Florida MONTHLY Housing Market Update – May 2022
Listings and Prices Up
Florida Realtors: Fla.’s single-family median price up 21.8% to $420K. Condo median price up 28.8% to $322K. Rising interest rates slow sales but new listings up.
Florida sales statistics are released around the 21st of the month – check back for June sales after July 21st.
State of Florida Sales Statistics
Rising mortgage interest rates, high inflation and still-tight inventory levels were factors influencing Florida’s housing market in May, with fewer closed sales compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors®’ latest housing data.
“Households everywhere are feeling the pinch of high inflation,” says 2022 Florida Realtors President Christina Pappas, vice president of the Keyes Family of Companies in Miami. “Homebuyers are also facing the challenges of rising interest rates and tight inventory of for-sale homes, causing some to hit the pause button on their plans. Still, the median time to contract for single-family existing homes in May was nine days – the same as it was in May 2021. The median time to contract for existing condo-townhouse units last month was 10 days compared to 19 days a year ago.
Last month, closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 28,861, down 6.9% year-over-year, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 13,265, down 14.4% from May 2021, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.
Rising mortgage interest rates continue to depress sales of existing homes in Florida, according to Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor, who added that the current level of sales is more comparable to the pre-pandemic years of 2018 and 2019 than sales in 2021, when mortgage rates were still near their all-time lows.
“This slowdown in the rate of sales was accompanied by an increase in the rate of homes listed for sale in May,” he said. “New listings of single-family homes were up on a year-over-year basis by 10.2% – the largest such increase since August of last year. New listings of townhouses and condos were up more modestly, by 3.4%.”
Dr. O’Connor explains, “With sales levels falling closer to historical norms and new listings on the rise in May, inventory levels are starting to rise, as well. The number of single-family homes actively listed for sale in Florida at the end of May was up over 23% compared to the end of April, and up 31.5% compared to a year ago. However, townhouse and condo inventory was up by almost 16% month-over-month, but still down on a year-over-year basis by 20.5%.
“Remember, inventory in each category – single-family homes and also for condo-townhouse properties – has remained at a very low level for some time, which means we’re still deep in seller’s market territory. But we’re starting to see some progress back toward a balanced market.”
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in May was $420,000, up 21.8% from the previous year. Last month’s statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $322,000, up 28.8% over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
On the supply side of the market, inventory (active listings) of single-family existing homes showed some year-over-year improvement in May; it was at a 1.4-months’ supply compared to a 1.1-months’ supply a year ago. Condo-townhouse inventory was at a 1.5-months’ supply in May.
According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.23% in May, significantly higher than the 2.96% averaged during the same month a year earlier. The 30-year fixed rate was at 5.71% on June 30th
St Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach County May Sales Statistics and Trends
Here are the latest year-over-year numbers for our South Florida market are available for May 2022 compared to May 2021:
The trend shows Inventory is going up, and sales are decreasing.
- St. Lucie County actually maintained the number of sales, prices and dollar volume increased. Martin and Palm Beach Counties showed decreases in number of sales and dollar volume.
- Prices are staying relatively the same, but fewer properties are going under contract.
- New Listings and months of inventory increased in all 3 counties.
- This is definitely a trend, so we’ll see where this goes in future updates.
St. Lucie County:
- Closed sales increased 2.3% from 656 to 715 units.
- The number of units paid in cash rose 6% from 182 to 193 units.
- The average sale price rose 31.6% from $337,482 to $444,084.
- The total dollar volume of homes sold rose 34.6% from $221.4 million to $298 million.
- Pending sales dropped 7.3% from 744 to 690 units.
- New listings increased 13.4% from 766 to 869 units.
- The months’ supply of inventory increased 30% from 1 to 1.3 months.
Martin County:
- Closed sales dropped 20.9% from 273 to 216 units.
- The number of units paid in cash decreased by 18.1% from 127 to 104 units.
- The average sale price fell 0.6% from $962,045 to $956,150.
- The total dollar volume of homes dropped 21.4% from $262.6 million to $206.5 million.
- Pending sales decreased 27.2% from 268 to 195 units.
- New listings rose 1.8% from 276 to 281 units.
- The months’ supply of inventory increased 54.5% from 1.1 to 1.7 months.
Palm Beach County:
- Closed sales decreased by 19.2% from 1,890 to 1,527 units.
- The number of units paid in cash fell 10.2% from 835 to 750 units.
- The average sale price rose 1.7% from $983,654 to just over $1 million.
- The total dollar volume of homes sold dropped 17.8% from $1.9 billion to $1.5 billion.
- Pending sales decreased 25.1% from 2,016 to 1,509 units.
- New listings increased by 7.4% from 2,069 to 2,222 units.
- The months’ supply of inventory rose 30.8% from 1.3 to 1.7 months.