The price of homes sold in the Daytona Beach area rose in March to what could possibly be a new record high, surpassing the peak of the last housing boom more than a decade ago.
The Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors reported Monday that the median sale price of homes sold by its members last month climbed to $234,998, up 18 percent from $198,450 in March 2017.
Mark Dougherty, the association's CEO, said it's the highest median sale price he has seen since he started his job in 2006, when the median sales price at the end of that year was $219,900.
The median sales price at the end of 2005 for the Daytona Beach area was $205,500. The median sales price means half sold for more and half for less than that amount, and is considered a more accurate gauge of the market than average price, which can be skewed by an unusually high price for an individual property.
"If this March's median isn't the highest, it's probably pretty close," said Dougherty.
The median price of homes sold countywide in Volusia rose 13 percent to $200,000 in March, slightly below the $201,000 recorded in February, which is believed to be a post-recession high, according to Florida Realtors association data.
In Flagler County, the median price of homes sold last month rose 3.6 percent to $226,900, just under the post-recession high of $231,240 recorded in August of last year, according to Flagler County Association of Realtors data.
Local Realtors attribute the increase in sale prices for existing homes to the scarcity of available homes as the area continues to draw newcomers from other parts of the country, particularly the Northeast and Midwest.
"It's driven by demand. The inventory's so low," said Debbie Callahan, an agent with Adams, Cameron & Co. Realtors who serves as 2018 president of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors. "I'm not surprised at all (by the jump in median sale prices). Anything priced under $235,000 sells within days."
Case in point: Callahan said she represented a seller in Ormond Beach that put the 1960s-built 2-bedroom/2-bath house on the market 10 days ago for $164,900.
"I had a full price offer within 24 hours," she said, adding that the sale happened so fast, she never got around to putting up a for-sale sign.
Callahan and other area real estate observers believe home prices are poised to keep climbing this year.
"Resales follow the builders," said Rose Roberts, a broker associate with Re/Max Signature in Ormond Beach, who noted that prices of new homes have been steadily increasing in recent months because of the tight inventory of available existing homes on the market.
Bill Navarra, the broker and co-owner of Realty Pros Assured in Ormond Beach, said, "I think there's a chance we'll go higher, at least 5 percent this year because of the lack of inventory," but added, "We're close to peaking."
But higher prices for homes comes with a downside, he said.
"The negative effect is that we're losing affordability. Prices are exceeding what the average area income can afford to purchase and then you've got rising interest rates," Navarra said.
The area's affordability, compared to other parts of Florida, has been a big reason why so many people have been relocating here, he said, but it's not the only reason.
"Daytona Beach is an amazing place to live and with the new development, including Tanger Outlets, One Daytona and the new hotels on beachside, it's made it an even much more desirable place to live," Navarra said.
The tight inventory of available existing homes has spurred builders to pick up the pace of new home construction, but not yet fast enough to meet the growing demand, area Realtors say.
"The builders are building more, but they still have not caught up with the demand," Callahan said. "I think by the end of the year, it'll start stabilizing, but right now there's too much demand and not enough housing supply."