Strong start to the year for Florida’s housing market

For the thirteenth straight month, Florida has seen the median sales prices for both single-family homes and for townhouse-condo increase over their year-ago figures, according to a report released today by Florida Realtors, a statewide industry group. The report also showed increased closed and pending sales as well as a drop in inventory for January.

Florida’s closed sales in January of existing single-family homes grew 11.7 percent from last January, to 13,679 from 12,247, the report said. Pending sales grew 31 percent over the previous January, to 23,502 from 17,945. The median sales price rose 12.4 percent over the year-ago figure — from $129,000 to $145,000.

Closed sales of Florida’s townhouse-condos in January grew two percent from last January, to 6,670 from 6,539. Pending sales grew 17 percent over the previous January, to 11,779 from 10,066. The median sales price in the state jumped 18 percent over the year-ago figure — from $94,000 to $112,000, per the report.

The report also stated that inventory for single-family homes stood at a 5.6-months’ supply in January, while inventory for townhouse-condos was at a 6.2-months’ supply. —Sanna Chu