Has our market recovered?
Back in April, the number of closings for the year in Florida was down by 25%. By May, they had gone down 36%. I’m sure you don’t need reminding why we were all feeling nervous about what the future would bring…
However, the ultimate result was that the typical spring buying season got pushed back. By June and July, those affected numbers started to balance out. Toward the end of June, we were only down 7%, which then went down even lower to 4% in July. This was a huge recovery. The numbers for August haven’t come out yet, but if they’re reflective of our brokerage, I’d guess that the number of sales has evened out with the recovery of the delayed buying season.
If you’re thinking about selling a home, almost all of our listings are going into multiple-offer situations and are selling for above list price in very short time frames. Inventory is very low and buyers are still out in droves looking for homes, so it is absolutely a great time to sell.
“Now that we know that the market is still going strong, we don’t need to panic.”
You might think that because of all that, it’s not such a great time to be a buyer. However, consider this: Interest rates have been around 2.5% and 3% over the past few months. If you’re able to buy a house at those rates, you’re in a good position. As interest rates go up, your buying power goes down. Just a year ago, the median home price in Florida was $268,000—now, it’s $295,000. Ask yourself: Would you spend more than that difference if you were paying a higher interest rate for 30 years?
All in all, it’s an amazing time to be a seller and a buyer, and I can’t imagine that we’ll ever be in this type of situation again. If you have any questions about buying or selling, reach out to us. We would love to help you.
