It was a very good month
I’m starting to have flashbacks to a time when real estate property values were appreciating weekly, when it was assumed your home would be worth 30 or 40 percent more next year and when many people made purchases in the heat of the moment. As much as I loved that time, I’m really hoping it’s not back to stay.
April did it again the gains were not as big as March but still impressive. The median value of single family homes in Manatee County increased 16.6 percent to $256,000 from April of last year. The average selling price in April increased 8.2 percent to $311,690 from April of last year, and the number of closed sales went up 7.6 percent to 539.
Condo and townhouse median sales were also up 9.8 percent to $145,000 compared to April of last year and the average sales price was up 14.6 percent to $196,405, closed sales were up 11.8 percent to 274. As stated, March was better with the median up 17.3 percent for single family and 21.2 percent for condos and townhomes; and the average up 10.6 percent for single family and 23.9 percent for condos and townhomes.
Nationally April was also a slightly off month. According to the National Association of Realtors existing home sales declined 3.3 percent in April compared to March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million. The national median sale price for a single family home rose 8.9 percent from a year earlier to $219,400. Note that in Manatee County the median sale price for single family homes rose 16.6 percent to $256,500 for the same time period well above the national median. In addition the national median sale price of $219,400 is just shy of the peak reached in 2006 when the median sale price for that year was $221,900.
Economists are nevertheless optimistic pointing out that prices are still picking up and first quarter home prices are showing steady increases in sales prices. As reported by the National Association of Realtors, home prices rose in 148 out of 174 metro areas during the first quarter with 51 markets seeing double digit increases. The median sales price percentages in the top 10 metro areas range from 33.4 percent in Sherman-Denison, Texas to 16 percent in Abilene, Texas. The only Florida region in the top 10 was Port St. Lucie coming in at 22.9 percent.
The National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun blamed the sales decline on a lack of supply which is also driving up prices. He states that in April, 40 percent of properties sold at or above their asking price. This indicates that bidding wars are going on around the country with buyers wanting to lock into a home when they have the opportunity and while interest rates are still low.
Manatee County has also shown a decline in inventory for single family homes from 2,137 in April of this year to 2,195 in April of last year down 2.6 percent, as well as a monthly supply of only 4.3 months compared to the national number of 5.3 months. Condo and townhouse inventory was up 3.2 percent from 844 to 818 also with a monthly supply of 4.5 months.
Every month we get flooded with real estate sales statistics which for the most part have been pretty good lately. It’s nice to see decent numbers after years of being clobbered, but I’m still looking for that flashback and worry we may be getting too comfortable with the new reality.
