Brevard Home Sales Continue Upwards!

Sales in November of single-family homes in Brevard County surged over the previous year, and trends indicate the housing market will close out 2012 strong.

Sales statistics for existing single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums were outlined in Thursday’s report by the Florida Realtors.

Closed sales for single-family homes rose nearly 20 percent in November, 589 compared with 492 the previous November.

The median price — the point at which half the homes sell for less, half for more — jumped 16.2 percent to $122,000 in that period. Closed sales of town homes and condominiums also increased.

Sales rose 15.7 percent in November, 147 vs. the previous November, while the median price edged up more than 22 percent to $115,015 in that period.

Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

“We have seen a gradual strengthening in the market,” said Jesse “Jay” Parrish, the incoming president of the Space Coast Association of Realtors. “There’s certainly reduced inventory, and my personal sense of the market is that it is improving. And it’s improving in the commercial sector as well.”

Economists and others pay close attention to the home sales as it, as well as unemployment data and consumer spending, are key components of the nation’s economy.

Statewide, closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 17,072 in November, up 24.4 percent compared to the year-ago figure. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in November was $150,000, up 11.2 percent from a year ago.

“Particularly striking in this market is the degree to which prices have risen,” said John Tuccillo, the chief economist for the Florida Realtors. “This might be expected to be the case for median prices as investors absorb the inventory at the lower end of the market, but average prices are up dramatically as well – and that suggests we’re seeing real appreciation occur in the marketplace, another sign of how solid Florida’s real estate recovery has become.”

In Brevard, the average sales price for single-family homes in November was $153,197, a nearly 10 percent increase compared with the previous November figure.

Local data also indicates inventory is running below last year. Single-family home inventories are 43 percent smaller than last year. That’s the case even with last week’s report that Brevard’s rate of foreclosure filings is the highest among the nation’s metro areas.

Nationally, the National Association of Realtors on Thursday reported that total existing-home sales- completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — was 5 million, 14.5 percent higher than the 4.4 million-unit pace in November 2011.

Sales are at the highest level since November 2009 when the annual pace spiked at 5.4 million, the Washington-based organization said.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $180,600 in November, up 10.1 percent from November 2011, the national real estate group reported.