Winter Haven Florida Housing Report for February 2009

Kevin Sandridge — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:23:14 +0000

The Fed’s latest rate decision should keep Florida mortgage rates low, and from the looks of the February 2009 home sales data, we could be in for a bit of a dust up come the end of March!

Though average home sale values have kept on the decline by about 24% as compared to last year’s numbers, the month of February showed encouraging results with increased home sales and prices since January.

Winter Haven, Florida Homes Sold Data – February 2009

Winter Haven’s median home prices remained unchanged for February at $98,000, but some good news is to be found in that average sales prices increased by 2.38% to $117,026. All told, total of 57 Winter Haven, Florida homes were sold in February – up 13 from the 44 homes sold in January.

It’s no surprise that foreclosures make up the majority of home sales. Currently, about 50% of homes for sale in our area are in foreclosure. With over 1,260 properties currently for sale and pending, we are experiencing a high absorption rate as it has been reported the previous month.

Distressed properties are homes in pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, bank-owned, or going through as short sales. Of the 57 homes sold last month here in Winter Haven, 29 of them were distressed, which sold for an average sales price of $97,762 ($52.49 per sq.ft.). At present, there are 254 distressed homes currently on the market.

Folks – if you’re looking for the right time to buy – NOW is the time. Match these homes up with the USDA Rural Development home loan program, an $8000 tax credit, and wow! You have yourself a pretty sweet deal!

Note: 101 homes are in pending status waiting for bank or lender approval to close.

Take a look at the spreadsheet below. I’ve separated the report by zip code instead of school zones; it gives you a more accurate report in my opinion. The data for this report was obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report does not include “For Sale By Owner.”

Winter Haven, Florida Homes Sold Market Report – February 2009

Winter Haven, Florida Homes Sold – February 2009

Interactive Map

For more information on the location of the Winter Haven, Florida homes sold, along with price and size of each home, click on the interactive Community Walk map below, which was created by Chuck Welch here at MetroI4News.com.

Originally published at the Florida Mortgage Blogger

Winter Haven Florida Housing Report for January 2009

Kevin Sandridge — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:39:34 +0000

Housing prices continue to fall throughout the Polk County region, and Winter Haven’s January stats show this to be the case for our town as well. Average sold prices have decreased to $114,306 ($68.30 per sq.ft.) a decline of 10% from the previous month and a sharp drop of 30% for the month of January as it stood in 2008.

A total of 44 homes were sold in Winter Haven, showing a 25% decline from December 2008, but reflecting similar totals from this time last January.

Winter Haven, Florida’s Absorption Rate

We’ve talked about absorption rate before. Basically, the absorption rate reflects that time it would take to sell the homes currently on the market if all other construction and listing activity were to immediately come to ta halt. Absorption statistics are useful in that they give us a firmer understanding of how bloated or lean our Winter Haven housing market is at any given time.

At present, with more than 1,260 properties currently for sale and pending, we are experiencing a 31 month of supply for the regular homes and distressed homes. In other words, it would take us about 2 years and 7 months to clear out our current inventory.

A Closer Look at Regular vs. Distressed Winter Haven Homes Currently on the Market

Regular properties – The current inventory of active and pending homes is at 932, resulting in an unprecedented 58 month supply.

Distressed properties – our present inventory of active and pending homes is at 330, resulting in a 14 month supply.

Distressed properties are homes in pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, are bank-owned, are are in the process of going through short sales.

Of the 44 homes sold last month here in Winter Haven, 25 distressed homes were sold with an average sales price of $97,213 ($59.99 per sq.ft.) compared to only 3 homes that were sold the previous as either short sales or foreclosures.

Take a look at my spreadsheet below. I’ve separated the report by zip code instead of school zones; it gives you a more accurate report in my opinion. The data for this report was obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report does not include “For Sale By Owner”.