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.
If you are thinking about one, here are some useful tips from Florida Realtors.
New listings are moving in tandem with closed sales in Sarasota County. As both are shifting down, the median sales price has continued to rise materially year on year. While the three months of inventory in available homes looks great when compared to 2021; it still is lower than we would like for market balance. We are seeing sellers give some concessions in this market; however, buyers shouldn’t be expecting material “bargains” based on the transaction results to date. The infographic from Florida Realtors below has the latest details.
While transactions are continuing to trend downward, inventory hasn’t been growing as much as you would expect as most sellers appear to be sitting on the sidelines. That paradigm is causing the median sales price to continue to rise significantly despite slowing sales. We have a few months until we hit peak season in Manatee; however, it is looking like the current environment will likely hold through the spring. The infographic below from Florida Realtors has the details.
I was looking back at Realtor.com’s forecasts for real estate activity in 2022 just to level set where we are today. This isn’t to pick on Realtor.com as it is an excellent source of information about the real estate market. It’s more to point out that even the expert forecasts can miss reality by miles.