The SW Florida 2022 housing market stalls out in many categories. Closed sales and pending sales are down. Let’s take a deeper look at home prices and inventory levels.
2022 Housing Market Stalls
The average price of closed single family home sales in Lee County fell by 4.1% this year. The median price has risen 1.57%. If you look at the graph it is plain to see that home prices have stalled out.
Home and condo inventory levels have also stalled out the past 4 weeks, holding steady around 3,180 homes and 959 condos on the market. Ironically, there has been a direct correlation between the housing inventory levels and closed sale prices.
Inventory levels are a direct result of supply and demand. Sometimes more listings hit the market and the demand is so high the market gobbles them up. Other times demand is less than supply. For about four months we saw supply outpacing demand, therefore inventory grew. It not only grew, but it also doubled in a short time period.
Inventory Stalls
Thankfully inventory levels have stalled out, and so has the pricing. Home prices are down from their peaks in June and July. Unofficial numbers we have studied in MLS suggest home prices may have gone up slightly in August. This is unofficial because not all home sales may have been reported as of Sept 6th, and there could be a few sales outside of our local MLS that could affect the numbers.
Unofficial numbers suggest around 1,130 closings in August. For perspective, July saw 1,168 officially.
At any rate, while an uptick in August, it is not a significant rise. We also caution people not to focus on any given month. We like to look at trends. The trend we are seeing now is that the 2022 housing market stalls out in SW Florida in several categories.
We are returning to a normal market, which is healthy. Of course, nobody knows what will happen with the economy or interest rates going forward. What we do know is this market is very steady. May buyers fear the market is going to go down. We can state the market has already gone down and buyers may have missed it.
Some sellers have missed it too. The question on everyone’s mind is, where do we go from here? Nobody knows for certain, but we can say the market has acted rationally through this transition and there is no reason to believe it won’t again if circumstances change. We don’t have a crisis market. We have a market sensitive to interest rates and economic fluctuations, and that’s a good thing. It means the market is healthy and predictable depending on what economic conditions persist.
New Home Selling Program
The Ellis Team will be rolling out a new program for home sellers. This program is proven to get sellers Top Dollar and their home sold quickly. Stay tuned for details. If you are thinking of selling, you can call Sande or Brett at 239-310-6500 to get on the schedule for this new program. We’ll be happy to view your home and go over the details of the program.
If you’d like to check out your home value, visit www.SWFLhomevalues.com You can track each month whether your home is going up or down in value.
If you have real estate questions, our team is here to help. Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty 239-489-4042, the Real Estate Authority in SW Florida!