Florida home sales still on the rise, Indiana struggling

Florida Realtors released data that found existing home sales increased 3 percent in May, and existing condo sales rose 17 percent.

This data marks the sixth consecutive month that Florida Realtors has reported higher existing home and condo sales compared to 2010. The median existing home price rose 2.9 percent from April to May, while the median existing home condo price rose 6.9 percent.

The National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun blames the slow housing growth on credit restrictions.

"A robust economic and housing market recovery cannot occur as long as banks continue to hold onto huge cash reserves," Yun said.

And many markets are seeing less growth than Florida. According to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors and the Indiana Association of Realtors, Indiana home sales dropped 18 percent in May 2011 compared to May 2010, and the median sale price decreased 2.5 percent. Also reported, new listings for homes decreased 13.5 percent from March to May 2011, and total active listings fell 1.6 percent.

President of MIBOR, a resource for Indiana real estate information, Dave Goff is optimistic and said that the pending sales numbers are encouraging, as September will be the first month data can be compared year-to-year after the tax incentives were complete.  

More News