April Statistics Are In - The Table Has Turned!

April 2010 Market Statistics for Pinellas County, located on the beach side of Tampa Bay were posted yesterday and are being added to the Home Page of our website. It is an incredible thing to watch from our vantage point when we are right here in the heat of the market. The path of the way down was so much slower and harder to grasp... but these numbers speak for themselves.
Click on the Chart to View
As always, we go straight to the Absorption Rate (or Inventory Turnover) to cut to the chase on what is happening in our real estate market. This is determined by dividing the number of units sold during the month by the total number of listings in MLS. After the huge jump in March, everyone was waiting to see if April could keep up the momentum. Well... not only has it kept up, but it has leaped forward!

In Single Family Homes, the Absorption Rate went from 11.5% in March to 13.0% in April. The 13.0% compares to April 2009's 8.5%! And in Condos... 9.5% in March to 10.6% in April, compared to April 2009's 5.3%!!! WOW! A 100% increase year to year in condos!!

We hear from many of you, "We don't think condo sales will come back as quickly as home sales." But the answer is right in front of us! It amazes me how many buyers are convinced that values are still depressed and will go down even further. Being right here in the middle of it, we see first hand what inventory is available along the beaches of Tampa Bay and often what is in the pipeline waiting to be listed.

There is an inner circle of the most productive real estate agents who specialize along the Tampa Bay Beaches and we are all seeing the same thing... the tide has finally turned. Here are some additional pertinent facts in the April Stats and you are welcome to see the entire report right from our website:

2010 Single Family Home Sales:
For the month of April, compared to 2009... sales are up 30.1%!
Year to date, sales are up 21.1% over 2009, yet listings are down 17.0%!

2010 Condo Sales (Hold on to Your Seat Belt!):
For the month of April, compared to 2009... sales are up 67.1%!!!
Year to date, sales are up 57.3% over 2009, yet listings are down 17.8%!

When we say the time is now to buy, it is time to pay attention. Actually, the buyers that made a move 4 months ago hit the timing perfectly. We are seeing a new low price base in the prime properties... and this low base still has sellers choking and giving away huge discounts. At some point when the distressed seller properties are depleted, there is no where for prices to go other than UP. You don't want to miss out.