Summer is Still Hot and so is the Housing Market!

With the last throws of summer here and fall not far away the weather should be cooling off. But, it has still been hot and we are still in the pool. Our single family residential sales continue to be hot with 131 SFR sales in August, that's just 10 less than July. Of the 131 sales 59 of them were arms length, meaning non-distressed. Distressed properties had 50 short sales and 22 bank owned (REO). With distressed properties still dominating the market median price continues to decline. Since the end of the second quarter median prices for all SFR sales have fallen 6%, from $139,000 to $132,000. With over 50% of the market being made up of distressed properties median price will continue to decline, however the fall should be slight. On a brighter note the median price for non-distressed properties was $175,000 for August and that is in keeping with the month over month median price for this type of sale. For the past 8 months the median price for non-distressed averages out to $171,500.

Inventory continues to decrease although at a much lower rate. As of September 22^nd the Flagler County Association of Realtors MLS had 1321 SFR listed for sale in the county. At the same time frame July had 1324 SFR for sale. But this is a far cry from the 2100 SFR for sale last November 2008. All property types have decreased in inventory and are starting to flatten out.

Pending home sales (PHS) were down for the second consecutive month, with 575 PHS as of September 22^nd. Distressed properties make up the majority of the PHS with 449 short sales and 27 bank owned properties.

Condo inventory has decreased for another month with 553 currently on the market however the percentage of listed short sales is increasing. Pending Condo sales have increased for the 9^th straight month. Which is good news but with that increase distressed properties have also increased.

With few lenders willing to fund vacant land-residential lot sales continue to flounder. Only 60 sales have been recorded in the FCAR MLS system this year and inventory has been steady, not a lot of fluctuation. Some gated communities have been hit hard with declining prices and are flooded with short sales and bank owned.

Palm Coast Lots (PCL) have returned to a sensible value, approximately $17,000 for a standard dry lot. Salt water and fresh water canal and golf course lots are still feeling out the market.

If you have questions for a particular property please call, 386-931-0487 or toll free 888-355-8959

The below Table shows a month-to-month and year-over-year comparison of single family home sales for 2007, 2008 and 2009. The 2008 and 2009 median prices are with distressed properties removed. The 2007 short sale and REO (distressed properties) data was not available.

	2009	2008	2007
	Total Sales/Arms Length	Median Price	Total Sales/Arms Length	Median Price	Total Sales	Median Price
January	66/20	$162,950	53/49	$160,000	102	$225,000
February	98/31	$170,000	102/58	$177,500	118	$230,000
March	101/35	$179,000	105/65	$190,750	125	$206,500
April	110/46	$173,000	116/71	$205,000	98	$220,000
May	114/49	$165,000	135/83	$210,000	125	$206,500
June	132/62	$185,000	116/77	$190,000	120	$214,000
July	141/63	$167,000	113/68	$196,700	103	$208,000
Aug	131/59	$175,000	114/71	$170,000	93	$220,000

For a full list of homes on the market visit our web site www.JimmyAndAnnette.com