New Port Richey, Florida Real Estate Blog: January 2010

Welcome to Sunsets at Green Key, New Port Richey, FL.

Those who have read me regularly know that I have recently had to change from Hudson Beach for my sunset photographs to Green Key in New Port Richey.  Reason being that the Sunset has fallen behind the Sea Ranch Subdivision.  As a result I have moved to Green Key in New Port Richey.

More important than that, I recently did an annual market report for New Port Richey, West Pasco County, FL and I was shocked to find out that 1 out of every 3 Real Estate Transactions in West Pasco occurred in New Port Richey. Now I knew New Port Richey was large compared to the other towns in my service area, but I had not thought it was the epicenter.  As a result, I have changed my target market from Hudson, where My office is, to New Port Richey as that is where the business is.  Nothing personal, it's just business.  Smart Business!

Now the Sunsets

New Port Richey, Florida Real Estate Annual Market Report 2009

Unlike most other reports I blog, these Statistics include ALL Residential Property Sales:

Single Family Homes, Townhomes, Condos & Mobile Homes.

Here are the numbers from 2008 for comparison to 2009 which are in the 2nd graphic.  First thing that jumps out at me is that the Average Sold Price to List Price (SP/LP) ratio was 93% in New Port Richey just like Hudson, Port Richey & West Pasco County as well.

Next thing that gets my attention was a Sale for $10.87/SqFt.  LOL.  That is some real bargain basement shopping.  Usually the land alone is worth more than that.  What  a steal.

Number of Sold listings is rather telling too.  Twice as many homes sold in New Port Richey than in either  Hudson & Port Richey &  New Port Richey accounts for ~1/3rd of homes sold in West Pasco County

Well compared to 2008, 2009 has doubled its Lowest Sold price, which is not hard to do when you go from $6,000 to $12,000.   But the lowest SP/SqFt is still under $11/SqFt.

IN 2009 we saw an increase  of ~16.6% increase in units Sold, as well as ~16% decline in the average List Price to $132,029, but more importantly the average Sold Price is down ~17% to $121,854.  Prices in New Port Richey Real Estate are looking very attractive.

Surprisingly though the Days On Market (DOM) increased by ~9% from 93 days to 101.  Overall, between the bargain basement Prices, Tax Credit & a growing sense that the economy is going to recover, are making for a more positive outlook going forward.

Port Richey, Florida Annual Real Estate Market Report 2009

Well First thing that grabbed my attention was that once again the Sold Price to List Price ratio (SP/LP) is 93% again.  Another thing you will notice is how low the average list price and sale price is.  This has the most to do with the fact that Port Richey have Very Little Waterfront Gulf Access properties to perk up the housing prices. On top of that, most of the properties are actually just in Pasco County as opposed to in Port Richey.  The town of Port Richey is for the most part the commercial area's on US-19 & Ridge Road.

I think you will be very surprised to see the dramatic drop in prices year over year.

In 2008 the average List Price was $96,000 but that dropped to $75,000 in 2009 (a 21% drop)

Whereas average Sold Prices dropped from $89,522 in 2008 to $69,914 in 2009 (a 22% drop)

The Big Picture turn around as far as Port Richey Florida is concerned is the 14% increase in sales from 2008 to 2009.  So unlike Hudson Florida's Annual Market Report,

Hudson, Florida Annual Real Estate Market Report 2009 vs 2008

This Market Report includes ALL Residential Properties that Sold in 2008 & 2009 including:

Single Family Detached Homes, Townhomes, Condo's & Mobile/Manufactured Homes

Things looked much better in my West Pasco 2009 Annual Market Report than it does for Hudson.  Which is due mostly to the fact that Hudson is the farthest point in the county from the Jobs, specifically Tampa/Clearwater/St. Pete.  As a result the Market is under more duress the farther you are from the hub of the Metropolitan Statistical Area and the jobs

What you should notice right off the bat, is that Sales are prtty much FLAT.  608 in 2008 vs 611 in 2009  which is a net 0.5% increase in Solds.   In other words the difference in Volume of Solds is negligible year over year.  However, what is good, and not shown in the Sold numbers is that The Inventory Levels have dropped dramatically.  

As is to be expected in this market in the State of Florida

The Average List Price Dropped from $140k in 2008 to  $121k in 2009 (a 14% Decline)

The Average Sold Price Dropped from $130k in 2008 to $111k in 2009 (a 15% Decline)

The Average List Price per Square Foot (LP/SqFt) dropped from $91 in 2008 to $77 in 2009 (a 15% Decline)

The Average Sold Price per Square Foot (SP/SqFt) went from $84 in 2008 to $71 in 2009 (a 15% Decline

On Average houses are actually staying on the market longer in 2009 than they did in 2008. (a 22% Increase)

Surprisingly the Average Sold Price to List Price ratio (SP/LP) remains at 92%.

Florida Realtors® offer High School Students a $6,000 Scholarship for College in annual competition

Deadline for Entry is February 08, 2010

So what must a High School Senior do in order to get up to a $6,000 Scholarship?

Students must write a typed, double-spaced essay, 500 words or less, on the topic:

“How Does a Realtor® Professional Benefit the Community?”

It is not long, it is not that hard.  You can write about just about any area of Real Estate including, but not limited too: 

1. Residential Brokerage
2. Commercial Brokerage
3. Industrial Brokerage
4. Office Brokerage
5. Farm & Land Brokerage
6. Real Estate Appraising
7. Property managment
8. Land Development
9. Real Estate Counseling

West Pasco County, Florida 08 vs. 09 Real Estate comparison

Unlike most other reports I blog, these Statistics include ALL Residential Property Sales:

Single Family Homes, Townhomes, Condos & Mobile Homes.

in 2008 there were 3509 Closed deals in West Pasco in the following ranges

now first issue with this is the -72 days on market for a low.  So a home sold 72 days before it was listed in MLS?  I do not think so.  It is not the only glitch, but I will look into it and try to get clarification.

So I reached out to the MLS and the negative days on market has to do with agents adding listings into MLS that they sold off the MLS.  The data is entered for statistical purposes, but it screws up comps in my opinion.

 And a spread of $6,000 to $1,625,000 makes for quite a range of possibilities in "The Nudist Capital of the World"

Meanwhile in 2009 while prices continued their decline, volume did pick up to the tune of 4000+ homes sold

Are you like me and thinking an 893% Sold Price to List Price ratio seems a bit absurd, even in this crazy market.  So I will have to look into this statistic as well.  It could be an auction priced ridiculously low that closed at a Fair market value, but we will see.

This discrepancy in Days On Market, it appears, is due to a few extra zero's on a sold price.  I emailed the listing agent, but so far, no change.

The Best news is that there was an increase in the Number of Solds, to the tune of ~15% year over year, in West Pasco County, Florida.   Obviously this is a good sign for the overall market.  I would attribute some of the growth to the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit, but more importantly, the incredible values currently available.

Another reason is the 18% decline in the Average Sold Price per Square Foot ($SP/SqFt) from $84/SqFt in 2008 down to $69/SqFt in 2009.  Surprisingly though the Average Sold Price to List Price Ratio (SP/LP) remained constant at 93% of List Price.  Only issue with that is the 893% High is skewing the average a bit.