Home listings in the Sarasota metro area in Florida had the best house pricing leverage in the country in October, according to a research firm.
In October, the median sales discount for homes sold off in the Sarasota area was $18,849 or 7.6 percent off the final listing price. The median discount however was lower than the 7.8-percent median discount in September.
Sarasota, which was third behind first-placer Vero Beach in September, pushed down to second-place Vero Beach in which homes were sold at a median discount of 7.5 percent or $17,218. Naples occupied third place, with $24,594 or 7.3 percent cut off from the final asking price.
Charlotte County, another Florida market, was sixth in the ranking, with about $10,327 or 6.5 percent wiped out from the final listing price.
Nationwide, the median discount in October was $5,741 or 2.7 percent off the final asking price, marking a decrease from the nearly three-percent median in September.
According to the research firm, October marked the ninth month this year that price discounts declined. At the start of the year, home buyers and investors were able to negotiate a median discount of 4.6 percent from prices posted in home listings.
Some realtors in Florida worried that the publication of discounts would adversely impact home sales, prompting buyers to insist on discounts even if the properties were properly priced. Nonetheless, realtors recognize the fact that buyers expect lower prices because of the preponderance of distressed properties.
The median sales price in the Sarasota area in October fell to $154,500, a drop of 9 percent from October last year and nearly 6 percent from the September median of $164,000. The October median however marked an increase of 7.3 percent from the February median price of $144,000, the lowest level in 2009.
The Southwest Florida area which registered a decrease in median price both on a month-over-month and year-over-year basis was the Charlotte County area. The median sales price dropped to $109,300, marking a 10-percent decrease from $121,800 in October last year and a 1.2-percent drop from $110,600 in the previous month.
In contrast, several California housing markets experienced price premiums in their sales in October. In Stockton, still among the most foreclosure-hit areas, home buyers paid $5,288 or almost 3 percent more than the listing price. In El Centro, buyers paid $2,864 or 2.6 percent above the prices posted in home listings.
