Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida declined by 10% in the fourth quarter, with the median sales price down 5% year-over-year.
However, sales of existing condominiums increased by 6% in the same timeframe, although the median sale price fell 18%.
Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness, said persistently high unemployment constrains demand and feeds into the ongoing foreclosure problem. Given the recent state of the labor market, a continuing decline of home and condo prices in the fourth quarter is not surprising or unexpected, he said. However, it’s important to note the rate of price decline is decelerating, Snaith added.
As the labor market recovery takes hold in 2011, it will help put a floor beneath price declines and ultimately will provide the basis of housing’s recovery, he said.
Among the state’s largest markets, existing single-family home sales actually increased 19% in the Miami area in the fourth quarter, while in the Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay market they were up 11%.
On the other hand, Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie saw a year-over-year decline of 26% in the fourth quarter, Fort Myers-Cape Coral was down 24% and Fort Lauderdale was down 21%.
The two markets with the most sales were Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, at 6,737, down 6%; and Orlando, at 6,067, down 12%.
