Migration triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and low interest rates supercharged the local housing market last year. That led to rapid price increases that continue to this summer. In the first half of 2021, Windermere, Ocoee and Lake Nona were among the local communities with the fastest home price growth, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.
Trends in the residential real estate market are important, as the housing market often is considered a reflection of the local economy's overall health. Escalating home prices can make homes unaffordable for buyers. At the same time, they create more equity-rich homeowners, The Business Journals report.
Across Central Florida, the median home price leaped 14.5% between January and June, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. The June median home price of $315,000 is the highest on record at the Realtor association.
Nationwide, home prices in June increased at their fastest rate since 1979, according to an Aug. 3 report by Irvine, California-based property data firm CoreLogic Inc. While CoreLogic recorded a 12.5% year-over-year price increase in metro Orlando, Central Florida home prices are not skyrocketing as fast as the 17% increase registered nationwide.
“Florida in general still looks relatively affordable compared to the rest of the country,” said Lesley Deutch, managing principal of John Burns Real Estate Consulting LLC.
Despite blistering price increases, CoreLogic predicts the rate at which home prices climb will slow in the next 12 months. The firm expects demand to taper off and housing inventory to recover, according to the report.
Likewise, National Association of Realtors Chief Economic Lawrence Yun in June said a slight slowdown in price gains may happen later this year or next year. "Home price growth will be in the single digits in 2022 … A home price decline is unlikely.”