The buzzword these days seems to be Unemployment. I’ve talked numerous times about how the high unemployment trends continue to impact the real estate market in Bay County. The latest numbers released for our area indicates a 10.1% unemployment rate. This is up slightly from November of 2011 and a glimmer of good news would be a decrease from December of 2010.
Unemployment Trends
The graph below reflects the median sales price of detached single family homes in Bay County, Florida from 2003 to 2011.
Notice the low unemployment numbers during the 2003-2005 era and the continual increase in the sales price. In mid-2007, unemployment began to escalate and by late 2008, the unemployment rates for this market virtually doubled thus impacting demand. This of course limits demand and impacts supply.
This is a major issue that we will have to overcome in order to see any recovery in the marketplace.
How has the unemployment issue influenced your market area?
