From the News-press July 23, 2009
The number of single-family homes sold with the assistance of a Realtor in Lee County in June soared to a record high of 1,705 — more than twice the 719 recorded a year earlier, according to statistics released today by the Florida Association of Realtors.June’s number was well above the 1,417 sold in May and the previous record of 1,468 in April.
Meanwhile, the median price of homes sold in June dropped to $87,900, off 49 percent from June 2008’s $172,400 and down less than 1 percent from May’s $88,500. Statewide, the number of sales was 15,850, up 28 percent from 12,339 a year earlier and up from 13,921 in May. The median statewide price was $148,000, down 28 percent from $205,300 a year earlier and up from $144,400 in May.
In a separate report also released today, the National Association of Realtors announced that sales of previously occupied homes rose for the third month in a row in June. The association said home sales rose 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May. Home sales haven’t risen nationally for three straight months since early 2004, during the housing boom.
Prices, however, are expected to keep falling well into next year because of a backlog of foreclosures that have yet to come on to the market. The median sales price was $181,800 in June, down 15 percent from year-ago levels but up slightly from $174,700 in May. It was the highest level of sales since last October and beat economists’ expectations. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 4.84 million units, according to Thomson Reuters. Sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up about a third of all transactions last month, down from nearly half earlier this year.
The Associated Press also contributed to this report
Any investment can be overpriced no matter how great its fundamental value or how secure its prospects. In the absence of a more thorough analysis, it's reasonable to suspect that investments in a market that has been rising for a long time are overpriced. In itself that guideline isn't a signal to sell, it is a signal to make a closer examination.
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