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Florida's housing market shows signs of life

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — Florida's used home market saw solid gains in price last month, while the number of sales declined, according to Florida’s Realtors. The organization did not release sales data for the state’s metro markets.

The January data, released Wednesday, showed the statewide median price increasing 5.3 percent to $129,000 compared to the same month a year earlier. The median price is the point where half of all homes sold for more, half sold for less.

Meanwhile, the number of sales statewide totaled 12,044 in January, down 5.5 percent compared to the year-ago number.

Despite the increase in the median price, Florida’s Realtors said foreclosures are still distorting the market.

"Even though closed sales are down from a year ago, there are two really bright spots in Florida's housing market," Florida Realtors Chief Economist John Tuccillo said. "One is a significant increase in pending sales. In fact, pending sales have been up every month since May. The barrier that stands between pending sales and closings is the difficulty consumers are experiencing in obtaining financing.

"The second positive is inventories, which are now at a point close to a balanced market," Tuccillo said. Inventories refers to the number of homes on the market.

Mortgage rates are at historic lows, but banks have applied tighter standards, making it difficult for some buyers to qualify for loans. Tighter appraisal standards also have dampened sales.

The National Association of Realtors said used-home sales increased 4.53 percent in January to an annualized rate of 4.57 million homes.