Posted January 6, 2014by Thomas Scott, Realtor®
All the key real estate metrics here in Oviedo point to a market on the mend and reverting to the historic mean. We have inched up to 2.6 months of inventory in the two Oviedo ZIP Codes, including Chuluota, giving sellers the edge. A high affordability index is providing buyers with still excellent values, historically, in real estate.
On December 16, 2013 The Orlando Regional Realtors’ Association reported, “Continued improvements in Orlando’s median price are helping more owners surface from underwater conditions and take the opportunity to list their homes, which in turn is boosting inventory and providing relief for buyers exhausted by competition.” (See http://goo.gl/OSV4lV for complete details and analysis). The average mortgage rate for November 2013 increased slightly by 8 basis points from September to 4.36%. Affordability index* for all of Orange and Seminole County was 187% for November 2013, down immaterially from the 190% reported for October.
*An Affordability Index of 101% means a family with median income earns 1% more than necessary to afford a median priced home.
In Oviedo and Chuluota, as reported by the My Florida Regional MLS (MFR MLS), 220 single family homes sold in the most recent 90 days (September 19 thru December 18, 2013) for a median price of $239,950. In the same period a year earlier, 249 homes sold (a decrease of 13.2%) for a median price of $200,000 (an increase of 20.0%). Median days to contract and close this year was 28 and 85 respectively, for the most recent 90 days, virtually unchanged from last months’ reported 28 and 80, respectively.
In Oviedo and Chuluota, there are currently 192 single family homes listed for sale for a median price of $279,000. That is 2.6 months of inventory, just a little higher than the 2.5 months reported last month. A balanced market is considered between 5 and 7 months of inventory.
Of the 220 homes sold in the last 90 days, 144 (65.5%) were “normal” sales with a median price of $262,200. They took 21 days to go under contract and 60 days to close, virtually unchanged from the last reported 23 and 62, respectively.
Of the remaining sales, only 42 (19.1%) were short sales, up slightly from last months’ reported 15.0%, that sold for a median price of $190,000. They took 24 days to go under contract and 165 days to close (median values) from the day the home was put on the market. These time frames are holding relatively steady with the duration of contract to close in the 4-5 month range.
There were 34 (15.4%) foreclosures, also called REO or bank owned homes sold with a median price of $179,900, 53 days to contract and 102 days to close.
The number of sales is slowing and the balance between buyers and sellers slowly moderating. While the percentage of short sales and foreclosures are significantly down over last year and now only about 1/3 of the market, that number has remained relatively steady the last few months. Home prices continue to appreciate.
Please call or send me an email anytime with questions about the real estate market in your neighborhood or your home’s value, provided without cost or obligation. Or just go to our website, http://www.jeanscottteam.com/sell/.
For all our current listings, see http://www.jeanscottteam.com/featuredlistings.
For homes under contract and sold, see http://www.tomscottphotography.com/RealEstate.
Thank you,
Thomas Scott, Realtor®, GRI®
Operations and Marketing Manager
Jean Scott Team
407-760-3639 Tom@JeanScottHomes.com
Realtors® Jean Scott & Joann Harbour
Lead Listing and Buyer Specialists.