Orlando Realtors See Dramatic Rise in Short Sales and Median Price

The overall median sales price of existing homes in Orlando, Florida, was $115,000 in November, up 9.52 percent from a year earlier. The ""Orlando Regional Realtor Association"":http://www.orlrealtor.com (ORRA) attributes the gain to an increase in short sales, which are now changing hands with smaller discounts.

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The number of short sale transactions in November 2011 jumped 39.38 percent compared to November 2010, and the median price of short sales improved by 7.07 percent, from $99,000 to $106,000, according to the local Realtor group.

""The increase in completed short-sales transactions is heartening,"" said Mike McGraw, ORRA chairman.

According to McGraw, short sales currently make up 73 percent of homes under contract and pending closing.

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""The very tight current lending conditions plus under-value appraisals are still causing both enormous slowdowns and outright contract cancellations among short sales,"" McGraw commented. ""The sooner these short sales are processed through the system, the better it will be for the normal home market.""

Regardless, McGraw says ""an improved median sales price in any category is good for homeowners and home sellers, but it also means that buyers are going to encounter proportionally higher asking prices.""

Since January of this year, Orlando's overall median price has increased by 21.18 percent.

The median price of non-distressed homes closing in November was $148,000, a decrease of 7.50 percent from November 2010, according to ORRA. The trade group says non-distressed home sales accounted for 40 percent of all transactions during the month.

The median price for REOs sold during the same period was $81,999, up 4.12 percent from a year earlier. Bank-owned properties made up 23 percent of all sales.

ORRA reports that homes of all types spent an average of 99 days on the market before coming under contract in November 2011, and the average home sold for 94.74 percent of its listing price. In November 2010 those numbers were 96 days and 94.13 percent.

Overall inventory is down 33.28 percent compared to November 2010. ORRA says at the current pace of sales, there is a 5.20-month supply of homes in Orlando's inventory.