Real Estate Snapshot inFlorida

Real Estate Snapshot

NEW CONSTRUCTION

Following a drop in supply in July, FloridaRealtors® noted that U.S. home construction rebounded above expectations during the month of August. Applications for building permits in Florida rose 6% leading to optimistic forecasts for the remainder of the year. The building process is experiencing lengthened construction times for all kinds of housing. According to New Home Source, construction style and environment has an effect on the average time it takes to construct a new home. Custom homes average 8.9 months, while a production home averages 6.1 months to complete. During the pre-construction phase, approvals of building permits and inspections can also cause delays. Although, Floridians continue to build year-round, a shortage of labor and materials during summer did have an effect on southern production this year. An underbuilt market is one of the factors helping sustain valuation in the hot housing market. Most experts predict an increase in inventory heading into spring 2022. Some of it will come from new construction, or from older homeowners who had postponed listing their home for sale the last two years because they didn’t want to sell and move during a pandemic. statistics for August in the Florida Housing market. The median price statewide for single-family homes rose to $354,000 (up 18%). Condo sales were up 13.1% over a year ago with the average price rising to $252,500.

Marion County had 868 single-family homes sell in August 2021, a change of 12.3% over last year at this time. The average price in August was $328,801. Marion County’s median average for a single-family residence is $235,000, up 26.3% over August 2020 and a huge margin over the median average of $110,824 recorded a decade ago.

CHART STATISTICS COURTESY OF Matt Taylor BROKER ASSOCIATE REALTOR®

Nationally, inventory remained constrained with completed sales down by 2% over the same time last year. Nine out of ten homes sold (87%) in August were on the market for less than a month. Homes were snapped up shortly after being offered on the Multiple Listing Service. Within the Ocala zip codes, the average Days On Market in August was 16 days. Cash sales have increased 39.7% in the last year. To compete and be taken seriously by home sellers, buyers should have a mortgage pre-approval letter in advance of making offers. High demand and low interest rates: Florida’s active listings of single-family homes were down over 32% year-over-year. However, Marion County sellers presented 868 residences which was an 8.2% increase in new listings from June’s offerings, but accounts for just 1.3 months of supply. FloridaRealtors reported that the average mortgage rate in September has inched upward to 2.86% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage; and 2.15% for a 15-year year fixed rate mortgage. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.43% with an average 0.3 point.

RENTALS

The high demand in rental properties has caused a nationwide increase in rent — averaging 7% higher over June 2020 rents. According to Zillow, this marks the largest annual increase since 2015. The uncertainty some renters face is the possibility of landlords being tempted into selling their rental homes in a feverish seller’s market. In recent months, Ocala City Council members have approved several housing developments including a 360-unit apartment complex across from the College of Central Florida campus. Real estate experts are predicting that home price growth will decelerate in the coming year. —Julie K .Castro

Statistics charts courtesy of Matt Taylor of Coldwell Banker Ellison Realty