Over the last several months, we have seen a real estate market like never before in Florida, with so many making the move to call the Sunshine State home. Of course, that’s had a huge impact on not only home prices and inventory in Florida, but Central Florida especially. Let’s dive into the latest data for a closer look at the numbers and what they mean.
According to Florida Realtors Annual Market Report, single-family home prices increased by 25.8% last year, a notable statistic for anyone considering selling their home in the near future. Now, even in 2022, home prices remain high, with the average sale price up at least 20% across Central Florida in the month of February. We’ll dive deeper into some region-specific numbers in a moment.
Have you checked the value of your home lately? You may want to.
Housing inventory remains low in Florida, according to the latest data. According to Florida Realtors, inventory falls when new listings aren't keeping up with the rate at which homes are going off-market.
How low is inventory right now? Well, month supply is the best indicator of seller and buyer demand. Six months inventory is considered normal, and, according to the latest numbers, Central Florida Metropolitan Statistical Areas have about one month of inventory – some with even less than that – compared to the same time the previous year, when there was more than one month’s supply in Central Florida’s MSAs. Active inventory is significantly lower in Central Florida MSAs for February than it was for the same time last year.
The data makes it clear there are still not enough houses to meet buyers’ demands.
The number of new listings may be bringing some relief to the inventory issue, though, since that number is up in some places, but not by much. In other Central Florida spots, the number of new listings in February 2022 is down compared to the same time last year.
In short, yes. But there’s more to it than that. The latest data shows the demand is certainly still there, but it does make it harder to close more deals with fewer options on the market. Remember that whole “supply and demand” thing we learned about as kids?
According to the February 2022 data, the number of closed home sales was either down in Central Florida’s MSAs compared to the same time last year, or just slightly up, as was the number of pending sales in February 2022. Again, the average sale price remains way up in each MSA, showing clients are still willing to pay for the right home – if they can find it.
That was an overall review of Florida’s real estate market for February 2022, but let’s take a deeper dive into the numbers for the Central Florida region specifically.
Now that we’ve discussed a recap of Florida’s real estate market in 2022, let’s take a look at how we closed out the year in our Central Florida markets, specifically.
The Deltona, Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach MSA actually saw a 6.7% increase in the number of closed sales for February, with 845 closed sales, compared to the same time last year. The number of new pending sales was also up 1.2% from last year, with more than 1,006 pending sales for the month.
Despite having 8.4% more new listings this February compared to last, inventory is still down in the MSA, to a one month supply, compared to 1.2 months the same time last year, according to the latest numbers. Active inventory is down -17% from last year.
As far as pricing goes in these areas, the average sale price of a home is $369,092, up 20% from last February.
The Orlando, Kissimmee and Sanford MSA saw 1,104 closed sales for the month of February, which is down 17% from the same time last year. The area also saw 1,294 new pending sales in January, which is down by 14% from a year ago.
Inventory is gradually going down in those areas, with 1,368 new listings in February 2022. That’s -3.0% less listings than February of last year, according to the data. Still, though, the Orlando - Kissimmee - Sanford MSA’s inventory remains critically low, with only 0.6 months worth of inventory, down from 1.0 months worth of inventory the same time last year. Active inventory is also down in the area by 30% from the same time last year.
When it comes to pricing, the cost of a house in this MSA remains up, with an average sale price of $459,399, up 22% from a year ago.
The Villages MSA saw a more significant drop in the number of closed sales for February with a total of 589 1.9% more than the same time last year. The number of new pending sales was also down by 7.6% from a year ago, with 689 new pending sales.
Compared to last year, The Villages, Florida, is also seeing a significant drop in housing inventory. The latest numbers show a one-month supply of inventory, down from 0.8 months worth of inventory the same time last year. Active inventory is down by nearly half compared to the same time last year. The number of new listings are up by 6.4% in January to comparison to last year, with a total of 682.
The average sale price of a home in The Villages, Florida, according to the latest data, is just over $407,000, up 21% from a year ago.