Shifting Winds

Multifamily Housing

While existing single-family home sales in Orlando slipped in January and February, condo sales sped along. A total of 871 condos changed hands in the first two months of this year -- a 119% increase over last year -- and the median sales price rose 29% in February, from $129,000 to $164,400, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Condo sales in Gainesville also were brisk in January and February, up 78%. But the statewide data suggest that the markets for condos and single-family homes are slowing.

Townhomes

High land prices and some buyers' preference for the feel of a traditional home are spurring development of townhomes. While some are being marketed to upscale buyers, many are offered as affordable alternatives to detached homes. Townhomes are a "much better product than condos" in the current market, says McCabe, the Deerfield Beach real estate analyst. They cost more to build on a per-square-foot basis than condos, but garages, green space and greater privacy make them more desirable for homebuyers.

KB Home has at least eight townhouse developments in the works from Clearwater to Jacksonville, including four in Kissimmee, with unit prices from $199,990 to 252,990. The median existing single-family home price in the state, meanwhile, is around $250,000. In Fort Lauderdale, The Island Enclave, which is going up along Northeast 15th Avenue in old Victoria Park in Fort Lauderdale, offers 11 Key West-style residences from $989,000 to $1.15 million. In the desirable Rio Vista area, 32 planned modern loft-style townhomes are selling in the $600,000 range. "In south Florida, it's a resurgence. In a lot of parts of Florida, it's a new phenomenon," says Lewis M. Goodkin, president of Miami-based Goodkin Consulting and a longtime contributor to Florida Trend.

Out of reach:
Rapid appreciation of home prices in Florida during the past five years has pushed average prices to a record 6.1 times household income. Today, only 33% of households in Florida have annual incomes of at least $60,476, the level needed to purchase the median-priced home of about $250,000 using conventional financing. In contrast, 69% of households had sufficient income to purchase the median-priced home at year-end 1999.
Source: Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight

Tags: Around Florida, Housing/Construction