Orlando home sales fell for the fourth straight month in September as the region faced the highest interest rates in more than two decades, a report released this week found.
Sales dropped 8.4% from August, with 2,558 in September compared to 2,792 the month before, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, which looks at sales from Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties.
Sales also were down 5.9% from last September’s 2,717.
Mortgage interest rates went up from 6.6% in August to 7.3% in September, the highest since March 2002, the report said.
Home prices fell month-to-month, with the median home price at $370,000 in September, down from $375,000 in August. This was the third month in a row that home prices dipped.
The median price, however, was still higher than last September, when it was at $365,000.
“Rising rates in September contributed to continued rising inventory, falling sales and falling median home price,” said Lisa Hill, Orlando Regional Realtor Association president, in a news release. “High interest rates have been the No. 1 factor affecting buyers this year, and it’s evident this challenge will persist.”
Ingrid Dodd, an agent with Investors Real Estate in Winter Park, said she didn’t hold any closings in September.
“I have a number of purchase clients who just sidelined themselves, who said, ‘We don’t like 7.5% [interest rates] and we think prices are going to come down,'” she said. “They say, ‘We’re just going to wait and see what happens in the market.'”
But Dodd said there is no crystal ball to see if and when interest might go down. She also doesn’t expect big drops in prices.
“I tell [clients] buying a house is still a good investment for you and your future even at 7.5% because historically over time you are getting equity,” Dodd said.
She does have three potential deals in the pipeline that will hopefully close by the end of the year.
“We’re just not seeing as many closings on the horizon in the last quarter,” Dodd said.
afuller@orlandosentinel.com
