August home sales in Florida were off 34 percent in August compared to last year, while the median sale price remained unchanged at $248,400 — suggesting that buyers were waiting for sellers to lower prices, and sellers weren’t budging.
The Florida Association of Realtors said many markets reported higher inventory levels and a slowing pace of sales as buyers weighed more options. Some 14,736 single-family homes sold statewide in August, down from 22,421 in the same month last year.
Sales of existing condos were down 41 percent, with 4,375 sales in August compared with 7,398 a year ago. The median price for condos was also stable, falling 2 percent from last August to $201,300.
Although the median sales price for single-family homes was unchanged statewide, prices were still headed up in some local markets, while others saw precipitous declines.
Areas seeing home prices appreciate included Ocala (14 percent), Gainesville (13 percent), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (10 percent) and Tallahassee (7 percent). Miami (6 percent), Lakeland-Winter Haven (6 percent), Orlando (5 percent) and Jacksonville (4 percent) also saw increases in median sales price.
Other areas saw double-digit declines in median sales price, including Panama City (down 15 percent), Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay (-12 percent), Sarasota-Bradenton (-11 percent) and Fort Walton Beach (-11 percent).
Areas with less steep declines in median sales price were Fort Myers-Cape Coral (-7 percent), Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie, and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (all down 6 percent), and Pensacola and Daytona Beach (both down 3 percent).
All local markets saw double-digit declines in sales of single-family homes. Local markets with the biggest slowdown in sales included West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (off 50 percent) Daytona Beach (-45 percent), Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater (-42 percent), and Orlando (-35 percent).
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