Fla.'s Housing Market: Inventory Improves, Prices Continue to Stabilize in Oct.

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Nov 21, 2023, 11:05 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida's housing market continued to show improving inventory levels (active listings) statewide in October, along with stabilizing median prices compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors^®' latest housing data.

"Florida's housing market showed some positive signs for homebuyers who have been waiting for mortgage rates to ease and more available for-sale inventory to increase housing options," said 2023 Florida Realtors^® President G. Mike McGraw, a broker-associate with LPT Realty in Orlando. "Statewide, new listings for existing single-family homes rose 14.5% in October, while new listings for condo-townhouse properties were up by 29.6%. It's good news for those who have been waiting on the sidelines because of a shortfall of homes available for sale."

Last month, closed sales of existing single-family homes statewide totaled 19,729, down 5.3% year-over-year; existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 8,115, down 2.9% over October 2022, 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.

While closed single-family home sales were down modestly in October, sales remain in the same neighborhood as last year, said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O'Connor.

"That has been a pretty common theme throughout 2023, where the housing market has not improved much, but it hasn't really worsened either," he said. "We will stay in this holding pattern until interest rates really make a true downward shift. Most likely, rates will remain elevated until we start to see a more consistent amount of economic data telling us that the labor market is weakening more substantially than it has been."

Some of the October data may signal a positive trend for inventory levels, O'Connor noted.

"The typical 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to almost 8% during the month, and yet, new pending sales of single-family homes were up by 8.4%," he said. "Part of this may be due to an increase in listings available to prospective buyers, who as we know have long been frustrated by a lack of selection. And some of it is definitely due to base effects in Southwest Florida, because that's where some of the strongest year-over-year growth in new contracts was. At this time last year, Southwest Florida was recovering from Hurricane Ian and new pending sales in that region were much lower than usual."

New contracts – or pending sales – for condo-townhouse units in October rose 1.4% year-over-year, a more limited gain than pending sales for the single-family sector.

Florida had a 3.5-month supply of single-family existing homes in October, up 29.6% year-over-year. Meanwhile, condo-townhouse units reported a 4.6-month supply last month, up 84% over the October 2022 level.

"Still, whether you look at single-family homes or townhouses and condos, inventories remain below the levels that were typical of the six or seven years leading up to the pandemic," O'Connor said. "So supply is still limited and as a result, prices have remained fairly stable."

In October, the statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $410,000, up 2% from one year earlier. For condo-townhouse units, the median price was $321,990, up 3.9% from a year earlier.

To see the full statewide housing activity reports, go to the Florida Realtors Newsroom and look under Latest Releases or download the October 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