Housing prices in Orlando fell for the first time in six months in July, and inventories rose again as a survey revealed that nearly three out of four Central Florida estate agents believe the market is cooling.
According to the monthly housing report of the Orlando Regional Association of Realtors (ORRA), the average housing price in the Orlando Metro fell by about 1.6% to $380,900 from $387,000 in June. The organization studies sales in Orange, Oceola, Lake and Seminole counties.
Inventories rose by 19.9% and rose for the third month in a row, which is another sign that the red-hot housing market has slowed down over the past 18 months.
The association also published a survey of agents, which showed that 74% of them believe that the market is cooling and 66% believe that the market has reached its peak. Jeremy Wood, agent of the Keller Williams Heritage Realty in Altamonte Springs, agrees with most of his colleagues. He said that the monthly report did not reflect the dramatic turn that he believed the market was taking. "It’s a normal day, I wake up, I look at [multiple agent ad service], I see a hundred new ads and 400 price reductions," said Wood. According to Wood, sales of higher-end luxury homes almost stopped, while competition weakened even among homes selling for less than $300,000. In a poll by the association, 76% of agents said that sellers were influenced by the hot market, and this trend may be coming to an end.