The latest market statistics for Orange and Seminole County have been released by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. You can see the stats at this link. The good news for December is that inventory decreased quite significantly to 24,298. Unfortunately it was not because properties sold, but because 3,157 listings expired and another 1,462 were withdrawn. It is very typical for lots of listings to expire on the December 31 as many people want to start the new year doing something different if the old thing was not working. Sold listings remained steady and very low for the 4th month in a row. December is cyclically a slow month because of the Christmas and holiday season. Buyers and Sellers are often distracted with shopping, holiday parties, family, and traveling, so they are not thinking of real estate.
What happens in January 2008 should be a strong sign of if the market has truly bottomed out or not. If inventory skyrockets, then we still have not hit bottom. These first 11 days of January have seemed about the same as they were in November and December - slow but busier than we were during the Fall months. We have had a fair amount of new listings come in so far.
As for the year 2007 in review --- A total of 16,673 houses, condos, and townhomes sold during 2007 in Orange & Seminole Counties. That is a signifcant drop (nearly 40%) from that of 2006. 2007 was definitely a big correction year for Central Florida. Median sales price also dropped to $223,900 from the December 2006 high of $250,000 (about 10% less).
I believe the key words for 2008's real estate market are going to be creative financing, FHA mortgages, and investor deals. At least that is my take on it.
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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, CRB, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public
407-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/
Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in Florida.
We buy houses cash in Central Florida including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, and Debary. www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/
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