August 2010 Daytona Beach Real Estate Sales Bounce Back

August sales of Daytona Beach real estate were up over 10% over both last month and over August of last year – 10.8% over last month and 10.1% over last year. For the year, sales stand at 3020 this year vs. 2447 last year through August, that’s 23.4% up over last year for the same period.

94 Condos, 20 condotels and 256 houses were sold for the month. That means that condos and condotels accounted for 30.8% and houses accounted for 69.2%. Condos are selling at a higher percentage than normal. Normally we see condos sales at about 24% of the total. That’s what we saw in 2009.

Looking at the chart below, sales under $200,000 are still dominating the market. Sales under $200,000 were 76.8% of all sales and sales under $300,000 accounted for 92.5% of all sales. This is now what we would consider a long-term trend. Sales of homes under $300,000 have been over 90% of all sales for several years now.

There are 4384 properties for sale in the Daytona Beach MLS as of this morning – 1308 Daytona Beach condos for sale and 3076 Daytona Beach homes for sale. The Daytona Beach MLS includes properties for sale in Ormond Beach, Port Orange, Holly Hill, Ponce Inlet, South Daytona and Ormond by the Sea.

Inventory Levels

There are still a lot of homes and condos on the market, but there’s a twist. There are a total of 4384 homes and condos for sale as of today. Based on August sales, that’s 11.8 months of inventory – still high. However, in August, 25.1% of properties sold were on the market for under 30 days and 44.3% were on the market for under 60 days. This means that aggressively priced properties are selling pretty fast. To put it in perspective, 164 homes and condos out of 4384 represents only 3.7% of the properties listed.

So, to go out on a bit of a limb… There are two markets. One is very healthy and hot and the other is not. The first market is hot with aggressively priced homes and condos, foreclosures and to some extent short sales. Aggressively priced homes under $200,000 are selling fast. The second market includes many very nice homes and condos that are not as aggressively priced.

Many people are listing their homes and then dropping prices over time. This eventually gets them into the right price range, but extends the time that the property will be on the market. If you want to sell fast, you need to price aggressively. If you have time, then set the price a little higher and wait. Regardless, get good comparisons of home values in your neighborhood or building from your real estate agent.

Daytona Beach Real Estate Outlook

We saw a little bounce back in August from July, but we are still well short of June’s 481 level. My sales were up in August and September is looking good too. We’ve had a lot of inquiries and we are showing a lot of properties. If our activity is an indication, the market will stay strong through September.

As always, please call me if you need information on any home or condo, or, just want to talk about the market.

Also remember to check out Port Orange real estate and Ormond Beach homes for sale. These are wonderful communities in the Daytona Beach area.