WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Central Florida real estate market is looking up, according to new reports.
The number of homes listed for sale in the Orlando area is below 9,000, the lowest number in seven years.
In January 2011, there were 14,398 homes for sale in the Orlando area. In January 2012 there were 9,258. As of April 6, there were 8,950.
Experts say the low inventory is pushing the prices up.
The median sales price in March 2011 was $102,000. In March 2012 the median price was $114,900, which is about a 12 percent increase.
With fewer homes on the market, buying a home has become very competitive, with many buyers using cash. Cash deals made up more than half of the sales in the month of March.
Realtor Anthony Consalvo said Vermont snowbirds Gordon and Suzy Kerr got a taste of Central Florida's competitive real estate market.
Consalvo said there's a low inventory of homes and that's why the Kerrs got their first choice home swept up from under their feet.
"Somebody came in with a contract behind ours but they had cash and wanted to close in 30 days and we just couldn't move that fast," Suzy said.
The Kerrs bought their Winter Park condo Thursday.
The amount of foreclosures and short sales are also down, but another wave of foreclosures are expected after the recent robo-signing settlement, but Consalvo said it won't be enough to have a huge impact.
"Even if you dumped another 5,000-6,000 foreclosures, we still don't have the same inventory that would make a normal market," he said.