Summer’s slow real estate Buying Season begins this Friday. Just in time for our strengthening Buyers Market.
Regular readers know I’ve been writing a lot about our strengthening Buyers Market the past couple months. So, if you’re a homebuyer, this summer will be exciting for you – let me explain..
One year ago the average Delray Beach Days On Market (DOM) was 78 days. That was at the early days of this extended Buyers Market. This June it reached 102 days, bor almost 30% higher.
Supply of Delray Beach homes is now up a tad over 23% in the same time period.
But two years ago, DOM was just 49 days and the number of listings is up 118% in that period of time.
Per our local MLS, today, the average active listing price drop in Delray Beach is 9.3%. For more context, Boca Raton is 8.2%, Boynton Beach is 7.6%, Fort Lauderdale is 7.4% and West Palm Beach is 8.1%.
All of these percentages are up more than when I wrote about it one year ago.
The Buyers Market Explained
But here’s how to interpret this data: these price drops are for existing, current listings. In other words, prices are down that much AND the properties still have not sold.
Now look at the Sold-to-(Original) List price. Today it’s hovering between 87 – 89 in these cities. Have a look:
So a home listed at $750k is selling for about $660k. A $1.5 million home is selling for about $1.32 million.
It’s a clear, and strong, Buyers Market.
As I write at the beginning of each summer, the next 3.5 months is your sweet spot to buy. It’s when you’ll have less competition as most folks won’t bear our summer heat and are scared away with hurricane talk in the news. At the same time, price drops are ramping up, not slowing down.
So, this summer will be a strong Buyers Market as housing supply has been going up for 36 months. In fact in South Florida it’s up 386% over this time frame. Soaring supply kills rising prices. And after three years of the same narrative, buyers are getting more bold in their negotiating.
It’s as if the days of “being nice” and offering 5-10% below list are now gone. I’m seeing offers come in at 15-20% off listing prices in a regular basis. And some buyers are getting little to no resistance.
So dear home buyer, grab your raincoats and mosquito repellent, and head to South Florida and buy a home this summer. A Buyers Market like this one will last all summer. I’ll update you throughout the hot, muggy, months with what I’m seeing in this real estate Buyers Market. But don’t come to me next winter saying you wish you had taken me more serious this summer, ‘cuz that happens every winter.
I’m talking from the tree tops today, “This is shaping up to being one of the strongest Buyers Markets I’ve perhaps ever seen.” So there.
(Main Photo: An evening stroll down the intracoastal)
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*** This September the USA’s Davis Cup Tennis Team Returns to the Delray Beach Tennis Stadium for the first time in 20 years
*** Read my latest essay on Smart Home Automation. I added a Smart Thermostat to my home along with a solar tube attic heat extractor on my roof. Making our home more efficient
*** If you haven’t bought real estate in over 12 months, you need to know about The Buyer-Broker Agreement and how your agent cannot show you property until it’s reviewed and signed. Snoop around my “Buyer” tab on my home page for more useful buyer info
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*** South Florida Real Estate Inventory is ABOVE 2019***
Last week’s supply was 62,268
Today’s supply is 62,183
Supply was DOWN 86 Units last week
*** Supply is UP 8,632 unit or 16% in 2025 ***
