Palm Coast, Florida, Housing Market Bottoms Out as Inventory Shrinks and Sales Contracts Increase
The housing market in the country's fastest growing city from 2000 to 2007 shows signs it has reached bottom. Inventory is declining while the number of pending sales has more than doubled since the first of the year.
Palm Coast, FL (PRWEB) April 7, 2008 -- The City of Palm Coast in Flagler County, northeast Florida, was the fastest growing city in the country from 2000 to 2007. Flagler was the second fastest growing county for the same period. The housing bubble was very apparent, as was the following slump. The market peaked in December 2005 when the median selling price for single-family homes reached $259,950. By January 2008, it had dropped to $161,500, a level that has attracted the attention of buyers.
In its March newsletter, the popular on-line source for real estate news and information, GoToby.com, suggested that the market might be hitting bottom based on the declining inventory of unsold homes and increase in the number of pending sales. "In the supply and demand world of residential real estate, decreasing inventory and increasing sales signal a turnaround," says real estate commentator Toby Tobin.
Just as the housing bubble was bigger in Palm Coast than in most other areas, the decline was more sudden and steeper. For the past year, buyers with cash waited on the sidelines, unwilling to commit, concerned that prices would continue to decline. But in January, the buyers came out of the bushes in droves. "It's as if they had a secret meeting and decided that now is the time to jump in," says Tobin.
It's not only the bottom fishers that focus on lender owned foreclosed property that became active. The excitement flowed into all segments with mid-level and luxury properties also getting buyers' attention. At the locally held Ginn Tournament, a PGA Champions Tour event, the Ginn Company recently sold four oceanfront tower condos for prices between $1.4 and $1.6 million. Currently, there are pending sales for 270 single-family homes, more than double December's level. Median selling prices rose to $169,000 in both February and March. Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes dropped by 10 percent. Early April numbers indicate further selling price gains.
Tobin explains the flurry of activity. "Median prices in Palm Coast are not only lower than the Florida median, they are lower than the national median, making the area the least expensive warm climate location on the east coast."
About GoToby.com LLC:
GoToby.com is the popular on-line news source for Palm Coast and Flagler County Florida's residential and commercial real estate markets, offering news, commentary, newsletters, articles, property listings, recent sales, and interesting rumors.
Contact:
Don "Toby" Tobin, Publisher
GoToby.com LLC
(386) 931-7124
www.GoToby.com
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