Florida’s housing market in April showed continuing trends from the past few months, with more for-sale inventory (active listings) and higher median sales prices for condo-townhouse units compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors’ latest housing data. Across the state, economic factors like mortgage rates above 6 percent, and still rising – but easing – inflation impacted closed home sales.
“More active listings spark buyers’ interest and provide more homeownership opportunities,” said 2023 Florida Realtors President G. Mike McGraw, a broker-associate with RE/MAX Central Realty in Orlando. “In time, having more available inventory could ease the pressure of rising prices; however, Florida’s current for-sale supply is still constrained as cautious buyers and sellers remain wary of higher mortgage interest rates.”
Last month, closed sales of existing single-family homes statewide totaled 23,334, down 17.2 percent year-over-year, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 10,040, down 26.8 percent over April 2022. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.
Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor said that the drop in closed sales of single-family existing homes in April was “slightly worse than what we saw in March, when we were down by 15 percent year-over-year. But it’s still an improvement over February’s decline of 21%, and significantly better than January’s decline of 32.5 percent.”
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in April was $410,000, the same as in April 2022, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local realtor boards/associations. Last month’s statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $325,000, up 4.8% over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
“With the median price for existing Florida single-family homes in April at the same level of $410,000 as last April, it brings an end to a remarkable more than 11-year stretch – that’s 135 months – where the monthly median single-family home sale price in Florida was up on a year-over-year basis,” said O’Connor. “The impact of the higher mortgage rate environment we’re in and the scarcity of homes on the market has led to this moderation in home price growth, but the major detrimental impact of this type of environment remains the decline in listings and sales.
“The streak of consecutive months of median price growth, on the other hand, is still very much alive over in the townhouse and condo category, which had a median price in April of $325,000, a year-over-year increase of almost 5 percent,” he added.
On the supply side of the market, inventory (active listings) rose year-over-year with single-family existing homes at a 2.6-months’ supply in April, while condo-townhouse inventory was at a 3.5-months’ supply.
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