ORRA Housing Market Report - March 2019

Orlando's median home price and inventory maintain upward pattern in March

The Orlando housing market enjoyed a 2% increase in median price for the month of March, while year-over-year inventory rose 5% and experienced its fifth consecutive month of increase.  Sales dropped 11% compared to last year.

However, Orlando home sales of all types increased 30% compared to last month and condo sales soared a whopping 42% over February.

Median Price

The overall median price of Orlando homes (all types combined) sold in March is $235,000, which is 2.2% above the March 2018 median price of $230,000 and steady compared to the February 2019 median price of $235,000 as well.

Year-over-year increases in median price have been recorded for the past 93 consecutive months; as of March 2019, the overall median price is 103.5% higher than it was back in July 2011.

The median price for single-family homes that changed hands in March increased 2.0% over March 2018 and is now $255,000.  The median price for condos increased 3.7% to $127,500.

The Orlando housing affordability index for March is 133.81%, up from 131.64% last month.  (An affordability index of 99% means that buyers earning the state-reported median income are 1% short of the income necessary to purchase a median-priced home.  Conversely, an affordability index that is over 100 means that median-income earners make more than is necessary to qualify for a median-priced home.)

The first-time homebuyer's affordability index increased to 95.15% from 93.61% last month.

Sales and Inventory

Sales of single-family homes (2,450) in March 2019 decreased by 10.7% compared to March 2018, while condo sales (395) decreased by 6.4% year-over-year.

Distressed sales made up just 3.5% of all Orlando-area transactions last month.

The overall inventory of homes that were available for purchase in March (8,117) represents an increase of 5.3% when compared to March 2018, and a 0.9% decrease compared to last month.  There were 4.4% more single-family homes and 22.7% more condos, year-over-year.

Current inventory combined with current pace of sales created a 2.6 month supply of homes in Orlando for March.  There was a 2.2 month supply in March 2018 and a 3.4 month supply in February 2019.

The average interest rate paid by Orlando homebuyers in March was 4.21%, down from 4.34% the month prior.

Homes that closed in March took an average of 62 days to move from listing to pending and an average of 37 days between pending and closing, for an average total of 99 days from listing to closing, up from a total of 97 days the month prior.

Pending sales in March are down 8.9% compared to March of last year and are up 11.2% compared to last month.