2009 December -- South Walton Sales (Homes, Condo, Townhomes)

2009 Ends With Fireworks

by Murray Balkcom, GRI, Realtor
www.dreamBIGproperties.com
The Premier Property Group

In 2009, WaterColor and Seaside joined together to round out the year with a midnight display of fireworks displayed over the Beaches of South Walton. Unbeknown to many, there were other fireworks closing out 2009, in the way of real estate sales in South Walton. Many people focus on big displays such as a real show of fireworks, but bit by bit, they are missing smaller signs of life in the real estate market.

What People Are Buying:




Where People Are Spending Money:






WoW! There are several graphs to look through in order to get the full picture of real estate sales in South Walton. The graph above shows the South Walton 2009 sales quantities compared to 2008, for Homes, Condos and Townhomes. As you can see, sales quantity in 2009 was far ahead of 2008, and for the year, it looks like the reported totals are 33% higher than 2008... (CONTINUE READING)

murray, how many of the sales this year came from short sales and foreclosures? i would think that would be a number of interest to many sowalers. thanks.

I think this is a pretty strong indicator that homes are holding more value than land or condos. I wonder if they will correct more down the road. These graphs are great!




From a peak of 210 mil., to a low of 25 mil., to an average of 50 mil., with increasing sales in 2009, now that's what I call a correction. Really interesting data.



I'd love to know median for just detatched, single family homes, if you have it Murray. I'd guess the number will be higher than the average in this graph. Median is an interesting statistic to look at.



Six months more of government funded buyer incentives (unless extended again) should be interesting to see where this goes through 2010.



I would have expect a fall off in December with rising rates - SoWal seems to be bucking the national trend.

most buyers in south walton are cash buyers i think so rates don't affect them.i'm sure 60% or more of the sales in south walton are short sales or reo's.heck it might be 75%.with the economy having a short term bottom its brought many people off the sidelines who have waited for years to buy.pending home sales collapsed 16% for dec which was released today.once the foreclosures are cleared from the mkt in 1-2 years in south walton home sales will fall substantially and prices will bump along the bottom for years. folks we have $12 trillion in debt due to the bailouts which means higher taxes and interest rates in the years to come.the economy will mirror japans for the next 5-10 years.

most buyers in south walton are cash buyers i think so rates don't affect them.i'm sure 60% or more of the sales in south walton are short sales or reo's.heck it might be 75%.with the economy having a short term bottom its brought many people off the sidelines who have waited for years to buy.pending home sales collapsed 16% for dec which was released today.once the foreclosures are cleared from the mkt in 1-2 years in south walton home sales will fall substantially and prices will bump along the bottom for years. folks we have $12 trillion in debt due to the bailouts which means higher taxes and interest rates in the years to come.the economy will mirror japans for the next 5-10 years.

really?
12 trillion all spent on bailouts.

most buyers in south walton are cash buyers i think so rates don't affect them.i'm sure 60% or more of the sales in south walton are short sales or reo's.heck it might be 75%.with the economy having a short term bottom its brought many people off the sidelines who have waited for years to buy.pending home sales collapsed 16% for dec which was released today.once the foreclosures are cleared from the mkt in 1-2 years in south walton home sales will fall substantially and prices will bump along the bottom for years. folks we have $12 trillion in debt due to the bailouts which means higher taxes and interest rates in the years to come.the economy will mirror japans for the next 5-10 years.

According to data reported from Realtors, to Emerald Coast Association of Realtors (ECAR):

In December 2009, in all areas of South Walton, ECAR reports:
detached homes:
28% cash sales (and detached homes sales make up most of the market in South Walton, so the majority of overall sales are not cash)
49% conventional financing

condos:
55% cash sales
29% conventional financing

residential land:
63% cash sales
13% conventional financing

Combined categories of sale of homes, condos, and townhomes for South Walton for the entire year of 2009 are:
39% cash sales
44% conventional financing


Regarding REO (bank owned) and short sales, the data is a bit sketchy because not all Realtors correctly list the property for what it is in the sale type. I would agree that many of the sales are REO or short sales.

Regarding pending sales declining, I believe that announcement is a national average. However, we all know that real estate is very local. According to ECAR, in South Walton, looking at pendings of detached homes, we see only a slight decline in December from the previous month. When we look at the combination of homes, condos and townhomes, we see similar results. In fact, the six month moving average for pending sales is actually rising slightly. Below are the graphs.


The black line in the above graph is the six month moving avg of pending sales






For 30Ashopper:


The chart above is a bit tight to fit on this page and really see a close up for the last few years, so below, you will find a better view of the same information, but only the recent data. For detached homes, the median sold price is comparable to the median sold price at the end of 2003.

In December 2009, in all areas of South Walton, ECAR reports:
detached homes:
28% cash sales (and detached homes sales make up most of the market in South Walton, so the majority of overall sales are not cash)
49% conventional financing

So a rise in interest rates could potentially hurt. Something to watch for toward the second half of 2010.



Lop off that bubble and that trend matches up perfectly to 4% annual w/2% inflation tracking back to 1993. Thanks Murray!

Excellent work - thanks Murray!

Excellent work - thanks Murray!

My thoughts exactly!!

We did make a cash offer, 30% less than asking on foreclosure and "they" counted $900. less than asking price. Guess we will just go home.

Most foreclosures are priced to sell, so if you find one willing to come down 30% off of list price, it probably just means that it was very over-priced.

wow very suprised. most realtors on here and many i've talked with are constantly talking about so many all cash deals. i've been scouring the court house records the past few months and have also seen a lot of financing with a mere 15-20% down. i thought most banks were so scared of fla they would demand 30-40% down.but i still say once the inventory of short sales and reo's falls sales will fall pretty heavy and level off. nice work murray

We did make a cash offer, 30% less than asking on foreclosure and "they" counted $900. less than asking price. Guess we will just go home.

I know you must be disappointed. Sounds like you're ready to play financially. Don't give up. You'll find something that works. We've been through so many house hunting and buying times. Each time we miss/lose something, only to find something else that works even better for us. Best of luck.