Look now – Delray Beach real estate prices are falling.
Here’s what I read in a recent Newsweek essay that caught my attention,
“Florida has the highest number of “motivated” sellers listing their properties. There were 4,928 listings on Zillow’s app for Florida properties whose sellers described themselves as “motivated”—meaning they would accept lower offers from potential home buyers to sell quickly.”
That got me thinking about all the Delray Beach real estate price drops I’ve been reporting to you the past few months. So, I called my MLS data help desk and took a deep dive into our local data. For this essay, I pulled data on Delray’s 33444 and 33483 zip codes – everything east of I95.
Warning: The data below may shock your system:
* As of this morning there are 425 listings in these two zip codes
* 210 have lowered their price. That’s just shy of 50% of properties with price reductions
* The Average Price drop is $130,913
* This represents a 7.1% price reduction
In other words, a property that was listed at $750k, is now $53,250 less, or $696,750.
So, I wasn’t wrong when I wrote you saying I see a half dozen price reductions each day in the Delray Beach real estate market. It just took a couple months for the data to come through and prove it.
You may recall my essay warning about the wrong pricing strategy to sell your home this season. Well, it looks like I didn’t get my message to enough home sellers as most went ahead and tried the Dutch Auction strategy. It’s not working well.
Delray Beach Real Estate Owners Still in Denial
Home sellers had a recency bias of our past sellers market. They thought they could demand top dollar. But, I’ve also been reporting about how our sellers market turned to a buyers market this high season. When that happens, prices start to ease, and more price reductions occur.
Why is Delray Beach real estate market favoring buyers now? Surging supply is a big part of this. I began seeing this in Q3, 2023 and began reporting on each weekly. That stopped prices from rising like it had in the prior 2-3 years adn buyers took note. The began negotiation with vigor.
With Q2 starting this week, we have one month left in our high season. After April, our busy selling season comes to and end as folks start migrating back up north. This summer may be the best buying opportunity in the Delray Beach real estate in years.
That means demand will slowdown. Home sellers will experience stress as the sales cycle takes longer. Days On Market will continue to rise.
But, once again, if you price your property for today’s buyer (not one dollar more), then you’ll have a better chance of selling. Remember, housing supply in South Florida is now up 63% in the last 8 months. And it’s up 80% in the Delray Beach real estate market in the same time period.
Buyers are excited to have more options. So as a home seller, you must entice buyers with an attractive price. I now have 11 customers telling, “John, we’re going to be patient and let sellers come to us. It’s time the tables turn in our direction.”
So if you’re thinking of selling your Delray Beach real estate property… be bold. Try a new strategy now. It just might work.
[main photo: good friend’s renovated home and backyard in Delray]
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*** If you’re not sure about selling your home, how about I create an Equity Review to help you decide. It’s like a Competitive Market Analysis, but with more oomph. Call or text me at 561-777-4089 to set up an appointment
*** April is Earth Month! Look at all the Earth Month Events Delray Beach has for you to participate and enjoy (more on this next week)
*** Of Note: Read about this $4B Everglades Restoration Underway
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*** Surging Supply – UP 63% Since August 1, ’23 ***
* Last week there were 44,613 available…
* This morning’s Inventory is 44,445 *
… supply is DOWN 168 units in the last week ***
