South Tampa Real Estate Report: The Surge In Sales Will Surprise You!

“Mayhem” is a great word, isn’t it?  Webster’s defines it as “needless or willful damage or violence.”

Stock market analysts are using the word a lot right now, referring to the “mayhem in the world equities

markets”.  But the market is just reacting to world events.  The real mayhem happened in Congress, as

if our fragile economy needed a dysfunctional legislature to push it off the cliff.

Tired of bad news?  This month’s report should help to cheer you up.  

– The number of transactions has climbed steadily since January; with 155 and 156 transactions respectively, June and July sales were the highest since 2006.

– The number of sales for the month of July was an astonishing 70% higher than July of 2010 and 30% above the twelve month average.

– In the Year To Year Comparison, we see a 15% increase in sales over the previous twelve months, confirming the long term trend of increased activity.

– The number of listings has dropped by 15% from last July resulting in an absorption rate of 9,

which is a very healthy number and the lowest we have seen.

But before you get all dizzy with giddiness, take a look at the prices.  It’s the same story we’ve been

seeing for the past twelve months: soft declines in values even as demand grows and inventory shrinks.

The one-month average price dropped a scary 18% from last July, but the long term trends that we see

in the Year To Year and Twelve Month Trend numbers reflect Average Prices sliding about 3% per

year.

But while the Average Price is dropping, the Median Price is rising – up 5% from last July and 3%

above the Twelve Month Average. Trying to understand the bifurcated price indices gives me a

headache, but I believe it means that the surge in home sales is taking place in the mid-market level –the $250,000 to $400,000 price range. Look for this trend to continue, and for the Average Price to hold steady or even show modest gains.  Especially if appraisers will stop reading the newspapers and start seeing the market the way the Buyers are seeing it.