Statewide sales of residential condominium units rose 21% in April
following a 6% increase in March, reports the locally based Florida
Association of Realtors. Yet while more units are selling this spring,
prices plummeted 40% over the past year to a state median of $106,600.
A total of 4,660 condos were sold throughout the Sunshine State in
April, up from 3,862 in the same month last year. Year to date, 14,802
units have been sold, 19% more than 12,416 through the first four
months of 2008, at which time the median price was $178,900.
Eleven metropolitan areas in Florida showed gains in condo sales, with
Orlando nearly tripling in unit volume to 395 last month from 136 in
April 2008. However, those units sold at deep discounts, with the
median price shrinking by more than half to just $52,700 over the past
year.
The state’s priciest units were available in April in Fort Walton Beach
and Pensacola, both in the Panhandle, at a median of $250,000. But
while Pensacola’s price remained stable over the past year, Fort Walton
Beach’s fell back 23%, according to Realtors figures.
Among the state’s largest markets, Miami showed a 70% gain in unit
sales with 542 last month, while its median price was cut in half over
the year to $133,500. Fort Lauderdale posted a 39% gain with 827 units
sold, though the median price was halved to $79,900.
Tampa-St. Petersburg posted a 15% gain over the year with 582 units
sold, though its median price fell out of six-figure range, down 35% to
$99,200. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton had an 11% gain with 735 units
sold, while its median price fell 37% to $98,200.
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