Back to school, back in the ol’days, back to the drawing board, Back in Black (any AC/DC fans out there?). When the kids go back to school they are really starting a new year. When we refer to going back to the good ol’ days we’re speaking figuratively, with nostalgia. Going back in time is not what we’d really want since so much has advanced and improved. Back to the drawing board means let’s try again. Back in Black, well, it’s not really going back anywhere but it remains one of my favorite albums, so I wanted to share. “Going back” doesn’t mean things will be the exact same as they were before, that’s true in many of our turns of phrase and it’s true in real estate.
Ray and I have conversations about real estate with folks who are waiting for interest rates to go back down or home prices to go back down. The elephant in the room during those conversations is that the interest rates were lowered in 2020-2022 to keep our economy from serious harm. Home prices went up
because inventory was down. Now, while we do have more homes on the market we are still in a sellers’ market. Home prices may not be declining but fortunately they are not moving up at lightning speed either. Home prices are acting more like a traditional market, meaning they are moving at a more
reasonable rate. In reality, most people don’t want our home prices to decline since many of us buy a house with the belief that a house is an investment which overtime will turn into a nice nest egg. I shudder at the thought of a repeat of what happened in 2008 when home prices did go backwards. That
was a terribly tough financial time for many of us.
What we know as we look back is that we have come to the end of the low 2-3% interest rates. Interest rates now are hovering in the upper 6% to low 7%. Most homes on the market in our tri-county area of Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte are selling for about 97% of their list price. In the ramp up boom of house sales in 2020 to mid-2022 there were more cash transactions. So many people weren’t even able to take advantage of the low interest rates unless they were refinancing their home. Now, we are seeing that in single family homes sales about 77% are with a mortgage. To quote the lyrics of the Semisonic song Closing Time, “Every new beginning comes from some other
beginning's end”. In real estate we are well into our new beginning where there is more inventory, the interest rates are hanging out in the 6-7% range and that is where analysts believe they will stay for a while. The current real estate market feels like it has gone back to a more balanced market.
Here is a quick read article you might find interesting:
This is National data but still gives a good understanding of the market.
Stats and Data for August 2023
What's the market doing in the single family market? Looking at the inventory of homes priced between $350,000 and $450,000 with a pool and a two car garage. Well, let's see...
Sarasota County:
There are 30 homes for sale and over 1/2 of those are in North Port.
Pending sales :31
Sold homes in the last 90 days: 78
Median days on the market in this price point is 21 and sellers are getting 98% of their list price.
Click to see this fabulous downtown Sarasota penthouse?
Charlotte County:
There are 80 homes for sale
Pending sales: 60
Sold homes in the last 90 days: 87
Median days on the market in this price point is 18 and sellers are getting 97% of their list price.
Boat life along Charlotte Harbor in this new construction home. Click to see
Manatee County:
There are 14 homes for sale
Pending sales:11
Sold homes in the last 90 days: 35
Median days on the market in this price point is 10 and sellers are getting 99% of their list price.
Click to see a stunning home on Holmes Beach
What does that say about this price point for a pool home? That there are buyers buying in this price point. Buyers are making good solid offers. Sellers are selling in under a month on average.
I generally focus on the single family homes. But, the condo market along the Gulf of Mexico is vibrant one, too. So, for this I simply looked at condos priced between $250K and $350K no other perimeters besides price.
Sarasota County:
On the market: 140
Pending: 60
Sold in the last 90 days: 157
Median days on the market in this price point is 36 and sellers are getting 97% of their list price.
Charlotte County:
On the market: 68
Pending: 15
Sold in the last 90 days: 45
Median days on the market in this price point is 29 and sellers are getting 97% of their list price.
Manatee County:
On the market: 120
Pending: 44
Sold in the last 90 days: 123
Median days on the market in this price point is 35 and sellers are getting 97% of their list price.
The condo market is showing the same market positivity. Properties are selling. Sellers are not having to drop their prices drastically to sell. All that is good news for the market.
Then take a look at chart below. This is the market share for our Coldwell Banker Realty office. We are head and shoulders above the competition for the numbers of listings and buyer sales in Venice. This is consistently true month after month.
Remember if you would like to keep your eye on a an area, town, community or zip code let me know. I will create a custom Market Report to be delivered to your inbox with clear stats and data and details of that market.
This months blog was about going back. But what about going towards the future? This meme made me laugh and then it made me not laugh which made me laugh again.
Ray and I want to thank you for reading our market blog! And we hope you have beautiful day.
