I always like to get questions from readers and I use these questions to guide the content of the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog. Yesterday I received a comment from a reader, “L. Blake,” who asked the kind of question that makes for a great blog article.
L. Blake wrote: “Thanks for all your hard work on the blogs and updates.
Re the blog that showed 37% long term/47% short term of homes were sold in Tallahassee, it would be great material for another blog to see:
1. how many of those sales were used homes
2. how many of those sales of used homes were SF detached
3. how long those houses were on the market
Thanks.”
I will be able to answer questions number 1. and number 2., but will not be addressing number 3. Number 3. is not a measurement that can be determined due to insufficient and corrupt data, even though it is reported by numerous real estate reporting sites. I went into length about the reasons for this in a previous blog article. Just know that not all MLS data is accurate, so reporting on bogus data only leads to bogus conclusions.
How Many Homes That Sold Were Resales?
The following graph shows the unit mix breakdown of homes that sold in Tallahassee. Since 1991, we can see that new construction sales represent, on average, 16% of the sales in the Tallahassee real estate market. Currently, we are trending to roughly 17% of the sales are new construction. With inventories at all time highs, I suspect we will continue to see new construction starts stay at low levels.
What Kind Of Homes Have Sold?
In the next graph shows Tallahassee home sales by property type. We can see that resale (used) Single Family detached homes dominate the market, typically average between 70-80% of all the sales in Tallahassee.
Average Price of Homes That Sold
The next graph shows that the average price of homes that have sold in Tallahassee has leveled off over the past 18 months, while unit sales have plummeted to levels not seen since 1991! Ouch. This issue has been addressed in the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog on numerous occasions. The leveling off of the average price of Tallahassee homes has been proven to be a misleading figure, as the current average home is a larger home than the average home of the past, so while the average price of a home in Tallahassee is roughly the same, individual home values have dropped. I believe this graph demonstrates proof that we will see continued price reductions over the next 6 to 12 months.
Unit Sales Trend Down 31% Since 2007
This next graph shows how sharply are unit sales have been falling. Each of the points on the blue line shows the one year trend in unit sales growth. Through June of this year, the unit sales are down 31% compared to last year. Through June of 2007, sales were down 24% compared to June of 2006. With all the reports showing that our population is growing, I expect this buyer trend to turn in a big way when some really positive news hits in the mainstream media.
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Joe Manausa is a real estate investor and the Broker and Co-Owner of Century 21 First Realty. He can be reached via e-mail through the Tallahassee Real Estate Website or catch his latest writings on the Tallahassee Florida Real Estate Blog , or by calling (850) 386-2001.
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