We saw mortgage rates drop significantly last month. The most recent decrease will save new borrowers an additional $15.61 per month for every $100,000 borrowed. Average U.S. rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages were at 4.55% at the end of December (and are even a little lower as I am writing this). At the end of November, they were sitting at 4.81%. We are continuing to see a bit of a zig zag approach to the market with a few months of rising rates followed by a month or two of decline.
Whether you are looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate, it is important to understand market conditions. Real estate is hyper-local, with market dynamics changing from subdivision to subdivision. However, county trends generally give you a good idea of what to expect.
The luxury single family home market ($1M+ homes) is more of a buyer’s market in both Sarasota County and Manatee County this year than last. Markets are generally considered in “balance” when there is about six months of inventory for sale at the current pace of home sales. When the inventory gets greater than that, buyers tend to have more leverage than sellers in negotiations.
The latest mortgage statistics show an improving market in Sarasota and Manatee counties as the numbers continue to improve. Both short-term delinquency rates (30 days late) and serious delinquencies (90 days + late) are lower than they were last year at this time. From a mortgage perspective, Hurricane Irma had significantly more impact than this year’s red tide.
For the second month in a row, the Sarasota and Manatee county markets for condos & townhomes are moving in lockstep for homes below $600,000. However, the Manatee market has really slowed down when compared to Sarasota for condos above $600,000.