The real estate market in Pinellas County, Florida is humming.
And the following appears to be a contradiction, yet it is not. Read on to see why.
Pinellas County, Florida is in the midst of one of the worst real estate markets in the country. Does that mean that real estate is dead? No, of course not. People still need housing, people move, people are buying their first homes, and sadly, people still are dying so their homes need to be sold. Using some of the key indicators, such as absorption rate - the time it will take the current inventory to be sold, help to see the Pinellas County, Florida real estate market in a slightly different light. It may indicate that the market is close to stabilized. The absorption rate year on year for single family homes is up 18.4%, which means that houses are selling much quicker than they did at this time last year. A possible sign the Pinellas County, Florida real estate market has stabilized.
The number of active listings year on year for single family homes is down 15%. This means simply that more homes are being sold each month than are being listed for sale.
The number of single family home sales year to date is up 16.7%. This simply means that we are selling a good number more homes this year than at the same time last year.
In my opinion, the market is very slowly moving in the right direction towards stabilization and much more sane pricing/growth. There are numerous buyers in the market now looking for a deal. So far this year, in the Pinellas County, Florida real estate market, about 65% of residential real estate transactions have been cash. Houses are selling and houses that are priced at or near market value are selling very quickly. The inventory is dwindling to the point we no longer have a year of inventory, we are down to about a 6 1/2 month inventory of houses. The real estate market is in fact very busy. Investors, especially cash buyers, are finding excellent properties at 1999 prices and can rent houses for immediate cash flow.
Through April 2011, there have been 2,862 single family houses sold in this area compared to 2010 when 2453 houses sold at the same point in time. This is a 16.7% increase in single family home sales. This is not to say that prices are going up as yet. Our mean prices, in Pinellas County, Florida, April 2010 to April 2011 are down 1.7%, which of course is why the units sold is increasing. Add to this interest rates are still below 5%. It all adds up to a wonderful opportunity for qualified buyers. I am not saying the real estate market is rosy for everyone, it is, however, very busy, or as I said, humming.
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