Gainesville FL Real Estate Blog

Pending home sales rose with many first-time buyers taking advantage of historically good housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,1 a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, increased 3.2 percent to 84.6 from a level of 82.0 in February, and is 1.1 percent higher than March 2008 when it was 83.7.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said it should take a few months for the market to gain momentum. “This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions and an $8,000 tax credit, which increases buying power even more in areas where special programs allow buyers to use it as a downpayment,” he said. “We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around.”

Let’s take a look at the Gainesville FL real estate sales statistics for April to see how the market looks in our area:

The Gainesville FL area single family home sales experienced a 18% decline in new listings in April 2009, when compared against April 2008.  Pending listings were down 5%.  Sold listings decreased by 25% and the average sales price decreased by 7% to $211,819, while market times increased by 37 days. 

The Gainesville FL area Condo/TH market saw the average sales price decrease by 3% to $147,973 in April 2009 compared to April 2008.  Likewise, new listings were down 34% and sold listings were down by 60% in April 2009.  Pending sales decreased by 41%, while the average market times increased by 76 days.
 

For the latest Gainesville FL real estate market conditions in your area, please call me at 888-424-8841 or visit MyGatorCondo.com.