A review of the nationwide housing market indicates that, for the most part, the majority of areas in the United States are seeing a recovery for residential real estate. It is important to keep in mind that ALL real estate is “local” and there are areas of the country where recovery has yet to take hold.
According to Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer for Realtor.com, “close-in suburbs are recovering faster than the outlying ones”. Additionally, the nationwide median list prices for resale homes in March 2012 increased about 5.6% to $189,900 over the prior year number. Comparatively, the first quarter for residential real estate sales in Sarasota and Charlotte Counties were positive. The average sale price increased from $183,848 in January 2012 where 1,020 homes sold to $221,975 in March 2012 where 1,512 homes sold (For complete statistics for area real estate, visit QuickStats of Sold Properties).
A Yahoo! Real Estate article by June Fletcher, states that “in the 146 markets Realtor.com surveyed, listing prices were up 1% year over year in 111 metropolitan statistical areas and 5% or more in 70 cities.” The recovery in these areas have contributed to rising home prices. Locally, Punta Gorda has been a part of this recovery process, as home prices have risen by 17.5% in March of 2012 over the prior year.
Sellers also received more good news regarding the days on market for residential property. According to Fletcher, “the median time on the market was 89 days in March, roughly a 19.8% decline from the same month a year earlier. It’s a remarkable turnaround: In March 2010, the median age of for-sale inventory was up about 26.1% from the year before.”
A decreasing home inventory has been another encouraging sign for consumers. With decreasing inventory levels in areas such has Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, there has been a 21.5% decrease in the nationwide inventory of single-family homes, condos, and townhouses from the prior year. This decrease in inventory levels states that the housing market is in a stronger position that it was just a year ago.
While there are several strong indicators that the nationwide housing market is on the road to recovery, the momentum may be slowed due to “shadow inventory” of homes that are headed for foreclosure. CoreLogic, a research firm in California, “estimates that the shadow inventory is about 1.6 million units, which would take about six months to clear at the current sales rate.” However, some economists believe that six months is too optimistic and that these properties could take over nine months to clear. Nonetheless, it is not believed that this will stop the recovery. While it certainly may slow things down, this could be one of the last obstacles before real estate prosperity is back on a national level.
If you are interested in listing your home with Suncoasteam Realty, would like buyer representation or if you have any questions regarding a particular piece of property, please contact Jim Mulligan at Suncoasteam Realty, 941-235-7474 or email to jim@suncoasteam.com.