South Florida Housing Supply Surges Higher

South Florida Housing supply is going up faster than ever before.

Since August 1st, 2023, surging inventory in South Florida is up 52%. I bet you haven’t seen that in headlines. I’m going to be dig into this information. But first you need to understand real estate is a fundamentals game about supply and demand.

When supply goes up, prices fall, and demand goes through the roof. When supply comes down, prices go up and demand softens. So why are we now with 52% increased supply, but prices haven’t fallen? That’s what this essay is about.

It’s one of the biggest topics that no one is talking about right now here in South Florida housing, and you need to know about it.

Some South Florida Housing Recent History

Let me take you back to March 2nd, 2020. In my weekly e-letter I send out to my database every week I wrote there were about 54,000 properties available in South Florida housing in the MLS at any given time. But on that specific day I there were just 14,969 units on the market. That is a 72% drop from 54,000 units just two years prior. Look:

And you can see in this next chart, look at the inventory, how it was obliterated across United States. It was just a sea of red from California to Montana to Texas to Florida into the southeast.

Inventory was obliterated. That’s when prices were going through the roof. It was a complete frenzy. Real estate was considered a mandatory business. So, people were buying in droves, trying to get in front of the curve and make sure they got their property before there was nothing left.

And then in a whiplash fashion from 2022 to 2023 inventory rose 100%. It went from about 14,800 units to over 29,000 units in 12 months. Back then, interest rates were still in the 4% – 5.5% range. There was still massive demand, and the market was trying to catch up to itself with all this new supply.

But then around March of 2023, inventory once again took a turn south. It went from 29,000 units. And look what I wrote on my e-letter on August 1st of last year.

Take a look at this. Inventory was down 21 out of 23 weeks in the first and second quarter of 2023 and fell and bottomed at 27,347 units on August 1st, 2023. Why? Look at this next chart.

This is about the interest rates. We all know that last year interest rates were rising. It was an upward movement for all of 2022 and 23. And in August, inventory bottomed while interest rates about to peak at 8%.

How The South Florida Housing Inventory Look To Begin 2024

Now let’s look at the present and how things are in the South Florida housing market at the beginning of 2024. Interest rates are hovering around 6.8 %. A year ago, February of 2023, rates were the same. It’s a flat line. But inventory looks a whole lot different today than a year ago. Look at what I wrote to my readers of my weekly e-letter just a couple weeks ago.

Right now, South Florida housing inventory stands at 41,529 units, and it was up 790 units from the week prior. And in the second week of January, it was up 900 units from the week before. The first week of January was up 1200 units from late December.

South Florida housing Inventory is surging faster than ever before.

Look at this from August last year. Inventory bottomed in Delray Beach at 997 units and is up over 48% to 1,487 units. Inventory is surging fast, and this has a big implication for sellers and buyers.

What South Florida Housing Participants Must Do Now

For buyers. This is the ultimate time to get into the game because rates are stabilizing or easing, and you have more options than you’ve had over the last six years.

And here’s information you might find interesting. This is an essay that came out by Redfin. Here’s the headline, “Home Buyer Purchasing Power Rises by $40,000 since October’s Rate Surge.

Back in October, rates hit 8%. Now they’ve come down into the high 6% range. People’s purchasing power is up by $40,000 on a national level. What does this mean? If you are a buyer you now have $40,000 more purchasing power. So get back in the game right now.

In South Florida, this is our high season. This is when we sell most of the homes because all the snowboarders are here from the northeast. Surging supply gives all these buyers more options to look at. And over 40% of these buyers are cash. Those people don’t worry about mortgage rates. So, if you’re a homeowner, you need to get with me and talk about doing an equity review. Talk about doing a competitive market analysis because right now is a time when buyers are buying. They’ve got lots of options. You want to price your property to sell this high season.

And if you’re a home buyer, your purchasing power is up and rates are down. Right now is the time to jump in the game. You don’t want to wait until spring or summer. Things will change at that point. This is the moment.

This surging supply is a huge South Florida housing event. We haven’t seen it like this ever. Never in my 30 years of real estate have I seen inventory surge this much.

So, if you’re a home buyer, let me know. Let’s get together and do a consultation. Let me help you understand the buying rules of what’s going on in 2024.

If you’re a home seller, call me. Let’s sit down and talk about a market analysis and a strategic pricing plan to get your property sold. I believe this is a moment that you need to understand and act on now.

The South Florida housing market is pivoting and now is the time to capitalize on this before mainstream media spills the beans.

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South Florida Housing Supply Surges Higher – Your Time to Buy is Here. Mainstream is not, yet, talking about the South Florida housing supply phenomena. They’re stuck on the low inventory narrative still prevalent across the country. But soon it’ll become newsworthy. So, you’re getting it firsthand right here.

Purchasing Power is Up: https://www.redfin.com/news/purchasing-power-improves/