June home sales buck national trend

Home sales fell 18.9% year-over-year nationally in June, but that was not the case in the Volusia-Flagler area.

The number of single-family homes sold last month rose 18.4% year-over-year in Flagler County and was up 6.0% in the Daytona Beach area, but was down 3.6% for Volusia County as a whole. Here's a look:

Luxury home sales boost sale prices higher in Daytona

The Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors reported that its members closed 461 sales of single-family homes in June, up from 435 the same month last year.

The median sale price, meaning half sold for more and half for less, dipped 1.8% to $378,250, compared to $385,000 in June 2022, but the average sale price rose 2.8% to $463,887, up from $451,447 a year ago.

The likely reason was the sale of 28 luxury homes for more than $1 million each, according to Justin Falb, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty in Port Orange who is also the 2023 president for the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors.

"We're up in million-dollar-plus sales, which would explain why the average sale price went up, while the median price went down," he said.

Bill Navarra, the broker/owner of Realty Pros Assured in Ormond Beach, had a hand in selling three million-dollar-plus homes in June, including the top two sales in Volusia County. "We're definitely seeing a slowdown, but we're still seeing a shockingly good market," he said.

Realtor reports contain some overlapping numbers

Realtor associations report sales made by its members, which can include sales outside their primary area. The 28 million-dollar-plus sales by DBAAR members for example included some in Flagler County. Some real estate agents belong to multiple Realtors association which can further skew the numbers as some sales could potentially be claimed by each of the associations.

The statewide Florida Realtors association's June report for Volusia County, which was provided to The Daytona Beach News-Journal by the West Volusia Association of Realtors, showed 866 closed sales of single-family homes countywide, down slightly from 898 the same month last year. The median sale price was $354,995, up 2.9% from $345,000 a year ago, while the average sale price rose 3.5% to $409,837, compared to $396,120 in June 2022.

Of the sales recorded last month in Volusia County as a whole, 23 were for $1 million or higher, according to the Florida Realtors report.

Nationally, existing home sales for the first half of this year were down 23% compared with the first half of 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Flagler County had

the region's top sale

The Flagler County Association of Realtors reported 310 closed sales of single-family homes in June, down 38.2% from 502 a year ago, but the Multiple Listing Service data for the month told a different story.

The actual number of home sales recorded in the MLS system for Flagler County was 308, a big jump over the 260 sales recorded in June 2022, according to Realtor Toby Tobin of Grand Living Commercial Realty in Palm Coast. Tobin writes a blog on the Flagler County real estate market called GoToby.com and also hosts a weekly radio show on the topic.

Of the homes sold in Flagler in June, 19 were for $1 million or more, including the oceanfront luxury home at 510 Cinnamon Beach Lane in Palm Coast, which went for just over $3.1 million, the most paid for a home in the combined Volusia-Flagler area last month.

"A lot of the million-dollar-plus sales we saw in June were sold for cash," said Tobin. "Rising interest rates (which have caused home sales to fall nationally) don't affect you if you're paying in cash."

Rising interest, insurance rates pricing some buyers out

June's local home numbers aside, rising interest rates have caused an overall decline in sales in recent months in both counties, according to Realtors.

Another factor that's causing home sales to close is the rising cost of homeowners insurance.

"Farmers (Insurance) pulling out of Florida and AAA (Auto Club) dropping homeowners coverage has had an effect because it is causing there to be less of a pool of insurers," said Falb. "We've seen some (homeowners) insurance policies go up 100 to 120%.

"We have some (prospective) homebuyers that would traditionally qualify for a mortgage loan that are being priced out of the market."

Inventory levels remain tight

Slim pickings for available homes is also a factor in slowing home sales, especially for those looking to buy a house in the lower price ranges.

Of the 848 available listings by members of the Flagler County Association of Realtors as of the end of June, only 16 had asking prices below $250,000.

Of the 1,833 listings of homes on the market in Volusia County as of the end of June, only 131 had asking prices under $250,000, according to Florida Realtors.

The months supply of available homes, meaning how long it would take to completely deplete the inventory if no new listings are added, currently stands at 3.6 months in Flagler County and 2.5 months in Volusia County, according to Realtor association reports.

The steady influx of newcomers to Florida is another factor keeping home prices high.

Said Falb: "The (housing) market right now is still a sellers' market."