Five condo sales in February after zero in January. That looks like a recovery. It isn't.

Those five sales took nearly two months on market. Fifty-eight days of showings, silence, and price adjustments before buyers committed. That's not demand returning. That's buyers knowing they hold the cards and waiting until the price dropped far enough to act.

All five were apartment condos. No condo townhouses sold. Seventeen new condo apartment listings came on in February. Five sold. The rest didn't connect. If you're a condo owner in the Preserve, the math is still working against you.

January's complete shutout forced a reckoning. Sellers who adjusted after sitting through a month of zero activity found buyers in February. Sellers who didn't adjust are still sitting. The difference between the two groups wasn't location or unit quality. It was pricing.

The average sale price came in at $522,800. That's down from December's $640,000 and well below where most condo owners in the Preserve bought. If you owe more than your unit is worth today, selling means absorbing a loss. That's a real problem with no easy answer. But listing above what buyers will pay doesn't solve it. It just adds months.

Spring typically brings more new listings starting mid-March. More supply entering a market where buyers are already selective and patient doesn't help condo sellers. It gives buyers more reason to wait.

If you're considering selling your condo in the Preserve, February's message is straightforward. Buyers came back. But they came back on their terms, at their price, after making sellers wait. That dynamic isn't changing anytime soon.