Yes, we said it, and don’t be alarmed as we’ve said for months we wouldn’t be surprised to see prices pull back a bit due to seasonality. Median sale prices are still up 20.7% over last year. As you can see from the single family homes median price chart, most of our gains occur in season January through April. That’s because more of the expensive homes sell that time of year pulling the median price up. SW Florida Sale Prices Retreat.
We’re still receiving multiple offers on many properties and inventory is as low as ever. Last year there were 5,668 active homes on the market and this year there is only 4,924. Closed sales are up 6.8% over last year and they’d be much higher if we had more inventory to sell.
Cash sales accounted for 51.7% of all single family home MLS sales which is really helping with appraisals. In a rising market it’s sometimes difficult on appraisers because they’re using comparable sales from the past even though the market is rising now. Cash sales typically aren’t subject to appraisal, so as they close they provide fresh new sales data that is sometimes more indicative of the market.
In July 1,466 new listings came on the market. Some of these aren’t actually new listings as they could have been withdrawn or expired and re-listed. July also saw 1,149 listings go pending, so approximately 78.4% of the new listings went pending. In reality it wasn’t because some of the pendings would have been on properties listed before July, but it does show that the market is turning over at a high rate.
Average days on market are falling to 49 days now, down from 57 in June and 60 in May. This is a result of buyers having fewer choices when searching for homes. Buyers are really surprised when they find out there are only a few homes on the market that match their criteria.
If you’re considering selling now may be a good time to research your options. Inventory is critically low and we’ve been selling our listing inventory to the point we have few listings left. We’re selling them as fast as or faster than we can list them.
Just because it’s a seller’s market it isn’t a license to get crazy on pricing. Prices are going up however we don’t have runaway prices as the overall economy still limits how fast and how far prices will rise. If we had a great economy prices could be much higher, although we would see more sellers entering the market which would add supply.
Builders are building again which is helping pick up the slack as today’s market just can’t fill the demand. Buyers are often left scratching their heads wondering how they’re losing homes to other buyers.
If you’re a buyer and you want the house, don’t leave the door open for the seller to entertain other offers. If you’re offering below asking price and the home is priced fairly, expect that someone else will offer full price or more. More buyers are losing their first or second choice by leaving the door open.
Price isn’t the only way to make your offer look good to the seller. Offer friendly terms, larger escrow deposit, and position yourself from strength. Sellers not only look at price but how likely the buyer is to actually being able to perform. If your offer is light on down payment, has contingencies, or other outs the seller may question your ability compared to other buyers.
Ask your Realtor to make your offer look good to the seller. If you need help, feel free to call the Ellis Team. We’re here to help. 239-489-4042
Good luck and Happy House Hunting!!!
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