Florida Real Estate Trends
Florida's real estate trends offer mixed signals for the overall Florida economy. While the housing market seems to be stabilizing, the millions still unemployed probably will not all be back to work during this year.
George Livingston, chairman emeritus of NAI Realvest in Maitland, FL and a 30-year veteran real estate and investment analyst, said, "Housing markets are showing signs of revival, however, commercial property values dropped 25.8 percent from a year ago and a full 42 percent from the October 2007 apex." Commercial property sales volume is up and like residential real estate, sales are dominated by distressed properties.
He cited these indicators for the overall Florida economy:
*Job growth in April was strong, as was our 3.2 percent GDP growth.
*The S&P index increased 1.6 percent in April with year-over-year returns posting a healthy 38.8 percent.
*House sales were up in March, and prices strengthened for existing homes.
*Investment property vacancy rates and rents stabilized after two years of steady decline.
*The consumer confidence index increased and we saw continued growth in March and April for the highest since September, 2008.
This will be a challenging year for Florida real estate, and one of the key factors controlling the strength of recovery will be the mortgage rates, which are still at historic lows.
Contact me for information on real estate in any Daytona or Ormond Beach community.
Sherry Armstrong, Realtor
386-679-3191
yourkeytothebeach@gmail.com
www.sherryarmstrong.com
www.ormondbeachscene.com
www.daytonabeachscene.com
(resource: RealEstateChannel.com)