Orlando, FL – Feb. 22, 2024 (PRNewswire) Florida’s housing market started 2024 with higher median prices, more new listings, more inventory (active listings) and median prices in January compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors®‘ latest housing data.
However, mortgage interest rates above 6% continued to impact potential homebuyers’ purchase power, while also contributing to a lock-in effect among would-be home sellers who bought their homes years ago with a mortgage rate of 3% to 4.5%.
“We’re seeing positive signs that for-sale inventory is beginning to increase in many local markets across the state, which should encourage buyers who may have been waiting on the sidelines,” said 2024 Florida Realtors® President Gia Arvin, broker-owner with Matchmaker Realty in Gainesville. “It looks like mortgage rates may be starting to ease, and if that continues, we should see more pent-up demand translate into closed home sales.”
Closed sales of single-family homes statewide last month totaled 14,851, up 0.6% from the January 2023 level, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 6,008, down 1.2% year-over-year, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.
In January, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $405,000, up 3.8% from the previous year; for condo-townhouse units, it was $320,000, up 3.2% over January 2023. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
“While sales and prices remained fairly similar compared to a year ago, we saw significantly more new listings this January,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “New listings of single-family homes were up 16.7% year over year, while new listings of townhouses and condos were up by 31.4%. This is a continuation of a trend we’ve seen over the past few months, and it mostly has to do with abnormally low numbers of new listings in late 2022 and early 2023, mostly due to how fast mortgage rates were rising at that time.”
He noted that while last month’s new listings were well above where they were in January 2023, the numbers were basically in line with pre-pandemic levels in January 2019 and January 2020.
With new listings back to normal levels over the past few months, the Florida housing market has added some inventory, thus pulling it out of those multi-year lows, according to O’Connor.
“That’s great news for prospective homebuyers who have been looking for more variety in the market,” he said. “Affordability remains a challenge, but the extra inventory we have now should help to keep further price growth in check for the time being.”
Statewide inventory in January was higher than a year ago for both existing single-family homes, increasing by 24.8%, and for condo-townhouse units, up 62.9%. The supply of single-family existing homes was at a 3.8-months’ supply while existing condo-townhouse properties were at a 5.8-months’ supply last month.
To see the full statewide housing activity reports, go to the Florida Realtors Newsroom at https://www.floridarealtors.org/newsroom and look under Latest Releases or download the January 2024 data report PDFs under Market Data at https://www.floridarealtors.org/newsroom/market-data.
Florida Realtors® serves as the voice for real estate in Florida. It provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to 238,000 members in 51 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Newsroom website is available at http://floridarealtors.org/newsroom.
SOURCE Florida Realtors
