Median Sold Price Up 41% in April 2011

[Em]

South Walton, FL – Home sales in South Walton have been impressively strong during the first quarter of 2011. In April, according to the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors, agents reported 73 home sales in South Walton, slightly less than April 2010, and March 2011.

However, with the median sold price of $500,000, we saw a striking increase of just over 20% for South Walton homes in April 2011, compared to April 2010. Even more exciting is that the increase in median price jumped 41% compared to the previous month (March 2011), when the median sales price was $355,000.

With these higher selling prices, it is no surprise that total dollar volume for home sales in South Walton continues to increase over the last several months. April 2011 sold dollar volume of homes was the highest we’ve seen since April 2005 (when comparing only the months of April). Except for the month of May 2010 and June 2007, the monthly total dollar volume of sold homes in South Walton was the greatest we’ve seen since August 2005. April’s numbers were 20% higher than the previous month.

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Murray Balkcom is a licensed Realtor with The Premier Property Group, serving South Walton.

All sales data referenced above is provided by Emerald Coast Association of Realtors and is thought to be accurate but not guaranteed. ​

 

[30A Skunkape]

Murray, do you have any numbers on cash sales versus traditional mortgages? My theory, and I might be totally wrong, is that a number of folks with the cash are getting great deals on 'high end' homes while appropriate (relative to bubble era) deals on more traditional homes at much lower prices are there for the taking via the traditional mortgage route. To my untrained eye it looks like there is going to be a glut of the $400k-$450k four bedroom, three story beach houses you see so many of around here (boom era mushrooms!) as they are unappealing to the wealthy cash buyer and out of reach to the 'normal' home buyer who plans to live here full time. Your thoughts?

 

[Em]

30A Skunkape,
You are on the right track.

In April, in South Walton, single-family detached homes:

43 conventional loans, median sales price of $435,783

23 cash, median sales price of $590,000

 

[homeboy]

thanks for providing such great info. Can you easily get average sale price per square foot? I track data for a couple of neighborhoods and while average and median gross prices are slightly down to slightly up in these neighborhoods year over year, the avg price per square foot continues on a downward trend that started in 2006 and has not abated. Mix of homes (larger vs smaller and nicer developments versus lower end developments) can skew average and median price comparisons. So, tracking avg price per square foot by specific neighborhood can be a better indicator of real price trends. In Watercolor for instance, volumes are way up and that is great news. But, avg price per square foot in Phase I, Phase II and Phase III all continue to decline in 2011 versus prior year.

Any idea how price per square foot is trending in Rosemary, Seaside, etc (excluding anamoly sales that would skew the data such as one oceanfront home selling out of 15 versus no oceanfront sales in a comparable period)?

 

[Em]

Yes, homeboy, I track avg/sq ft, but I think it can be deceptive, even within one developement as design, fit and finish varies greatly, even within high-end developments like Rosemary. Also skewing the avg/sq ft is location within the development. South of 30A in Rosemary is much different than north. East WaterColor is much different than West. Ph 1 is different than Ph II or Ph III.

If you want me to pull a specific development for you, please send me an email request to MurrayBalkcom@yahoo.com.