As we’ve been helping clients to find the vacation homes they’ve been seeking during the past few months, it has seemed harder and harder to find that ideal place. Not only have the prices of property for sale in Florida been rising, but availability has fallen dramatically. Just one example: a large, popular condo/town home community in Central Florida containing hundreds of homes has had literally dozens of places available to buy during the past year or two, but at the time of writing, there are just seven to choose from. The same picture is repeated in almost all of the communities that we review.
Some statistics out this week confirm the subjective view. All of the State is experiencing prices rises as well as reduced properties to look at. For the State overall, comparing April 2018 with the same time last year:
- The median price of single-family (i.e. detached) homes rose by 8.1%
- The townhouse/condo median price increased by 10.5%
- The volume of sales increased by 4% (single-family homes) and 9% (townhouses/condos).
That’s certainly a sign of things moving to the benefit of house sellers. The market for property for sale in Florida has changed a lot since the recession of 10 years ago!
In case you need more convincing, the Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor commented:
Demand for single family homes remains strong across the state and this abundance of buyers continues to deplete active inventories and drive up prices.
In Osceola County, the location containing Kissimmee and therefore many short-term rental homes, things are just as much if not even more dramatic:
- The median sales price increased by 10.6%
- The median percentage of original listing price actually achieved rose from 97.0% to 97.5%
- The inventory of homes, i.e. those available to buy, reduced by 13.3%
Numbers for Polk County, containing the short-term rental areas of Davenport and much of Four Corners, are even larger:
- The median sales price increased by 12.8%
- The median percentage of original listing price actually achieved rose from 96.8% to 97.9%
- The inventory of homes, i.e. those available to buy, reduced by 17.1%
What does this mean for buyers? Here are a few brief thoughts:
- Even though you shouldn’t move ahead until it’s right for you, unnecessary delays are likely to cost you money and reduce your choices
- Get your finance sorted out right at the start of your home search so that you have no delays once you find the place you want
- Be prepared to compromise on price or location or other features in a market that has changed dramatically in the past few years.
We’ll be happy to talk to any prospective buyer about the state of the market and how they can get the best value for money when they are looking at property for sale in Florida, so simply contact us to get started the moment you’re ready.