s housing market has demonstrated it’s in a solid recovery and gaining strength,” said Florida Realtors President Sherri Meadows, in a statement. “The positive fundamentals of Florida’s housing sector continue into 2014. However, factors remain that could slow an even stronger economic recovery, such as limited inventories of for-sale homes in many areas, overly-restrictive mortgage credit, rising interest rates, and concerns about the cost and availability of property and flood insurance.”
According to the data:
- Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 227,411 in 2013, up 11.8 percent compared to the 2012 figure, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data.
- Pending sales for existing single-family homes rose 17.6 percent in 2013 compared to 2012’s figure. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in 2013 was $168,000, up 15.9 percent from the previous year.
- A total of 108,560 townhouse-condo units sold statewide in 2013, up 5.1 percent from 2012. Pending sales for townhouse-condos for the year increased 9.7 percent compared to 2012. The statewide median for townhouse-condo properties in 2013 was $128,000, up 20.1 percent over the previous year.
- In the fourth quarter, closed sales of single-family existing homes totaled 54,845, up 4.7 percent from 4Q 2012, according to Florida Realtors data. Pending sales of single-family existing homes were down slightly (-2 percent) for the quarter, compared to the same period a year earlier.
Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo said, “We have seen all these numbers before in the monthly releases, but looking at them on a quarterly and annual basis allows for a better evaluation of the real estate market. The trends we have seen develop over the year – rising sales and prices, declining percentage of cash sales and stabilizing inventory – are confirmed in these statistics.”
