Absorption rate in April  inched up for single family homes, from 6.1% in March to 6.7%. We now have 9,175 homes on the market in Pinellas County, a 15 month supply, compared to a 2 month supply in April of 2005. Inventory is up 320% in the last 2 years and the number of sales is down 54%.  The absorption rate for condos continued down in April to 3.8% from 4.2% in March. There are 9,280 condos and townhomes on the market, 6.5 times the number on the market in April 2005. There were 355 closed sales in April, compared to 889 in April of 2005, a reduction of 60%. That’s a 26 month supply of condos, compared to a 1.6 month supply two years ago.

The market continues to have lots of opportunities for buyers and is a great time to buy. It’s also a great time for anyone upgrading, because they gain more on their purchase than they lose on their sale. For sellers, price is king, and the winners (those who sell their homes) are generally leading the market in pricing rather than following it. Staging a home is increasingly important. Two years ago buyers had a wish list, and then made their decision based on homes missing various “requirements”. Today the buyers have so many choices that they don’t get past their dream list – i.e. homes without a garage or with only one bath are having an extremely difficult time selling.

The Pinellas Realtor Organization reports the following:

Most of the US has an overabundance of inventory, though some areas, such as Colorado and Texas, are still booming. The upper luxury market, properties over $5,000,000 and especially over $15,000,000 is growing rapidly in number of sales and price of homes.