As your source for everything related to Southwest Florida real estate and beyond, I’m regularly reviewing the data. Why is this activity so important? While the direction of any market can continue for a fair amount of time, there’s another situation at play.
And that’s the small details that define local real estate for a given region. At the same time, the market’s direction can change quickly. With these two factors in mind, you can understand why I like to look for small signs of possible big changes. And for springtime, we’re diving into the Florida real estate data as we get closer to the busy summer season.
March Florida real estate values increase year-over-year
It’s a story that we enjoy telling throughout our state… Florida real estate values have continued to strengthen. And the March data is showing that this is still the case. Average and median sale prices went up about 8% compared to this month last year. But this is only part of the picture.
And homes are selling a bit faster
While the median time-to-sale data isn’t everything, it’s an interesting indicator for our SWFL real estate market. As we entered springtime, we saw this number click down slightly. Now, 92 days on the market to 85 days on the market isn’t the biggest signal. But at nearly an 8% decrease, it’s one of those changes that I note to follow up on in following months to gauge market momentum.
A decrease in inventory levels into the summer months
One area I like to hone in on is the new pending sales data and the new listings data. Both of these show a slight downtick from this time last year. You might recall that people were already calling it a seller’s market back then, and now, with the increasing value, we’re seeing plenty of interest throughout the state.
The SWFL Market Cycle and the Month’s Supply
Still, one of the most overlooked indicators in real estate is the month’s supply of inventory. To put it simply, this data represents how long it would take to completely sell the existing inventory of homes if no more were added. So when this number drops from the previous year, you know I pay attention. As a seasoned real estate investor, I’ve used this data point to determine whether a market is consolidating for even more growth or waning as it shows signs of weakness. With our months decreasing over 7% from this time last year, my eyes will be glued to this number as we enter summer.
Are you buying or selling a home in Southwest Florida? I’d love to talk with you about how we can leverage this SWFL market to your advantage!
Terry Records
Broker/Owner
Records Results Real Estate
Residential Sales and Property Management Service