Homes in the Southeast Taking the Longest to Sell

August 18, 2011 (Chris Moore)

Housing inventories continued to decline in July and what was available took even longer to sell, especially in the Southeast, where homes in many regions of the area are taking up to 50 percent longer to sell than in most other regions of the country according to the latest data released by Realtor.com

Total listings of existing homes decreased 1.2 percent from June with a total of 2,311,279 single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops listed for sale in July. The number of homes listed for sale in July was 17.6 percent lower than in July of last year.

The median list price for an existing home in July was $189,900, unchanged from the median list price in June. The median list price was also unchanged from July of 2010.

The area with the largest year-over-year decline in the median list price was Chicago, IL, where the median price has dropped 14.9 percent since July of 2010. The median list price for the area was unchanged from June to July.

The area with the largest year-over-year increase in the median list price was once again the Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL area where the median price has increased 31.9 percent since July of last year. Miami was a close second with year-over-year list prices increasing by 24.5 percent.

The average list price for an existing home in July was $319,046, which was a 0.69 percent increase from June’s average list price of $316,846 and 1.05 percent higher than July 2010.

The average number of days that an existing home spent on the market climbed up to 97 in July compared to 93 days in June. Homeowners in the Southeast had to show the most patience when selling their homes, as the region dominated the list of existing homes that spent the longest average number of days on the market.

Topping the list of homes that spent the longest average number of days on the market was the South Regional Statistical Area (RSA) of South Carolina where homes averaged 166 days on the market, followed by Naples, FL, at 153 days, Savanna, GA, at 150 days, Punta Gorda, FL, at 150 days, Myrtle Beach, SC, at 149 days, Wilmington, NC, at 148 days, the Central RSA in Florida at 143 days, Gainesville, FL, at 141 days, Ocala, FL, at 140 days, and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL, at 139 days.

Tags: Realtor.com, housing inventory, listed homes, home prices, median sales price, average list price

Source:
Realtor.com