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Cape Coral, FL - Newest New Home Sales Numbers Give Hints Market Decline is Slowing

Posted on: May 06, 2012 09:17:55 AM

The Cape Coral, FL market saw a drop in new home sales year-over-year in February, but there were signs that the market may be evening out with a percentage decline less steep than in January 2012. New home sales saw a 6.3% decline from a year earlier to 104 after sales slid 28.7% in January from the year earlier.

A total of 1,675 new homes were sold during the 12 months that ended in February, down from 1,682 for the year that ended in January.

New home sales accounted for 5.6% of overall housing sales. New home sales were 5.1% of overall sales last year. Following a year-over-year decline in January, sales of new and existing homes also sank year-over-year in February.

Pricing and Mortgage Trends

Average price of newly sold homes saw a 1.7% rise year-over-year in February to $273,397 per unit. This rise is smaller than the 5.7% rise in January year-over-year.

For newly sold homes, the average mortgage size saw a rise year-over-year along with new home prices. In February 2012, the average mortgage size was $189,478, up 2.5% from a year earlier. In January 2012, average mortgage size on newly sold homes saw a 1.3% rise year-over-year from a year earlier. The overall percentage of sale price that was being financed went from 68.8% of average price to 69.3% from a year earlier. In January 2012, the figure dipped 3.1 percentage points from the year earlier.

Other Market Trends

The percentage of new home sales belonging to single-family homes has risen from last year while the portion of new home sales belonging to attached units has dropped. The share of new home sales belonging to single-family homes jumped from 55.9% in February 2011 to 80.8% of sales in February 2012. Conversely, the share of new home sales belonging to attached units fell to 19.2% of sales from 44.1% of sales.

The average unit size of newly sold homes declined 1.5% year-over-year to 1,877 square feet in February 2012. In January, the average size of new homes sold went from 1,930 square feet a year earlier to 2,281 square feet.

Foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) sales remained a burden on the market. Out of all existing home sales, foreclosures combined with REO sales made up 41.9% of sales. In February 2011, they represented 51.4%. The percentage of existing home sales involving foreclosures rose to 20.0% in February from 13.8% a year earlier while REO sales as a percentage of existing home sales slid to 21.9% from 37.5% a year earlier.

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