A record 2,473 homes were sold in Orlando in March, an increase of 41 percent, compared with 1,754 homes which sold in March 2009, the Orlando Regional Realtor Association reported. New sales contracts filed were 4,662, bringing the area’s pending sales statistic to a whopping 10,179, more than double the number of homes awaiting closing in March of this year compared to 4,906 in March 2009.
While median home prices increased by 4.8 percent to $110,000 in March 2010 from $105,000 recorded in February 2010, the median price last month is a decrease of 18.5 percent compared to March 2009’s median of $135,000.
In the Orlando Metropolitan Area (Lake, Orange Osceola and Seminole counties) existing home sales rose by 31.4 percent in March compared to March 2009. Throughout the MSA, 3,044 homes were sold last month compared with 2,251 in March 2009.
Condo sales in the Orlando area increased by 74.8 percent in March when compared to March of last year, and increased by 18.6 percent when compared to February 2010. A total of 554 condos changed hands in March of this year compared to 317 in March 2009 and 467 in February 2010.
Currently, 16,223 homes are available for purchase through the MLS. In March 2010, inventory was up by an additional 172 homes from February 2010. However, the March 2010 inventory level is 24.4 percent lower than in March 2009 when 21,448 homes were available. The March 2010 inventory represents 6.6 months of supply compared with 12.2 months of supply in March 2009.
