The Atlanta Federal Reserve Center for Real Estate Analytics sent team members to the Florida Panhandle last month to question local real estate business professionals and gauge the state of the real estate recovery in the Gulf Coast.
The residential real estate professionals who were asked to describe the health of the regional economy stated the Gulf Coast economy is stable to improving. The majority of those asked stated that home prices hit rock bottom, suggesting that home price appreciation continue to be flat to slightly up through spring 2013.
The real estate business contacts also reported balanced home inventory levels, fewer distressed properties and more buyer traffic as key contributors to the stability of the economy.
Click below to see a chart of home prices provided by those surveyed.
The contacts mentioned that a large portion of the existing home sales activity in the Gulf Coast consisted of move-up buyers. Second-home buyers and investors are considered one and the same, often hailing from Texas, the Midwest, Baltimore and surrounding Southeast states. Additionally, cash buyers are yet to discover the Panhandle yet.
Below is data revealing the distribution of homebuyers.
Reports on housing inventories varied among those surveyed. Lenders claimed there was an oversupply, while builders believe there is a shortage.
