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Lakeland Florida - Review of December 2008 Real Estate Market

By Petra Norris

Managing Real Estate Broker with Lakeland Real Estate Group, Inc. BK646565

January 20, 2009 05:29 AM

Lakeland Florida - Review of December 2008 Real Estate Market

Well folks, care for the numbers of Lakeland's average sold prices. Prices kept on falling at its lowest in December significantly falling to $134,365, a 30% stumble from the previous year. This is the lowest I've seen so far for 2008 closing out this eventful year of foreclosure crisis, wall street and main street crisis, mortgage mess and bail outs.

The average square foot of the sold homes for December was $76.03 per sq. ft., compared to the listing price of $81.36 per sq. ft. in Lakeland which is within the approximate numbers of our neighboring cities of Lakeland, such as Winter Haven, Auburndale, Bartow, Mulberry, and Polk City.

Although real estate agents have a tendency to say that December is one of the slowest months of the year. Home sales by the numbers however have increased by 15% - 135 homes sold from the previous month in Lakeland. An increase of 15% in number of home sales though it is an average number.

Take a look at my spreadsheet below. I've separated the report by zip code instead of school zones; it gives you a more accurate report in my opinion. The data for this report was obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report does not include "For Sale By Owner".

Lakeland Florida Real Estate Report for December 2008

Chuck Welch of Lakeland Local graciously provides his services to create this map for more information on the location of these sold properties in Lakeland with prices and size of the homes. Click on map picture which leads you to the interactive Community Walk map created by .

Check out the graph here, overall the average list price is just about over $140,000 since the beginning of this year in Lakeland. The average sold price so far this year amounts to $134,000 in Lakeland.

Lakeland Florida Average Home Prices 2008

The graph below will give provide detail information of how many homes sold in Lakeland by Zip Code and by month.

Lakeland Homes sold by Month and Zip Code 2008

Do distressed properties dictate our property value and sales?

Distressed properties are homes in pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, bank owned, as well as short sales - a continuous increase of distressed homes sales will certainly affect the real estate market and home values in Lakeland. Of the 135 homes sold last month homes 51 homes were sold with an average sales price of $123,543 compared to only 16 homes that were sold the previous year, due to Short Sales and/or Foreclosures.

There are currently 491 homes facing foreclosure.

139 homes are in pending status waiting for bank or lender approval to close.

What is the average price for these types of homes?

In Lakeland, you will find distressed properties in every price category. The average price currently listed is $139,627. The priciest home currently on the market is listed for $750,000 and the lowest priced home is $15,000.

Let's take a look at last month sold report for the surrounding cities in Polk County:

Winter Haven - 59 properties sold - average sold price $126,543 - average $70.26 per sq.ft.

Bartow - 12 properties sold - average sold price $126,362 average $70.77 per sq.ft.

Mulberry - 7 properties sold - average sold price $145,755 - average $80.05 per sq.ft.

Auburndale - 16 properties sold - average sold price $172,696 - average $82.83 per sq.ft.

Polk City - 6 properties sold - average sold price $130,408 - $72.75 per sq.ft.

If you are interested in a specific area or neighborhood, feel free to contact me at petra@petranorris.com or click the search button below.