Florida’s Housing Market: Median Prices, New Listings Increase in January

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

Influx of New Residents, New Jobs Helped Florida’s Housing Market in 2023

Orlando, FL – Jan. 19, 2024 (PRNewswire) As 2023 ended, Florida’s inventory of for-sale existing homes and condo properties showed gains over 2022, while statewide median sales prices continued to rise year-over-year despite higher interest rates and ongoing inflation, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®

Year End 2023

“2023 was a rough year for residential real estate here in the U.S. and around the world, as central banks continued to raise interest rates to combat inflation, though Florida weathered the storm fairly well,” said Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “The state’s economy churned out new jobs at one of the highest rates of any state, and throughout the year, both retirees and working-age adults and their families continued to move here in droves from elsewhere in the country. Both of those factors helped mitigate some of the dampening effect that high mortgage rates had on homebuyer demand in 2023, but they weren’t enough to keep home sales from declining.”

Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes at the end of the year totaled 257,679, down 10.3% compared to the 2022 year-end level, according to data from Florida Realtors’ research department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. For existing condo-townhouses, a total of 105,411 units sold statewide in 2023, down 16% compared to 2022. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.

O’Connor pointed out, “Like the rest of the country, Florida remained mired in a housing shortage throughout 2023, although inventory (active listings) levels at the end of the year were higher than where they started by 17.8% for single-family homes and 52.6% for condos and townhouses. However, inventory remains below pre-pandemic levels and while the balance has shifted somewhat toward buyers as of late, we solidly remain in seller’s market territory.”

He added that “the amount of housing supply remains too limited and the demand for housing in Florida remains too strong to support any sort of significant home price correction any time soon.”

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes at year’s end was $410,000, up 1.9% from the previous year. The statewide median price for condo-townhouse properties at the end of the year was $322,500, up 5.2% from the previous year. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Florida Realtors’ data showed that at the end of 2023, in December 2023 and also in 4Q 2023, inventory (active listings) for single-family homes stood at a 3.6-months’ supply, while inventory for condo-townhouse properties was at a 5.1-months’ supply.

December 2023
In December, closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 18,423, down 3.8% from December 2022, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 7,202, down 6.2% year-over-year, according to Florida Realtors’ data.

The statewide median sales prices for both existing single-family homes and condo-townhouse properties rose year-over-year in December 2023. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $410,000, up 3.8% from the previous year. Meanwhile, the statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $330,000, up 6.5% over the year-ago figure.

4Q 2023
Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 55,874 in 4Q 2023, down 2% compared to the previous-year figure, according to Florida Realtors’ data. The statewide median sales price for existing single-family homes for the quarter was $410,805, up 2.7% from 4Q 2022.

Looking at Florida’s year-to-year comparison for sales of condo-townhouses in 4Q 2023, a total of 22,425 units sold statewide, down 3% from the same quarter in 2022. The statewide median price for condo-townhouse properties for the quarter was $325,173, up 4.9% over the previous year.

Looking ahead, O’Connor said, “I expect to see continued improvement in the rate of sales as we go forward in 2024, now that mortgage rates have likely peaked and there’s a good possibility of the Federal Reserve starting to cut rates in the coming months.”

To see the full statewide housing activity reports, go to the Florida Realtors’ Newsroom and look under Latest Releases or download the December, 4Q or Year End 2023 data report PDFs under Market Data on the site.

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

Florida’s Housing Market: Prices Stable, Inventory Up in September

ORLANDO, Fla.Oct. 19, 2023 (PRNewswire) In September and the third quarter (3Q) of 2023, Florida’s housing market continued to show signs of stabilization in statewide median prices and improving inventory levels (active listings) compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors®‘ latest housing data.

Florida continues to draw new residents, and the dollar volume of single-family home sales in September was up 14.1% year-over-year to $12.2 billion dollars,” said 2023 Florida Realtors® President G. Mike McGraw, a broker-associate with LPT Realty in Orlando. “Over that same timeframe, closed sales of single-family homes rose 6.1%. The Florida market remains strong in the face of higher mortgage rates, and first-time buyers are finding greater selections and less competition than they’ve seen in years.”

September 2023: Last month, closed sales of existing single-family homes statewide totaled 21,335, up 6.1% year-over-year; existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 8,387, down 0.2% over September 2022, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations.

3Q 2023: Statewide existing single-family home sales totaled 66,450 for 3Q, down 3.2% from 3Q 2022. Statewide existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 26,129, down 5.8% year-over-year. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.

Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor sees some increasingly positive signs as the market enters the fall season

.”In September, closed sales of single-family homes were up for the first time compared to a year ago, rising by over 6%,” said O’Connor. “Closed sales of townhouses and condos in 2023 have been converging with their 2022 levels as well. We were still down in September year over year, but by a fraction of 1%.

“While higher mortgage rates continue to challenge buyers, they’ve been rising “at a much slower pace than last year,” O’Connor added.

In September, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $409,243, up 1.3% from $403,880 one year earlier. For condo-townhouse units, the median price was $324,990, up 5.8% from $307,250 recorded in September 2022.

In 3Q 2023, Florida’s single-family median sales price was $414,000, a 1.0% increase over the second quarter of 2022. The 3Q condo-townhouse median sales price was $320,545, a 5.8% year-over-year increase. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

“So far in 2023, new listings have been at their lowest level in several years, but in recent months, the level of new listings has been a little closer to pre-pandemic levels than it was earlier in the year,” said O’Connor. “In fact, new single-family listings in September exceeded the number of new listings in the same month in 2019 (pre-pandemic) for the first time this year. The same is also true if we compare this September’s new listings to those of last year, amounting to a year-over-year increase of 8%.”

The end result, O’Connor said, is more active inventory at the end of September than at the beginning, and a slightly higher inventory of single-family homes year over year. However, he added, “Florida is still pretty far below the pre-pandemic level of inventory at this time in 2019.”

On the supply side of the market, Florida had a 3.2-month supply of single-family existing homes in September, a 28% year-over-year increase. For condo-townhouse units, the state had a 4.1-month supply in September, for a 78.3% year-over-year increase.

To see the full statewide housing activity reports, go to the Florida Realtors Newsroom and look under Latest Releases or download the September 2023 and 3Q 2023 data report PDFs under 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