Gainesville Unfazed By State Housing Trends

Florida Home Loan
Saturday, December 2nd, 2006

 

Michael Rose put his home abutting Paynes Prairie on the market two weeks ago and has had so much interest he figures he’ll be able to close on it early next year.

If there’s a Florida housing market bust, Gainesville area sellers may not notice. Home sales in Florida and the nation were down and inventory up in the third financial quarter of 2006, and nationally, a five-year boom has turned into what is being described as a “housing recession.”

Florida would not feel all the effects of a sharp downturn because of high population growth, according to Wayne Archer, director of the University of Florida’s Center for Real Estate Studies. Locally, job growth and the stabilizing influence of UF portend a healthy real estate market.

In the third quarter, the median sales price of single-family existing homes was $215,200, up 16 percent over 2005 in the Gainesville area, which includes Alachua and Gilchrist counties. That’s tops in the state among 20 metro areas. The state price remains flat.

• For the third quarter, totals of existing condo units in Gainesville was up 14 percent, with the median sales price of $156,300 up 19 percent, both the second-highest increases in the state.
• Despite local increases in those areas, single-family home sales were down 22 percent in the Gainesville metropolitan area and 34 percent statewide for the quarter.

Another study released Tuesday found most trends held in October numbers. But, sales of existing condos in the Gainesville MSA were down 68 percent from a year ago. Higher prices and sales volume in recent years were driven by investment purchases. Thanks to rock-bottom Florida mortgage costs, real estate became the investment of choice after 9-11

Now, investors are returning to the stock market.

“The past two years - 2005 and the first half of 2006 - the appreciation in Gainesville was too high,” said Jean Chalmers of Coldwell Banker. “I think a lot of people flipping property bought into the market. This made the whole market hotter than what one would normally expect.”

Middle income families are finding that increases have priced them out of what would typically be their next home. The increases are fueling the local third quarter North Florida housing market boom.

Rose said his property has probably doubled in value in two years. He’s asking $350,000 for a three-bed, two-bath house with another two-bed, two-bath townhouse attached.

“We used to say in Gainesville, ‘You never get rich, but you never get poor,’” said one real estate agent. “Then for a couple years people were getting rich, then it corrected.”

McIntosh said the market - with its many appealing elements and the critical factor of low Florida home mortgage rates - continues to lure many home buyers.

“The climate’s good. The inland location is kind of appealing to people who have lived through bad weather. We have a lot of things in our community that big cities have. We’ve got quite a cultural scene here. Sports ought to speak for itself. The restaurants are good, and the medical facilities are arguably some of the best in the state. We appeal to a diverse cross-section.”

For more information contact...

Matt Thomas
(352) 494-0194
MattThomas@BosshardtRealty.com

 

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