Daytona Beach Real Estate Unit Sales Up 2.9% for May

The Daytona Beach real estate sales figures for May 2008 show the highest sales since June 2007. Overall sales were up 2.9% over April which was up 27% over March meaning that we held the big gains from April. The strength of the market remains in the lower price ranges. House sales increased by 13%, while condo sales dropped by 36%.

Unit sales of residential properties for March came in at 285 properties topping 277 in April, 218 in March, 222 in February and the low point of 164 in January. Most of the properties sold were single family homes, while 37 condos were sold. Last month, 58 condos were sold. This is against the recent trend of 20-21% of condos sold of the total. The numbers say that there is more strength in the house market than in the condo market - at least in May. We’ll continue to monitor this number, but this is a 36% drop in condo sales, and, a 13% increase in house sales.

Residential Daytona Beach property for sale is at 6165 homes and condos in the Datyona Area Association of Realtor® MLS. That’s down from the end of April when 6219 properties were in the market. The Daytona MLS includes properties in Ormond Beach, Port Orange, Ponce Inlet, Holly Hill, South Daytona, Ormond by the Sea and Wilbur by the Sea.

The market is still strongest in the under $200,000 price range, with 51% of the sales in the $100,000 to $199,999 price range, and the $200,000-$299,999 price range is holding steady at 25%. Of course, that means that the over $300,000 market in total is just over 15% of the market.

With almost 85% of sales coming in at under $300,000, the median sales price dropped from dropped from $180,000 to $175,000. However, the average price increased from $226,492 to $228,830. What these two numbers tell us, when taken together, is that prices were pretty firm in May. It’s better to look at the entire year. The median price for the year to date is $182,000 and the average sell price year to date is $236,719. So from the beginning of the year, median price is down less than 4% (3.85%) and the average sell price is down 3.3%. So, based on these numbers, we can say that prices are probably down between 3-4% on average. Sales price as a percentage of listing price was at 92%, meaning that, on average, a home listed for $200,000 sold for $184,000.

So, what does this tell us about Daytona Beach Homes for Sale? First, this is the second month a higher level. This still does not make a a trend, but more buyers and sellers came to terms in May than any month since June of last year with May 2008 sales matching May 2007 sales exactly. Second, there are still extremely high levels of inventory on the market. With 285 sales and 6165 residential properties on the market, we are at still at over 21 months of inventory - 1/2 month drop in May. A buyer’s market is loosely defined at six months of inventory. It’s better, but still not good. Homes over $300,000 have over 51 months of inventory, homes under $200,000 are about 14 months, and homes between $200,000-300,0000 are under 21 months.

Our summary is that it’s great news that we held on to the big gains of April over March. The market is still very much stronger in the under $200,000 price range, and not much is selling above $300,000 where inventories are still very high. Stay tuned for more.

Action to Take Now

If you are a buyer planning to make a purchase in the near future, there are a few things to monitor:

1. Sales Numbers - if sales number continue to climb, prices will bottom and eventually start to rise.

2. Mortgage Rates - be careful of mortgage rates moving up due to inflation and eventual increased lending.

3. Inventory Levels - if inventory numbers drop drastically, supply will tighten and price will adjust.

Where can you get this information? On my Daytona Beach Real Estate main site. In addition to these monthly reports on the blog, we publish weekly sales numbers, mortgage rates and inventory levels. You can see the current weekly Market Report updated every Monday.

We issue the Daytona Beach Real Estate Market Report every month based on sales numbers that we see and key economic trends. We make no guarantees, but provide this information for your use. It should be useful if you are considering selling or buying a home in our area. Please call me at 386-566-7503 if you have any questions. We just updated our long-term real estate market analysis at Daytona Beach Real Estate Market Analysis at my main web site. It’s worth a look.

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