Robust and fast-paced describe the Florida property market in April to perfection. The latest monthly statistics from Florida Realtors point to a busy market where prices continue to surge. On the back of intense demand, inventory levels plummeted still further, particularly in the single-family home sector.
Brisk sales in April
In terms of sales, the Florida property market registered a hectic month in April when compared with a year earlier. Single-family home sales shot up by 55.4%, while condos transactions skyrocketed by 130.9%.
However, analysts were quick to point out that year-on-year comparisons were always likely to show a vast increase in April. The sharp contrast is because 12 months earlier, Florida entered lockdown and property transactions all but came to a halt.
However, even when compared with figures for April 2019, this year’s show that sales increased by over 23% across all property types.
Ever-rising prices
Hand-in-hand with brisk sales went continued price hikes. Median prices for single-family homes in Florida went up by 22.4% in the year to reach US$336,525. Those for condo and townhouse properties rose by 19.6% to reach a median of US$250,000.
“In our current market, a severe shortage of homes for sale coupled with intense buyer demand continues to push home prices higher,” said Florida Realtors President Cheryl Lambert.
The Florida property market mirrors the US as a whole. In April, house prices rose to their highest ever, with many metro areas registering double-digit increases.
Low supply on Florida property market
Inventory levels are failing to keep up with strong demand and the supply of property in Florida stood at rock-bottom lows. In April, there was just 1.1 month’s supply of single-family homes on the market. Florida condos fared only slightly – inventory levels stood at 2.3 months.
Competitive market
The combination of strong demand and weak supply has made the US property market one of the feistiest ever. “This might be the most competitive housing market we’ve ever seen in the US, at least in modern times,” said Jeff Tucker from Zillow.
As well as rising prices, two other factors illustrate the force of the market: the share of homes sold for more than their list price and the time homes spend on the market.
H3 Above list price
According to Zillow, 20.3% of properties sold in 2020 went for over their list price. This compares to 14.2% in 2019. The figure is even higher (28%) for January and February this year.
In Florida, all sales of single-family homes were for list price, up 2.7% on 2020. Nearly 98% of condo and townhouse properties were sold for list price, increasing 2% in the year.
H3 Less time on market
When it comes to time spent on the market, this too has dropped considerably. Nationwide, almost 90% of properties sold in April spent less than 30 days on the market.
In Florida, condos took an average of just 24 days to go to contract, down from 35 days in 2020. The drop was even more dramatic for single-family homes. They spent 11 days on the market before going to contract, down from 28 days a year ago.
(Sources: Florida Realtors, NAR, Zillow)
