Florida Realtors has put together the infographic below that shows how monthly payments for a home purchased at the median sale price in Florida change with a 1% change in mortgage interest rates. As the swings in mortgage rate changes have narrowed in recent months, the upside of waiting for a potential mortgage rate drop has likely shrunk as well.
Mortgage interest rates have trended slightly down over the last 30 days. The recent change will save new borrowers about $5 per month for every $100,000 borrowed. Average U.S. interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages were at 7.50% as of this week. Last month at this time, they were sitting at 7.57%. Recent forecasts for changes in interest rates remain mixed.
Florida Realtors has put together the list of top apps for both buyers and sellers in the infographic below. I am partial to Let’s Decorate!, but decorating is always the most fun activity in any new home.
Like Manatee County, Sarasota County saw significant growth in YoY single-family home sales in September. Also, inventory levels are continuing to rise as we head into our busier season. Overall, both counties are shaping up well for a relatively balanced market for the coming months. The biggest difference for Sarasota is that the percent of cash transactions continues to be well above historical averages. Potential home buyers will need to keep that in mind. The infographic below from Florida Realtors has more details on the market.
September ended up being a solid month for closed sales of single-family homes in Manatee County. It has been a long time since we saw YoY growth of transactions as high as 47%. That said, it doesn’t mean that the seller’s market is back. Rather, balance still rules the day. It looks like we are continuing to see steady inventory growth as we are heading into our busy season in Florida. As long as that holds, it is shaping up to be a reasonable time to be either a buyer or seller in Manatee through Q4 23 and Q1 24. The infographic below from Florida Realtors has more details.
