In 2023, the performance of existing single-family home sales in Florida has generally fallen short of the pre-pandemic transaction levels. Furthermore, throughout the year until August, Florida’s 2023 real estate transactions lagged behind those of 2022, though they have been gradually catching up. Notably, in September, closed sales of single-family homes experienced their first year-over-year increase in 2023, rising by over 6%.
Mortgage interest rates have trended up over the last 30 days. The recent change will cost new borrowers about $26 per month for every $100,000 borrowed. Average U.S. interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages were at 7.57% as of this week. Last month at this time, they were sitting at 7.18%.
I know agent compensation for real estate transactions is a question that many people think about when it is time to buy or sell a home. The National Association of Realtors has created this helpful video to explain how it works.
Single-family home transactions slowed down more YoY in Sarasota County than Manatee in August. It isn’t very often that you see closed sales down, inventory up, and the median sales price rise materially. What I believe it is telling us is that the higher end of the market is relatively stronger now than it was last year when compared to the lower half of price points. The percentage of cash sales rising tends to reinforce that belief. The infographic below from Florida Realtors shows more detail from Sarasota County in August.
August was rather uneventful for single-family home sales in Manatee County. While closed transactions were up YoY, pending transactions were down. All that led to rather flat results in terms of both price and inventory across the county when compared to August of 2022. Overall, I continue to be pleased with the market overall as the balance between buyers and sellers is reasonable. The ultimate question is still around what the market will look like as we head into our busy season in a few months.
