Market News - Seeds of a Housing Shortage

The real estate market is an ever-changing entity, and the Central Florida market is no different. We do have some unique dynamics here though including our proximity to two of the largest attractions parks in the world – Walt Disney World Resort & Universal Studios Orlando, our overall affordability compared to other large metropolitan areas, and the ability for international visitors and part-time residents to get in and out of town quickly with our large international airport.

 

With all of that taken into account, there have been some niche areas that were not as adversely affected by the turn in the real estate market as other areas, and there is always demand here. These two factors have made it possible for our real estate market to start an upward trend earlier than most other areas did, but now that has changed. It is trending upwards everywhere.

 

Realtor Magazine published an article in their November/December issue written by NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun about just that. He has seen an upward trend in sales and prices due largely in part to the decrease in inventory. The age old story of Supply & Demand. Nationally we have the lowest inventory that we have had since 2005, and our new home inventory is at a 50 year low. For example in Celebration, we only have 59 single family homes on the market right now. His concern is that we are going to have a shortage of homes available for the buyers in the market. This lack of supply has already caused a the national price of transacted homes to rise 9.5 percent in August.

 

What is the good news in all of this data? Housing prices will begin to rise even further giving many homeowners increased equity in their properties and offering many sellers enough to make the move they have been waiting for. If you have been thinking of putting your home on the market, now is great time to explore that option.