Posted November 15, 2013 by Thomas Scott, Realtor®
Are you considering relocating to Orlando? Have you considered Oviedo, Florida, located in Seminole County just a few short miles Northeast of Orlando?
Oviedo’s real estate market is still a solid seller’s market, though it continues to slowly move towards a balanced market. With 2.2 months of inventory in the two Oviedo ZIP Codes, including Chuluota, buyers continue to be challenged. Affordability index and current homes prices, though significantly off the lows of several years ago, indicate residential real estate is historically still a good value.
On October 15, 2013 The Orlando Regional Realtors’ Association reported, “The median price of existing homes sold in the Orlando area during September rose nearly 25 percent over the median price in September of 2012, marking the 11th consecutive month of double-digit increases.” (See hhttp://goo.gl/QsnWdb for complete details and analysis). The average mortgage rate September 2013 decreased slightly by 15 basis points, down from 4.64% reported in August. Affordability index* for all of Orange and Seminole County was 183% for September 2013, barely up from the 180% reported in August. ORRA will report August 2013 numbers in mid-November.
*An Affordability Index of 101% means a family with median income earns 1% more than necessary to afford a median priced home.
In Oviedo and Chuluota, 281 single family homes sold in the three months from August 1 thru October 31, 2013. 261 homes sold in the same period a year earlier, an increase of 7.7%. Median sold price for the three months this year was $215,000, an increase of 2.6% over the same period in 2012 when the median home price was $209,500. Median days to contract and close this year was 26 and 81 respectively, for the most recent 3 months, an increase over last months’ reported over 19 and 70, respectively.
There are currently 202 single family homes listed for sale for a median price of $275,500. That is 2.2 months of inventory, just a little higher than the 2.1 months reported last month. A balanced market is considered between 5 and 7 months of inventory.
Of the 281 homes sold August thru October, 198 (70.5%) were “normal” sales with a median price of $230,000, 22 days to contract and 63 days to close, up from last months reported 15 and 53, respectively.
Of the remaining sales, there were only 47 (16.7%) short sales that sold for a median price of $163,000. They took 19 days to go under contract and 160 days to close (median values) from the day the home was put on the market. That’s 141 days or about 4-1/2 months to get from contract to close.
There were, 36 (12.8%) foreclosures, also called REO or bank owned homes sold with a median price of $162,450, 42 days to contract and 92 days to close.
The number of short sales and foreclosure / bank owned homes continue to burn off from the market, which is a factor in home value appreciation. The still historically high affordability index and low interest rates, coupled with the decidedly sellers’ market seems to indicate there is more room for home prices to continue upward
Please call or send me an email anytime with questions about the real estate market in your neighborhood or your home’s value, provided without cost or obligation. Or just go to our website, http://www.jeanscottteam.com/sell/
Thank you,
Thomas Scott, Realtor®, GRI® Operations and Marketing Manager Jean Scott Team
407-760-3639 Tom@JeanScottHomes.com
Realtors® Jean Scott & Joann Harbour Lead Listing and Buyer Specialists.