Pinellas County Market Update - September 2008
St. Petersburg, Florida, October 12, 2008

536 single family homes sold during September 2008 in Pinellas County, Florida. This is just slightly up from July and August. More interesting, though, is the number of homes that went to contract: 655. That's 22% more than sold during the month, 9% more than went to contract in August and 27% more than went to contract in July. It's often more relevant to compare to a year ago, since we have a seasonal market. For September, the number of closed sales was up 21% from last year, and the number of homes going to contract was up a whopping 52%! Don't cheer too loudly, though, because both the median and average sales prices hit new lows. The median single family home sale in Pinellas County was $165,000, which is 40% below the high of $276,000 which was in October 2005. The average single family home sale in Pinellas County was $229,000, which is 35% below the high of $354,000, also in October 2005. We've obviously dropped to a price point where people are starting to buy. Back in June 2005 we had a 1.7 month inventory. That rose to a 26 month supply in January 2008 and is now down to a 16 month supply. The most popular selling range dropped to $120,000 - $140,000.

251 condo units sold during September 2008 in Pinellas County, Florida. This is DOWN from July and August. which were 312 units and 306 units. The number of units going to contract was better with 315 units in September, slightly above July and August, and 47% more contracts than September 2007. Condo prices also hit new lows with a median price of $150,000, down 30% from a high of $215,000 in October 2005. The average condo sale in September was down to $228,000, which is 28% below the October 2005 high of $318,000. April 2005 had the lowest supply with a 1.6 month inventory. That increased to a 36 month supply in January 2007 and is now down to 28 months. The most popular selling range was $200,000 - $250,000.

Year to date residential financing shows:

This would not be the case recently, though. Loans are still available for buyers with high credit scores and down payments. No money down loans and stated income loans have basically gone away. Many lenders are shying away from condos, for any reason they can find. Funding may disappear between loan approval and closing. We had one buyer halt his property search because his down payment had evaporated in the stock market; another stopped his search to await the results of this tumultuous financial week.