As I mentioned in my downtown Delray Beach market update video last week… sales are up, and supply is easing.
At the 45-second mark, I show how sales are up 92% to start the year compared to this time in 2025. Then at the 1-minute, 20-second mark I show supply down 37% in the last year.
Whether it’s a sellers or buyers market, the details are what matter.
Then today I received an email from Realtor.com showing all the price drops – marketers today use the fancy term, “price improvement” – in Delray’s luxury market.
There were drops of $1.95 million, $268k, $250k, $200k, $150k, $200k, and $115k. Sure, it may appear dramatic as that was the headline of the email.
Is Lake Ida in a Sellers or Buyers Market?
So, I went onto my MLS and created a map around the Lake Ida and Del Ida/Park areas and saw similar data.
Over the last year in this area, 116 properties sold with a average price drop of 9.46%, or $222,000. And right now, there are just 63 active listings with an average price drop of 5.7%, or $251,000.
Again, sales are up, while supply is lower. And, price improvements appear to be trending.
Longtime readers know I like to focus on where the market is heading, and not so much where it’s been. Knowing that, I deduce the sellers or buyers market we had for most of 2025 is slowly coming to an end. Not yet, but that’s the trend.
Buyer’s are consuming a lot of inventory this winter – sales are up. At the same time, all the data I see shows inventory stagnating – watch my video. We have some time before we no longer call it a buyers market. But with about 60 days left of high season, don’t be surprised if a sellers market enters our conversation soon. So, the sellers or buyers market conversation is fluid and when the rains and heat return, a new market will emerge.
A lot of my customers read this eLetter every week without fail. And when buyers see property with me, or a seller invites me to their home to understand how to price and market it… they refer to my essays. They are guides for them.
But, just like if you saw the US nightly news where they say housing supply is up or down, nothing matters until you’re in a specific hyperlocal market. Data is a guide. But the price you offer your home to the market, or the offer you put on a home is the only thing that matters. When at the negotiating table, ot doesn’t matter if it’s a sellers or buyers market.
Remember, each seller has a number they want. Same with a buyer. And at that moment, it doesn’t matter if it’s a sellers or buyers market. What matters is for both sides of the transaction to walk away feeling good about the decision they made.
That’s where I come in.
As a buyer, you never want to overpay. However, if the home checks all your boxes and you can see you and your family there for a decade or more, don’t let a few thousand dollars get in your way. The same goes for a seller. If $15k or so gets the deal done so you can move onto your life’s next chapter, get out of your own way and get it done.
Never fuss about a sellers or buyers market. Understand what’s at stake at this moment and make the best, most researched decision you can.
(Main Photo: Tropic Isle Boat Living)
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*** If it’s been a while, take a few moments for a refresher on the Florida Homestead Exemption
*** $699k for this 2-bed, 2-bath downtown Delray condo – amenity-filled community walking distance to everything Delray has to offer
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*** South Florida Real Estate Inventory is ABOVE 2019***
Last week’s supply was 56,899
Today’s supply is 56,587
*** Supply is DOWN 31 of 45 weeks…***
