Mortgage rates decreased last week following the Trump administration’s tariff announcement. The sharp sell-off in the stock market prompted investors to flock to the bond market, which led to a drop in bond yields. Since mortgage rates tend to follow the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury, this decline resulted in lower mortgage rates.
In this competitive market for home sellers, it is important to stage your home well to sell. I find that the list below from Florida Realtors works well for small to medium size homes.
In February, Sarasota County saw more than double the number of new listings compared to closed home sales. Inventory levels continue to grow as we approach the tail end of our busy season. While pending sales exceeded closed sales in February, they were not enough to curb the expected increase in inventory. I anticipate that Sarasota County will experience a buyer’s market for the next few months. However, just because buyers have more leverage doesn’t mean they have all the control. Sellers should focus on positioning their homes strategically in the market to achieve the best results. The infographic below from Florida Realtors offers more detailed information.
Florida Realtors has put together the helpful infographic below to assist you in your home selling process. As the market today is favoring buyers more than we have seen in the past several years, it is important to put your best foot forward when selling your home.
Unlike Manatee County, Sarasota County’s market clearly favors buyers at this point. Unless we see a major uptick in sales over the next three months, there will be a significant amount of inventory left on the market heading into our slower season this summer. Cash buyers are still out there in a big way, so I am not sure pricing leverage is quite as high for typical buyers as they would like. That said, if you are interested in a property in Sarasota County, we have significantly worse times to buy. The infographic from Florida Realtors below contains more information.
