It looks like it's over...

IT, the dreaded real estate slump, is not over 'til it's over but around here IT sure looks like IT's over.

South Walton is going way beyond the regional numbers noted in a recent National Association of Realtors article http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/11/rise_eight that shows stats for the Southern region of the country homesales "increased 4.9 percent to an index of 109.7 and is 22.8 percent above September 2008."

Two days ago I looked up the Emerald Coast MLS numbers of residential sales (homes=condos-town homes-land) from September 1, 2008 to November 17, 2008 and compared them with the same criteria for 2009 and the numbers show a huge increase. Sales in 2008 during that period were 105, this year they are 217, more than double last year. These are break-out numbers because they follow an upward trend that can be tracked by comparing January 1 - November 17 in 2009 to January 1 - November 17 in 2008. Here's how it looked:
2008 Combined Residential - 393 listed sold with a median price of $585,000
2008 Residential Land - 130 listed sold with a median price of $220,450

2009 Combined Residential - 509 listed sold with a median price of $455,000
2009 Residential Land - 199 sold with a median price of $150,000

With the decrease in median price, a full 100% increase in transactions last month, (compared to the same period last year), the pace of sales transactions seems to indicate to me that Buyers are satisfied that the prices along the 30A corridor have leveled to what they perceive to be fair. And they are showing that satisfaction with some serious action.

Please call me at 850-368-8326 for more info now because although there is plenty of inventory, once you add your personal preferences and criteria, the inventory doesn't look quite as big. In other words, like in any market, the best property moves fast.