Interested in what is going on in the Alachua County condo market? I ran some numbers to see how this month stacked up for the year and I got a little carried away…
Price: This is a sticky subject because the fact that a certain average has shown up just means that is what is selling. It could mean prices have come down or it could mean the owners of higher priced property are holding it and only less expensive properties are selling.
That said, the average price for 2008 is $147k, down $15k from the year before and just a bit higher than what we had seen in 2004.
Graph of 2008 condo market statistics
Sales Volume: How much is actually being sold out there? Condo sales in Alachua county are crawling along. You can see that the number of sales has dropped back down to 2003 levels. The dollar value of those sales is also near 2004 levels again.
The point: There is a lot of inventory out there, and a handful of people buying. It looks like the opportunity in this market is to grab some investment properties – the first time in years you have the potential of a positive cash flow when you buy in!
If you are a seller right now: Take a hard look at your bottom line. There is a lot of inventory out there. If you don’t want to sell at the prices being paid consider your options. Can you hold the property?
So, we’re seeing a 9% drop in average price and a slower turn over. If sales continue at this rate we have about 15 months of inventory.
Sorry to disappoint if you were expecting a horror story like we hear about places like in Miami, San Francisco, and Cape Coral ; )