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In contrast to what's being observed at the national level, home sales and prices both remained on a steady track upward in Florida last month.
Florida Realtors released Monday its data on the state's housing market in August, reporting a 4.2 percent year-over-year rise in single-family home sales to a total of 21,594.
The improvement comes even as the national market continues to see lower transaction volumes compared to last year.
"For several months now, stability and consistency are key trends we're seeing in Florida's housing market, as the state's jobs outlook remains steady and the economy continues to grow," said Florida Realtors' president, Sherri Meadows.
"And once again, statewide median sales prices rose year-over-year for both single-family homes and townhouse-condo properties in August—a trend we've been seeing for 33 months in a row," she added.
Statewide, the median sales price for single-family existing homes in August was $181,000, Florida Realtors reported, up 3.4 percent year-over-year. The median price for townhouse-condo properties was $135,000, up 3.8 percent from a year ago.
"In August, the annual growth rate of Florida home prices continued to converge toward a level typical of what we observed back in the housing market's stable, pre-boom days," commented Brad O'Connor, research economist for Florida Realtors. "The fact that we continue to see price growth is an encouraging sign that more and more traditional owner-occupant homebuyers are emerging to keep demand strong in the face of a diminished investor presence in the market."
Among other data points: The statewide inventory of active listings for single-family homes rose 13 percent annually in August. Based on the current sales pace, Florida Realtors reported inventory was at a 5.5 months' supply.
