Daytona Condo Market Takes Big Sales Plunge

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Daytona Beach, FL - It's the kind of stat which makes local realtors and property sellers nervous.

Rosy predictions about a strong condominium market in the Daytona Beach area took the corner hard into reality, according to the latest from the Multiple Listing Service.

128 condos - including condotels - sold locally in May, 26% fewer than during the same month a year ago, when 175 condos changed hands. May's number was also fewer than the 143 sold this past April.

Ron Wysocarski - broker and CEO of Wyse Home Team Realty in Port Orange - says the big silver lining is that the median sales price did go up last month compared to May 2017, but why sales numbers dropped so dramatically is tough to figure out at this point, especially since there appears to be no big economic factor which would have led to the drop.

"Our hope is that [the sales numbers are] an anomaly and not a forecast of the future," Wysocarski added.

The median sales price was $214,000 in May, a 3% jump over April ($207,000) and 15% higher than May 2017 ($185,500).

That was helped in part by several luxury condo sales, including three above $725,000 at the Minorca Condominiums in New Smyrna Beach and three others above $595,000 at the Martinique in Ponce Inlet, St. Maarten in Daytona Beach Shores and the Mediterranean in Daytona Beach.

Inventory levels also continue to climb. 1,084 units went active on the MLS at some point in May, well above the 993 posted the May prior and also higher than last April's 1036.

Having said that, inventory is still under what it was a few years ago, something Wysocarski hopes changes soon.

"We’re still selling condo units fast, but these conditions are not permanent," Wysocarski said. "If you’ve been thinking of selling your Daytona area condo, now is the time."

So far in 2018, 600 condos have sold in the Daytona Beach area for a median price of $203,700. That's 42 fewer sales than at the same point in 2017, but the median price has risen by $23,750.