Shifting Orlando Real Estate Sales

Orlando home sales in 2010 were up over 21% from 2009. The chart here shows how sales have turned around, and the impact distressed properties have had in our marketplace. Real estate sales had reached a fever pitch in 2005 with 31,815 closed transactions recorded by Orlando Realtors. 2006 sales continued at a very fast pace through most of the year, before beginning the big slow down. By 2008, sales had dropped of to a pawltry 15,114. That was also the first year we began to see short sales and bank owned properties in significant numbers. As you can see in the chart above there were virtually no distressed sales in 2005-2007. By 2009 distressed properties made up more than half of the closed sales. Last year more than 2/3 of all sales were distressed properties. See the details below for each of the last six years. Total sales are all sales recorded by Orlando Realtors; REO are bank owned sales; Short are short sales requiring third party bank approval; % Distressed is the percentage of total sales accounted for by REO and short sales; Equity are "normal" sales where there was seller equity in the home.

 I believe we may have seen the peak of short sales in our market earlier last year. There were as many as 13,000 active and pending in the spring, but only about 11,000 remain. Although, with prices as low as they are, we may see another increase this spring. As much talk as there has been about the "next wave" of foreclosures what we have experienced in Orlando has been a steady stream. There are about 4,500 combined active and pending REO's with around 1,000 closing each month. These numbers have been relatively stable for more than a year with the brief exception of the self-imposed foreclosure moratorium back in October. My prediction for 2011 is for more REO sales, fewer short sales and equity sales. I think overall we will see a slight increase in the total number of homes sold.

David Welch Real Estate Optimist, Orlando Real Estate