Fla.'s Housing Market: Strong Gains in 2021 Despite Continuing Pandemic

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Jan 20, 2022, 11:05 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and continuing economic stressors over the year, Florida's housing market wrapped up 2021 with more sales, higher median sale prices and more new listings compared to the year before, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors^®.

Year End 2021
Florida Realtors^® Chief Economist Dr. Brad O'Connor pointed out that 2021 was a notable year for the state's housing market.

"In all, there were over 528,000 total sales of existing homes (all types) in 2021 – an increase of 19% over 2020's total," he said. "The dollar volume of these sales totaled nearly $241 billion, which, because prices also swelled in 2021, represented an increase of over 48%.

Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 350,516 at the end of 2021, up 12.9% compared to the 2020 year-end level, 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.

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes at year's end was $348,000, up 20% from the previous year. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. New pending sales for existing single-family homes rose 5.7% at the end of 2021 compared to the previous year, while new listings for single-family homes were up 7.1% from a year ago.

Looking at Florida's year-to-year comparison for sales of condo-townhouses, a total of 160,177 units sold statewide in 2021, up 34.2% over 2020. The statewide median price for condo-townhouse properties at the end of the year was $252,000, up 17.2% from the previous year. New pending sales for condo-townhouse units for the end of 2021 increased 29.2% compared to a year ago, while new listings for condo-townhouses rose 5.5% from year-end 2020.

Statewide, the number of cash sales doubled year-over-year in both property type categories at the end of 2021, up 53.2% for single-family existing homes and 50.2% for condo and townhouse units.

According to Florida Realtors' data, at the end of 2021, in December 2021 and also for 4Q 2021, inventory (active listings) for single-family homes stood at a 1.0-months' supply, while inventory for condo-townhouse properties was at a 1.3-months' supply.

"Inventory levels at year's end were dangerously low in both property type categories," Dr. O'Connor said. "With inventory as low as it is now, early 2022 isn't looking so great for prospective buyers in either property type category. Current homeowners, however, continue to have the opportunity of a lifetime in the strongest seller's market in ages."

The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.96% for 2021, down significantly from the previous year's average of 3.11%, according to Freddie Mac.

December 2021
In December, closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 29,988, down 1.6% from December 2020, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 12,789, a slight uptick of 0.3% 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. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $373,990, up 21% from the previous year. Meanwhile, the statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $285,000, up 23.9% over the year-ago figure.

Statewide, cash sales increased year-over-year in both property type categories in December, up 27.5% for single-family existing homes and 13.8% for condo and townhouse units.

4Q 2021
Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 85,157 in the fourth quarter of 2021, down 1.6% compared to the year-ago figure, according to Florida Realtors' data. The statewide median sales price for existing single-family homes for 4Q 2021 was $365,000, up 19.3% from 4Q 2020.

Looking at Florida's year-to-year comparison for sales of condo-townhouses, a total of 35,820 units sold statewide in 4Q 2021, remaining at relatively the same level compared to the same period a year earlier (down 0.1%). The statewide median price for condo-townhouse properties for the quarter was $272,000, up 20.4% over the previous year.

Cash sales increased year-over-year in both property type categories in 4Q 2021, up 31.2% for single-family existing homes and 13.3% for condo and townhouse units.

Looking ahead in 2022, Chief Economist O'Connor said mortgage rates trends will impact ongoing market conditions.

"With the Federal Reserve now getting serious about tapering its mortgage and bond purchases, as well as preparing to raise the federal funds rate later this year, we should expect mortgage rates to rise in the coming weeks," he said. "This increase has been underway for a couple of weeks already. If these increases are sustained, then we should eventually expect some slowdown in the rate of price growth, which on the whole is probably a good thing as our economy continues to recover from the impacts of the pandemic."

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 2021 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 225,000 members in 51 boards/associations. Florida Realtors^® Newsroom website is available at http://floridarealtors.org/newsroom.

SOURCE Florida Realtors