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Home Buying Home Prices Home Selling Real Estate

Sarasota County Market Update

Closed sales were down 50% year on year in Sarasota County for single family homes in November. That is a massive drop; however, the market still doesn’t favor buyers at many price points. Inventory levels are at 4 months of sales (on average), so we are still a little short of the 6 months usually referenced as a balanced market. The signals are generally favorable for buyers though as cash sales are no longer the majority of sales in the county. That said, buyers shouldn’t be expecting to cash in on low offer to list price transactions at this time. The infographic below from Florida Realtors has more information.

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Home Buying Home Prices Home Selling Real Estate

Manatee County Market Update

We continue to move closer to market balance in Manatee County after a lengthy run of sellers holding most of the cards. Inventory levels are up to almost 4 months of sales (6 months is considered in balance between buyers and sellers). As the price point rises, inventory levels shift more towards buyer leverage. We are now entering our peak season in Florida, so the next few months will be telling as to the market direction. The infographic from Florida Realtors below has the latest results from November.

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Home Buying Home Selling Real Estate

More on Forecasting

Florida Realtors has put together this infographic on one way to predict the future of real estate. While this is oversimplified, it does capture the basics of supply and demand. If you have more questions about today’s market, reach out any time.

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Home Prices Home Selling Real Estate

The Sunshine State

It may seem like rooftop solar should be a no-brainer in Florida; however, it really isn’t that simple. I know several people who have moved from the northeast where they had rooftop solar. With all of the extra sunshine in our state, it would seem that if it worked there, it should work here. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Most of the time, state sponsored incentives made solar economically viable in their last home. Without the incentives, the financial benefits just wouldn’t materialize. Those incentives just don’t exist to the same level in Florida. The infographic below from Florida Realtors shows some starting questions to ask here before you make a decision.

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Home Buying Home Selling Mortgages Real Estate

Growing Optimism via Mortgage Rates

We have just experienced the largest three-week drop in mortgage rates in 14 years. The rate reduction appears to be signaling that the Federal Reserve will slow its pace of short-term interest rate hikes. That said, the reduction in rates has not yet increased the number of mortgage applications. Rather, they continue to decline.