A recent Delray Beach real estate trend is now history… and in the broader real estate market.
Regular readers know I wrote a lot about the rising housing supply over the last 24 months. In fact, South Florida supply went from 14,445 available units, to 54,216 today. That’s a 275% increase in a short period of time.
With that onslaught of supply, it looks like the appreciation game might be on its last innings for now. We’re starting a new year with as much inventory as we had pre-pandemic. We’re “back to normal.”
Say goodbye to the rising supply story in South Florida. And say goodbye to it in the Delray Beach real estate market.
And, we should be at the stage in the market transition when home sellers have fessed up to rising prices ending, and bowed down to prices moderating. So, in a nutshell, we have high supply, stable rates, and more stable prices.
For the entirety of the real estate industry, housing supply has room to rise. It’s still about 3.7 million units shy of demand. 2024 ended with the lowest number of sales since 1995. Back then the total was 3.46 million sales. We came close to that amount in 2024.
In addition, the Months of Supply bottomed in October 2021 at 3.3 months – one of the strongest seller’s markets in history. But today it hovers near 8.9 months (below 6 month is a seller’s market, above 6 it’s a buyer’s market). Today we’re in a firm buyer’s market.
At the same time, mortgage rates have been flat the last 12 months. One year ago, the 30-yr. fixed rate was 6.75% and today it’s near 7.1%. So, buyers have adjusted their expectations and are realizing we may be in this range for longer than most think.
Delray Beach Real Estate Basic Data
What does all this mean for Delray Beach real estate and surrounding communities? Here’s a sneak peek at the year-end data:
* # of Listings are “up & to the right” (meaning, a lot higher)
* Months of Supply is the same as above
* Days on Market is the same as above
In other words, it’s a balanced market. It’s a negotiating market. Neither seller nor buyers are in charge. It’s neutral ground.
Delray Beach Real Estate Plus High Season
At the same time high season is strengthening fast as our local population feels like it’s up 15 – 20%. Restaurants are full. Snowbirds and tourists are everywhere. So are buyers.
And so are offers. I’m hearing realtors say how busy they are now. This shows up in the data, too. Pending Sales are rising, showing the near future is strengthening. I’ll go into more detail on my next “How’s The Delray Beach Real Estate Market?” video that’ll be out early next week.
To leave you, the median Delray Beach real estate home price in 2024 was $375k. That’s up from $340k in 2023, or a 10.3% rise. Could this be the peak of the price appreciation run we’ve seen this decade? There are just too many data points and metrics pointing for price stabilization and more sales.
If you’ve been sidelined the past few years waiting for a good moment to get into our local Delray Beach real estate market, this it is. 2025 will a great year.
(Main Photo: Sundy Village last weekend as seen from my new Drone! Excited to take more aerial photos and videos of our city this year)
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*** Speaking of our local market, last week I told you I’d publish my latest video about this great investor property. It’s in the heart of downtown Delray Beach real estate. It’s on a large corner lot – 10,685 ft2. It could be an income play, or a place to build your future residence. It’s in the path of development with the city pouring tens of millions into the area (I have all these details). You’ll find this video full of great downtown facts, and it may even surprise you how strong the real estate is in this particular neighborhood
*** There’s a ton of events going on in Delray this month. Here’s the full line up. But here’s one event you may find interesting: TedxDelrayBeach 2025 | PointBREAK. Mark your calendar for Sat. Jan 25th
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*** South Florida Real Estate Inventory is Now ABOVE 2019***
Last week’s supply was 54,911
Today’s supply is 54,216
That a drop of 695 units last week
