Home Sales Cool but don’t be fooled by the Title

If you read the Newspaper Headlines; “Home Sales Cool” You might think our market is not doing well.  This is just not the case, home sales may have cooled but not for the reasons you may think.  According to the Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port Association of Realtors, single-family home sales in Charlotte dropped to 332 in October from 376 closed sales in September.  That represents an 11 percent decline from 373 in October 2014.  In the condo category, the association reported a total of 72 condo sales in October down from 74 in September and up from 68 in October 2014.

In Charlotte County last month, the median price of a single-family home increased 14.3 percent to $160,000 from $140,000 a year ago.  In the condo category, the median sale price shot up 17 percent from $120,500 a year ago to $141,000 in October.

But while sales and prices continue to trend upward, one key indicator continues to press downward.  The area’s supply of available inventory remains at an all-time low.  In Charlotte, the months supply of inventory for a single-family homes in October was about three months, a 28.2 percent decline from the previous year; in the condo category, months supply in October also stood at three months.

This is a great sign for our market.  With less properties on the market for sale and more end use buyers I believe we will see a steady and strong market in the months ahead.