Today’s letter has a few ideas going on…
To start, September is Restaurant Month in Delray Beach. Over 30 restaurants participate in this event. Here are the details.
Next, to support the 8th Annual Delray Beach Restaurant Month, I’m giving a $25 Gift Certificate to the 9th reader who texts me at 561-777-4089 with “Give Me 25 Bucks!” You’ll get to enjoy one of our newest coffee & pastry shops in town, Mo&Ma. (They have cool interior decor…)
Regular readers know I believe supply & demand is the backbone of the Delray Beach real estate market. At the bottom of every eLetter I have my weekly inventory update. This week I make this a focal point.
As you can see below, 23 of the last 31 weeks, inventory fell. But the key to this data is 5 of the last 6 weeks its risen. In fact, four weeks ago Delray Beach real estate inventory bottomed at 27,445. Today there are 28,405. That’s a rise of 960 units, or a 3.5% increase in just over a month. This is a textbook seasonality real estate trend.
That may not interesting to you, but after seeing inventory fall for most of 2023 – while inventory rose most of 2022 – this is a significant event.
You see, September 10th is “Peak Hurricane Season.” This is the time of the year when sellers get fidgety as demand is at the lowest point of the year. This is when we see more price reductions.
This year, I’m seeing inventory rise, but price reductions are slowing. In fact, in the luxury market, over $1.25 million, I’m seeing more price increases than decreases.
Case-in-point is this graph below. This is for the higher-end 33483 zip code along the Delray Beach real estate coastline. On the far left you can see Month of Inventory at 8.08. This says this specific area in a buyers market. On the right you can see prices rising…
[A sellers market is when the months of inventory is below 6. A buyers market is above 6.]
Now look at the 33444 Delray Beach real estate inventory. This is the heart of Delray that includes downtown, Lake Ida, Dell Park and the south side of Atlantic Avenue. As you can see below, This Delray Beach real estate area had just 3.4 months of inventory. This is a sellers market:
So, more inventory should mean softening prices. But, prices continue to rise driving up our price per square foot.
It doesn’t end… nationally we’re near the lowest level of inventory. (Choose the 25 yr tab). The little uptick at the end of this chart coincides with what’s going on in the Delray Beach real estate market.
If you’re thinking of selling or buying, call me. The next 45 days may be the best time in 2023 to sell or buy. Sellers are seeing an uptick in inventory. There’s more competition so don’t delay.
And buyers have this window of opportunity prior to the next high season to make your move. Let’s meet at Mo&Ma for coffee and sort this all out.
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*** Check out what’s NEW in the Delray Beach Real Estate area…
*** Here are some nifty money saving tips for homeowners as summer’s heat continues
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*** Your Weekly Inventory Update ***
* 4 years ago there were over 54,000 properties available in S. Florida
* It bottomed in February 2022 at 14,485… a 73% drop
* Last week there were 27,913 available… a 102% rise in 18 months
* This morning’s Inventory is 28,405.
*** Inventory is DOWN 23 of 32 weeks… but up the last 5 weeks***
