Orlando’s housing market in July saw a surge in buyer activity that tipped home sales back into the black after three months of precipitous year-over-year declines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association. The median price of homes sold in Orlando continued on its upward path, while inventory fell to its lowest level this year.
Orlando home sales and median price increase in July as inventory plummets
Orlando’s housing market in July saw a surge in buyer activity that tipped home sales back into the black after three months of precipitous year-over-year declines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association. The median price of homes sold in Orlando continued on its upward path, while inventory fell to its lowest level this year.
Median Price
According to Stellar MLS, the median home price across our coverage area was $314, 678, about a 
$10,000 increase from June 2020. The overall median price of Orlando homes sold in July is $270,000, an increase of $5,000 from the month before.
The median price for single-family homes that changed hands in July increased 10.1% over July 2019 and is now $295,000 which is $15,000 more than the month before. June 2020’s median home sale price was $280,000. The median price for condos increased 5.1% to $145,000 and townhomes/villas/duplexes increased 4.6% to $224,900.
Sales and Inventory
Members of ORRA participated in 3,679 sales of all home types combined in July, which is 1.4% more than the 3,628 sales in July 2019 and 18.6% more than the 3,103 sales in June 2020.
Sales of single-family homes (2,920) in July 2020 increased by 2.4% compared to July 2019, while condo sales (401) decreased 4.8% year over year. Duplexes, town homes, and villas (358 combined) increased 0.9% over July 2019.
Sales of distressed homes (foreclosures and short sales) reached 79 in July and are 27.5% less than the 109 distressed sales in July 2019. Distressed sales made up 2.2% of all Orlando-area transactions last month.
The average interest rate paid by Orlando home-buyers in July was 2.97%, down from 3.04% the month prior.
Homes that closed in July took an average of 54 days to move from listing to pending and an average of 39 days between pending and closing, for an average total of 93 days from listing to closing (up from a total of 87 days the month prior).
The overall inventory of homes that were available for purchase in July (6,220) represents a decrease of 22.2% when compared to July 2019, and a 5.1% decrease compared to last month. There were 32.7% fewer single-family homes; 11.4% more condos; and 22.8% more duplexes/townhomes/villas, year over year.
Forward-facing Indicators
Pending sales in July are up 8.7% compared to July of last year and are down 1.5% compared to last month.
New contracts are up 8.2% year over year, and new listings are up 3.6%
The Numbers
Sales of existing homes within the entire Orlando area (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) in July were 2.1% lower than in July of 2019. To date, sales in the area are down by 13.6%.
Each individual county’s sales comparisons are as follows:
*Lake: 6.8% above July 2019;
*Orange: 5.2% below July 2019;
*Osceola: 4.3% below July 2019; and
*Seminole: 0.5% above July 2019.