WEST PALM BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — Potentially good news for homeowners in Palm Beach County — the value of your home may be going up. While we offer the caveat that this information is coming directly from the Realtor’s Association of the Palm Beaches, the group says that the cumulative median sales price of single family homes, townhomes and condos in Palm Beach County was up 2.5-percent from February 2011 — inching from $122,000 to $125,000. The median single-family home price, according to the group, jumped from $175,000 to $190,000.
Read on for the information directly from the Realtor’s Association of the Palm Beaches:
Total inventory of homes for sale declined 40.0 percent from 24,565 a year earlier to 14,743 and decreased 7.7 percent from the previous month. Inventory of single-family homes for sale shrank 37.4 percent, from 11,975 a year earlier to 7,501, and down 7.4 percent from the previous month.
Total February cumulative pending home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums in Palm Beach County, were 53.4 percent above February 2011, up from 2,391 to 3,667, and 25.8 percent from the previous month.
Cumulative pending condominium and townhome sales in Palm Beach County increased 31.6 percent up from a year earlier and 24.9 percent compared to the previous month. Cumulative pending single-family home sales rose 82.6 percent from 1,020 a year earlier and 26.6 percent compared to the previous month.
Total cumulative closed sales, including single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums in Palm Beach County, showed a slight decline from 1,774 a year earlier to 1,737 and increased 13 percent compared to the previous month.
“Pending and closed sales are moving in an upward direction in Palm Beach County, which is very reassuring,” said Bonnie Lazar, President of the Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches. “In addition, February’s median sales price, based on all properties, is up from the previous month and the inventory of homes for sale is down. This clearly illustrates that Palm Beach County is experiencing a mini-recovery and better times are ahead.”
Distressed Properties
There are nearly 77 percent fewer foreclosures on the market in February than at the peak in 2009. Exactly 20.3 percent of all closings were in financial distress in January 2012, which is on par with late 2008 levels.
According to Tim Harris, President-Elect of the Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches, “The decrease in inventory of lender-mediated properties has contributed to overall on-going stabilization of the local housing market and substantial increase in the number of new traditional listings.”
By comparison, a lesser 19.1 percent of all new listings were lender mediated. Based on all properties, inventory of lender-mediated homes for sale declined 71.3 percent year over year down from 6,810 to 1,957 and 15.9 percent from the previous month. Inventory of lender-mediated single-family homes for sales shrunk 66.5 percent, from 3,559 a year earlier to 1,191 and decreased 34.5%from the previous month.
The Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches, “The Voice of Local Real Estate,” represents over 7,500 members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
