From http://www.wftv.com/news/florida/the-upbeat-goes-on-in-2015-housing-market/72905943
The upbeat goes on … ?in 2015 housing market
by: GARY ROBERTS, Staff Writer, Charlotte Sun Updated: Feb 10, 2016 – 10:46 PM
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA — Year-end totals in the regional housing market show single-family homes posting another solid gain in both sales and price in 2015, while condos made a strong comeback.
Closed sales for single-?family homes in the Punta Gorda metropolitan statistical area, which covers all of Charlotte County, climbed 11.5 percent year-over-year, with 4,762 last year compared to 4,271 in 2014. Median sale prices also were up during the same period, from $146,000 to $168,950, marking a 15.7 percent boost, according to figures released Wednesday by Florida Realtors.
The same happy ending to the year was told in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota MSA, where home sales rose 6.3 percent, with 14,500 last year and 13,636 in 2014. Median sale prices did even better percentage-wise, ascending to $240,000 in 2015 from $210,000 the year before, a 14.3 percent spike, Florida Realtors reported.
But the biggest positive change came in the condo and townhouse market, which struggled in 2014 with fewer closed sales than the previous year. In 2015, both Charlotte and Sarasota counties registered a 7 percent rise in year-over-year sales.
In addition, median sale prices for condos confirmed a much-improved market. In Charlotte, prices were up 17 percent, from $119,700 in 2014 to $140,000 last year. This increase was much more robust than the 2.3 percent price hike that took place from 2013 to 2014.
In the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota MSA, condo prices rose 7 percent last year, up to $179,900 in 2015 from $168,159 the previous year.
Meanwhile, single-?family closed sales went from 13,636 to 14,500 during the same time, growing 6.3 percent.
“Sales volume and the demand for homes is up,” said Lindsay Harrington, broker associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Punta Gorda. ?”I think what’s driving the market somewhat are the horrible winters up North.”
Evidence of a healthy housing market could be found everywhere in Charlotte County.
A 20-year-old Punta Gorda home, still showing damage from Hurricane Charley and needing work, quickly drew eight offers. The modest two-bedroom residence, on a canal, sold in just three weeks, reaping a cash sale at the full asking price of $200,000.
“It was slam-bam, over and done with,” Harrington said.
An older home in Port Charlotte, currently for sale at $139,000, attracted so much activity that Harrington is now reassessing. A price boost is likely.
The rosy glow left by 2015’s setting sun shone on other aspects of the marketplace as well. Harrington said rental properties are very competitive, with a friend of his now getting more than $1,500 a month for a three-bedroom, pool home on a Punta Gorda canal. And the owner is getting the same rent in the summertime too, good news for year-round landlords.
Harrington believes both rentals and condos are benefiting in today’s climate because they share an overlapping market, since condos are easier to rent out than single family.
“There is a huge demand for condos near downtown,” he said.
And downtown Punta Gorda is drawing more interest in single-family lots.
“The lot demand for that area has gone up. It’s hot,” he said.
Statewide, closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 274,769 in 2015, up 12.4 percent compared to 2014, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations.
The statewide median sale price for single-?family homes in 2015 was $196,000, gaining 10.1 percent from the previous year.
Looking at Florida’s year-to-year comparison for sales of townhouse-condos, a total of 114,969 units sold statewide in 2015, up 6.1 percent from a year before.
The closed sales data reflected fewer short sales statewide in 2015 compared to the previous year. Short sales for condo-townhouse properties declined ?44.6 percent, while short sales for single-family homes dropped 34.1 percent.
The statewide median price for condo properties last year was $150,000, 7.1 percent above 2014.
Author Email: groberts@sun-herald.com
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