According to data just published by Florida Realtors, Florida real estate showed no signs of slowing down in the third quarter of this year. On the contrary, median prices soared yet again and the time taken to contract and sale was shorter than ever, all good news for sellers. On a more positive note for buyers, listings went up for single-family homes, although they fell slightly for condos.
Median price hikes in Florida
House prices in the US have been on a solid upward trajectory for the last 18 months and figures for Q3 confirm the trend. The latest figures show that single-family home prices in Florida rose by 18.4% in the year to Q3. The median price for this type of property in the Sunshine State now stands at US$355,000.
Condo and townhouse properties in Florida also experienced yet another price hike. Their median price went up by 18.6% to reach US$254,900.
Sales soar for condos but stumble for single-family homes
Unprecedented demand has resulted in brisk sales in the Florida real estate market since summer last year. Sales of condos and townhouses continued to be brisk between July and September and rose by 13% in the year.
However, purchases of single-family homes fell slightly in the last quarter compared to Q3 2020. Analysts attribute the 1.1% decrease to lack of supply.
Faster sales for all properties in Florida
Despite the lack of supply for single-family homes, this type of property flew off the shelves in Q3. As a result, the time taken to go to contract plummeted to just 10 days, down from 29 last year. And the time it took property to sell fell to 52 instead of 73 in Q3 2020.
Florida condos and townhouses experienced a similar trend. Contracts for the sale of condos dropped to 15 days from 46 and the time taken to sell stood at 57, down from 86 last year.
Supply remains very tight
Consolidated demand continues to put considerable pressure on supply and inventory levels on the Florida real estate market remain severely limited. The supply of single-family homes dropped even further to reach just 1.3 months at the end of September. The figure was only slightly higher for condo and townhouse properties, 1.7 months.
Listings go up for single-family homes
The steady rise in prices and speed of sales are both good news for sellers. On the other hand, buyers continue to struggle to find available properties in Florida. The statistics for new listings were therefore very welcome for would-be buyers of single-family homes.
New listings for this type of property rose by 8.3% in Q3, which should bring some relief to house hunters for the rest of the year. However, new listings for condo properties went down by 0.5%, leaving supply levels more depleted than ever.
Long way to go for Florida real estate market
Florida Realtors welcomed the statistics for new listings but cautioned that the pace of increase has slowed. “This is just another reminder that we have a long way to go in terms of supplying enough homes for sale to satisfy the continued high level of demand,” said Brad O’Connor, Chief Economist at the organisation.
Florida figures mirror national
The latest Florida house price statistics reflect the national tendency. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 80% of metro areas saw double-digit price rises in Q3 this year. Although the figure is lower than Q2 (94%), it shows the strong upward trend in real estate values.
NAR research also tracked the metro areas with the biggest price gains in the country in Q3. In the rankings, Florida metros took four of the top ten places. Naples stood in second position with a 32% rise, with Ocala just behind with a 29.7% increase. Austin-Round Rock in Texas saw the highest hike in Q3 when house prices rose by 33.5%.
(Source: Florida Realtors, NAR)
