Orlando Housing Market March 2020

Orlando sales and median price record increases as housing market awaits impact from COVID-19

Orlando's housing market in March saw its home sales improve by nearly 2% compared to March 2019, while the median price increased by 8%.  Inventory experienced a year-over-year decline of 10%, reports the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

We will have to wait another month to see solid evidence of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Orlando's home sales statistics.  Because of the amount of time it traditionally takes a home to move through the transaction process, the properties that closed in March most likely went under contract sometime in February, before the stock market declines and stay-at-home orders.

Median Price

The overall median price of Orlando homes (all types combined) sold in March is $253,500, which is 7.9% above the March 2019 median price of $235,000 and 1.4% above the February 2020 median price of $250,000.

The median price for single-family homes that changed hands in March increased by 5.9% over March 2019 and is now $270,000.  The median price for condos increased 14.5% to $146,000 and townhomes/villas/duplexes increased 5.0% to $220,000.

The Orlando housing affordability index for March is 137.63, down from 139.71 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 homebuyers affordability index decreased to 97.97 from 99.35% last month.

Sales Inventory

Members of ORRA participated in 3,204 sales of all home types combined in March, which is 2.0% more then the 3,142 sales in March 2019 and 27.1% more then the 2,521 sales in February 2020.

Sales of single-family homes (2,544) in March 2020 increased 3.3% compared to March 2019, while condo sales (352) decreased 11.3% year-over-year.  Duplexes, townhomes, and villas (308 combined) increased 9.2% over March 2019.

Sales of distressed homes (foreclosures and short sales) reached 80 in March and are 27.3% less than the 110 distressed sales in March 2019.  Distressed sales made up 2.5% of all Orlando-area transactions last month.

The overall inventory of homes that were available for purchase in March (7,341) represents a decrease of 9.6% when compared to March 2019, and a 7.6% increase compared to last month.  There were 14.2% fewer single-family homes; 1.3% fewer condos; and 27.3% more duplexes/townhomes/villas, year-over-year.

Current inventory combined with the current pace of sales created a 2.3-month supply of homes in Orlando for March.  There was a 2.6-month supply in March of last year and 2.7-month supply last month.

The average interest rate paid by Orlando homebuyers in March was 3.45%, up from 3.43% the month prior.

Homes that closed in March took an average of 54 days to move from listing to pending and an average of 37 days between pending and closing, for an average total of 91 days from listing to closing (down from 94 days the month prior).

Pending sales in March are down 14.9% compared to March of last year and are down 14.7% compared to last month.

MSA Numbers

Each individual county's sales comparisons are as follows:

Lake: 6.7% above March 2019
Orange: 1.7% below March 2019
Osceola: 1.3% above March 2019
Seminole: 2.9% below March 2019