Boom month for Florida property market

Boom month for Florida property market

The Florida property market continued to strengthen again in February, with the average sales price of single homes jumping nearly $8,000 above the figure recorded just a month ago in January, according to the latest data released by Florida Realtors.

This is further confirmation that the state's market is returning to full health following the 2008 housing bust, with a host of results in the housing market surging above those posted just last month.

Both median sale-prices for townhouse-condo properties and single-family homes jumped from the previous month, the former reaching $132,500, $1,500 above January, and the latter reaching $165,000, rising $2,500 above the result posted in the previous month.

These prices, which are accelerating faster than ever, are telling of the market's boom throughout the last year, with the state-wide median sales price for condo townhouses rising 15.2 per cent year-on-year and the median price for single family homes jumping 10 per cent year-on-year.

This number of sales is not the result of a market suffering from a low inventory with investors quickly snapping up properties as they appear on the market, in fact there were 31,268 new single-family homes listed on the market, over 300 more than last month, and a growth of 13.3 per cent year-on-year.

While, this month saw more than 15,000 new listings of townhouse-condos as demand continues to correlate directly with supply.

These newly-listed properties continued to have a very short life-span on the market throughout February, with single-family homes only staying on the market for on average 61 days and townhouse-condos staying for a shorter stay of just 58 days.

When purchased, those selling the properties almost always received close to their asking price, with the average per cent of original list price received hitting 92.4 per cent for single-family homes and 92.5 per cent for condo-townhouses.

Foreclosures also dropped dramatically in February, down 53 per cent from the same time last year and this movement in the market helps see a return to more traditional housing market conditions which is currently driving investor interest.

An exciting future

"Extremely positive reports from the first two months of 2014 have set Florida on a particularly exciting track for the rest of the year," report Knight Knox, the North-west England property firm, Knight Knox International.

"These early successes have seen predictions from market experts reflect the results seen in recent months, with online real estate expert Zillow predicting that Florida home values will rise 6.3 per cent in the next year.

"This rise in prices is set to be met with a rise in construction, as builders look to meet the demands of the increasing number of investors looking to capitalize on the market's continuing positive results."

In fact, the Insurance Information Institute are predicting that as many as 110,000 new homes are expected to be built in 2014, determining that Florida will account for every 1 in 10 homes built in the US.

Having long been aware of these trends after specialising in the market for a number of years, Knight Knox launched the Villages in Tallahassee in reaction to the market demands.

This community, conveniently located on Florida's North West Coast contains 95 units and luxurious amenities including a swimming pool and a volleyball court: prices from £28,970 for one-bed condos.

This unique opportunity, along with a host of other opportunities within other markets they specialise, will be available from their stand at A Place in the Sun Live, stand E51. Book tickets or find info here.

Or search here for properties for sale in Florida.

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A Place In The Sun