With home prices in Florida still generally on an upward trend, navigating the real estate market has become challenging for both buyers and sellers due to mortgage rates. Currently hovering around 7%, some buyers have opted to put their home search on hold, hoping for a decline in either market interest rates or home prices, or even both. However, is this the most effective strategy?
The biggest difference between Sarasota County and Manatee County this month is that closed sales in Sarasota continued their downward YoY trend while Manatee’s moved up. It looks like Sarasota is still challenged in the lower half of the market as the median sales price continues to rise. That said, the market in Sarasota is still more balanced than it has been in some time. It remains a good time to be a buyer or a seller, but more inventory would definitely benefit the market as a whole. See the infographic below from Florida Realtors for more.
While new listings were down YoY in May, we saw both closed sales and overall inventory rise when compared to May of 2022. The lower half of the market seems to be more active this year as the median sales price is finally moving down a bit. While I would like to see listings and inventory continue to rise, the market is continuing to look healthier now than it did a year ago. It is a reasonable time to be a buyer or seller in Manatee County. See the infographic below from Florida Realtors for more.
Investor purchases dropped almost by half year-on-year in the 1st quarter of 2023 as elevated interest rates along with declining rents and housing values ate into potential profits, according to a report from Redfin. Of total home sales, investors had a 17.6% share.
Sentiment is down, does that mean the prospect of higher returns is up?
According to a recent Gallup poll, real estate remains a top investment choice for Americans, although its popularity has decreased to a five-year low. In April, 34% of respondents selected real estate as the best place to invest their money, out of options including stocks, bonds, gold, and savings accounts. This poll has consistently ranked real estate as the preferred investment for the past decade.