In 2023, the performance of existing single-family home sales in Florida has generally fallen short of the pre-pandemic transaction levels. Furthermore, throughout the year until August, Florida’s 2023 real estate transactions lagged behind those of 2022, though they have been gradually catching up. Notably, in September, closed sales of single-family homes experienced their first year-over-year increase in 2023, rising by over 6%.
Mortgage interest rates have trended up over the last 30 days. The recent change will cost new borrowers about $26 per month for every $100,000 borrowed. Average U.S. interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages were at 7.57% as of this week. Last month at this time, they were sitting at 7.18%.
I know agent compensation for real estate transactions is a question that many people think about when it is time to buy or sell a home. The National Association of Realtors has created this helpful video to explain how it works.
From my experience, staging your home for sale can make a dramatic difference in the selling process. If nothing else, properly staging for pictures will attract more traffic even if you have to move items out prior to contracting for sale. The infographic from Florida Realtors below provides more insight.
August was rather uneventful for single-family home sales in Manatee County. While closed transactions were up YoY, pending transactions were down. All that led to rather flat results in terms of both price and inventory across the county when compared to August of 2022. Overall, I continue to be pleased with the market overall as the balance between buyers and sellers is reasonable. The ultimate question is still around what the market will look like as we head into our busy season in a few months.
