Home sales show some spot recovery but prices continue to sink in Florida

DELRAY BEACH — The good news: April used home sales in Palm Beach County just about equaled 2007 numbers. The bad news — if you’re a homeowner looking to sell — is that prices dropped 17 percent year over year.

Otherwise, the latest report on home sales from the Florida Association of Realtors is more of the same: The housing slump continues.

In Palm Beach County, 662 used homes sold in April, compared to 665 sold in April 2007. The median price — half sold for more, half for less — dropped 17 percent to $314,000 from $376,300 a year ago.

In Broward, the number of sales dropped 11 percent to 518 from 580 a year ago; the median prices fell 18 percent to $298,100 from $363,800 a year ago.

In Miami-Dade, sales dropped 47 percent to 281 from 531, while the median price dropped 24 percent year over year to $291,900 from $382,300 a year ago.

Statewide, home sales dropped 9 percent to 11,200 from 12,358; the median price dipped 17 percent to $198,900 from $239,000 in April 2007.

Several markets actually showed gains — at a price. St. Lucie County enjoyed a 34 percent sales gain in April, but the median price plummeted 34 percent at the same time.

Only one market — Fort Walton Beach — showed an increase in prices, to $213,600 from $216,000 a year ago.

FAR noted that buyers had the advantage of cheaper mortgages last month than those buying a year ago. Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.92 percent in April, down from the average rate of 6.18 percent in April 2007, according to Freddie Mac.

National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun continues to look for the market to rebound in the second half of the year.

“There are many reasons for people to get into the housing market today, and very few reasons not to," Yun says. "With the plentiful supply of homes for sale at affordable prices, interest rates approaching 40-year lows, and the strong track record of housing as a good long-term investment, conditions are ripe for buyers."