New home construction jumped about 20 percent in the Orlando area, according to a third-quarter report by Metrostudy.
The Orlando metropolitan statistical area — Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties — reported 1,108 housing starts in the third quarter of this year. That represents a 12.7 percent drop when compared with 2008’s third-quarter of 1,269 units, but a 200-unit increase when compared with the fewer than 900 units built during the previous three quarters.
Single-family third-quarter closings totaled 1,209, 37.4 percent fewer than third-quarter 2008’s 1,931. Annual closings totaled 5,727 in the third quarter of this year, which was 41.7 percent lower than the 9,818 reported in the same period a year prior.
Metrostudy’s closing figures represent move-ins evidenced by actual signs of occupancy, as opposed to deed recordings or contract sales, which can be artificially inflated by speculative purchases, said Anthony Crocco, director of Metrostudy’s North and Central Florida divisions, in a prepared statement.
The largest number of starts and closings were in the $150,000 to $200,000 price segment at the end of the third quarter, with 1,281 annual starts and 1,529 annual closings. The $200,000 to $250,000 price segment followed with 959 annual starts and 1,491 annual closings.
About 44 percent of all new single-family housing year-to-date was base-priced below $200,000, which compared with 22 percent in the same period in 2008, Crocco said.
“The housing market is stabilizing, as new-home inventories become tighter and resale-home inventories decline,” Crocco said. “Unfortunately, distressed housing is still working into the market, and we expect at least another few quarters of high-volume short-sale and foreclosure activity.”
Single-family inventory — units under construction, finished vacant units and model homes — totaled 4,365 units in September 2009, a 9.1-month supply and a 32.2 percent decline from the same month a year prior. Finished vacant inventory fell from 3,515 units in the third quarter of 2008 to 2,429 units in 2009’s third quarter.
Metrostudy uses finished vacant inventory as an of housing market health.
The Orlando MSA lost 51,900 jobs in the 12 months ending in August 2009, a 4.8 percent rate of job loss when compared with the same period a year prior. Unemployment reached 11.5 percent at the end of the third quarter and although it may be nearing its peak, a quick rebound in job formations is not forecast, Crocco said. “A real recovery will bring jobs across industries, and that is likely a year or more away for most of the state,” Crocco said.
Metrostudy is the leading provider of primary and secondary market information to the housing industry and related industries nationwide.
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