Despite some concerns about an impending recession, unemployment rates remain low, which presents a mixed scenario for the housing market. In March, the U.S. saw the addition of over 300,000 jobs, as reported by the Labor Department, reducing the unemployment rate to 3.8% from February’s 3.9%.
For those of us living in Florida, we know that property insurance rate increases have been a real problem. Florida Realtors has put together the infographic below that shows there may be signs of improvement on the way.
Homebuyers might want to temper their expectations for significant declines in mortgage rates as the spring housing season commences. The inflation rate increased to 3.2% year-over-year in February, as highlighted in the latest consumer price index report. This marks the third consecutive month of rising inflation rates, diverging further from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Inventory rose much quicker than sales for single-family homes when I compare December year-on-year statistics in Sarasota County. I believe some of that rapid increase is just timing as people are putting their homes up for sale in anticipation of prime selling season in Sarasota. That said, if we see this trend for a few months, buyers will end up having material leverage in the market. Overall, the market is still healthy, but we need to keep a closer eye on Sarasota County in the short-term. See the infographic below from Florida Realtors for more information.
The single-family home market in Manatee County is continuing to move in a healthy direction. Both inventory and sales volume are up over 10% year-on-year. With inventory rising somewhat quicker than sales, we are in a position of having inventory at over three months of sales. As we are in our busy season, it couldn’t come at a better time. The market still favors sellers a bit, but it is balanced enough to give both buyers and sellers negotiating leverage. The infographic below from Florida Realtors gives more details.
