Kathleen West Flagler County & Palm Coast Realtor

So how did the local market do for 2011? Very well, and here's just a few highlishgts on the Residential Housing sales in the area:

• A total of 1,665 houses closed from January 1st to December 31, 2011
• The total number of sales was up 14% compared to 2010 when 1,460 houses closed
• 82% of all houses sold were in the price range up to $199,999
• The luxury market ($500k+) also saw a slight uptick as well making up 3% of the area houses sold compared to 2% for 2010
• 3 bedroom homes were the most popular making up 62% of all houses sold, and 30% were 4 or more bedrooms

We're through October and the local real estate market has been another year of some real positives. It's also been a year of interesting devlopments too.

Highlights through October (Click here for a full market report):

• Inventory levels remain lower.
• As of 11/14/2011 there are 1024 houses for sale in Flagler County and 762 in Palm Coast. Palm Coast alone has typically remained above 900 for the last few years.
• The number of house sales has increased 10% compared to this period last year.
• There have been 1,345 houses that have closed through October 31st. Palm Coast has contributed 1,170 of those. This is an average of 134 closings per month for the area which has typically been about 100/month over the last few years.
• The percentage of Short Sale houses for sale has dropped to about 26% for Flagler County and 30% for Palm Coast as of 11/14.
• This has averaged about 36% pretty consistently
• What about price?
• Median and Average sale prices are slightly below last year.
• Taking into account lower inventory levels and increased demand, next year will be one to watch. We could see positive gains next year.
• Foreclosures ("Lender Owned", "REO", "Government Owned") all remain at low levels for sale in the area and move at very quick paces.
• There are currently 55 houses for sale that are "Foreclosures".
• Average days on the market for this category this year has been 80 days compared to 188 days for all house sales.

Can you believe it's Fall already and the end of the year is fast approaching? I know I can't. "How's the market? " is the common question I hear, and there really are some some things about our local market. Here's just a few from the residential housing portion:

Inventory levels at their lowest in recent years

The number of houses for sale over the last few years in Flagler County has rarely dipped below 1,100 (and 900 for Palm Coast) at any given point in time. As of today, there are 986 homes for sale in Flagler County and 739 in Palm Coast. Of those for sale in the County, only 39 fall under "foreclosure" status and 245 are "Short Sale" designated. All positive numbers in my opinion.

Sales

Sales are one of the most important things obviously, and over the last few years we are seeing great year-over-year trends. Take a look at the comparison of the same period from 2008 to present:

We've seen increases each year to the tune of 7% to 10% during this period. This year 1219 houses have sold for Flagler County through September. The highest at $1.8M and the lowest at $13,400 for a median price of $120,000 and an average price of $158,275.

The most active price brackets really haven't changed much either. Here's a chart showing housing sales by price bracket in Flagler County through September of this year:

We typically see an uptick in activity in November and December in the area as well. So it will be interesting to see the outcome over the next couple of months of the year. If you are looking to sell, now is a good time to list. If you are looking to buy, now is a good time to start looking. Either contact me today or visit PalmCoastHomeShow.com to get started.

* Disclaimer: Information based upon the Flagler County Association of Realtors MLS as of 10/17/2011 for Residential Houses. Information may be deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed

As the age old question goes in Real Estate, "How's the market doing?" In Flagler County and Palm Coast, FL . . . very postive. You can get a full break down of Residential Home Market Statistics for the area at PalmCoastHomeShow.com. But here's an overview of the market as of today:

1. There are 1196 homes for sale in Flagler County and 887 in Palm Coast. Both are some of the lowest levels of inventory in the last few years.
2. Of the homes for sale 27% are 'short sales' in Flagler County and 32% in Palm Coast.
3. Foreclosures represent 2% of all homes for sale in both areas.

At the beginning of 2010 I had said it was going to be a very interesting year. The tax credit was showing some promise to help boost home sales, but it remained to be seen as to what the effect would be once that credit ended. Initially contracts had to closed by June 30th. This spurred sales to perform very well in the first half of the year with the area running about 15% above the year before in terms of the number of sales and then fell off in July and the proceeding months. The year ended basically even with 2009 in terms of the number of residential home sales for Flagler County as follows with 1,408 versus 1,411 in 2009. Median selling price dipped 5% coming in at $130,000 compared to 2009 at $137,000 which was to be expected as the market continues to correct itself.

As you look at the graph of the number of home sale by month below you see that we had another good year in the area with sales "pushed" up in the year due to the tax credit deadline. What do I anticipate for 2011? If the phone calls and the messages I have been receiving during the holiday are any indicator, it should be another great year for the area. I expect us to see a return to a consistent trend in terms of the number of closes each month throughout the year with another year that either meets or exceeds 2010.

Disclaimer: Information based upon the Flagler County Association of Realtors MLS as of 1/3/2011 for Residential Houses. Information may be deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed