A year ago, sellers gave buyers zero breaks… but that was then.
We all remember how a property transacted in early 2022. Seller puts their home on the market. Buyers scrambled to create an offer hoping it’d rise to the top (most failed). Buyers couldn’t get appraisal contingencies or inspections. Sellers giggled watching the mayhem.
The Delray Beach real estate market was one of the hottest in all South Florida. Local sellers were beyond giddy. But…
We’re 18 days into 2023 and it’s time to get current.
Today Delray Beach real estate sellers are doing a “1-80” and are giving incentives to buyers in order to transact.
Look at the chart above. A year ago about 25% of sales had sellers giving any concessions. Today that’s up to 42%. In other words, sales today where sellers are chipping in to get a deal done is up almost 70% from a year ago.
Not only are buyers asking for 10-day inspections (and getting them), and writing offers with normal appraisal contingencies… check out what sellers are now doing:
* Sellers, via lenders who are offering these, are paying an upfront fee that’ll allow buyers to get a 3-2-1 mortgage buy-down. Since mortgage rates are up about 100% from a year ago, a buyer could get a 3% discount from todays rate in the first year, 2% discount in year-2, and 1% off in year-3.
* Closing Costs – its customary for these to be split 50-50 between seller and buyer. Today, some buyers are asking the seller to pay 100% to help them offset the expense of higher carrying costs due to mortgage rate increases.
The Delray Beach Real Estate Market Stats
Regular readers of my weekly eLetter are caught up on the local real estate happenings. But, let me share a few things to bring you closer to the action:
- Days On Market (DOM) is up over 118% from a year ago and now stands at 47 days
- Sold-to-list ratio dropped from 99.5% last May to 92.8% in December
- Pending listings (a leading indicator where the market is heading) are down 28%
Look at these Delray Beach real estate data points:
These are not insignificant results. They are so important that I cannot do enough to get this into every household fast or loud enough. I mean, as fast as things are changing, sellers in the Delray Beach real estate market can no longer live in denial if they want to sell. And to do so, nailing down the right price is is more crucial than ever.
Delray Beach Real Estate Psychology
Face it – Delray remains a seasonal market. December through April is when our population rises by about 50% or more. This is peak selling and buying season. So to miss price your property during these months means you may wait six or more months to gain access to peak buying season.
Yet, sellers remain in denial. No matter how many times I show charts, data, or real life experiences… the common (not generalizing) result is, “let’s see how traffic goes the first few weeks, then drop is we need.” UGH. Bad strategy from coming out the gates.
This is an antiquated approach and does work. It does help themselves, their agent, or buyers. That’s because buyers are combing through data more than ever and can spot over-pricing in a heartbeat.
Sellers in the Delray Beach real estate market should read this and this before meeting with their agent.
The change in data is glaring. Delray Beach real estate remains strong, but to stay ahead of this transition, you need to act with today’s information.
This is what I call a market finding balance in itself. It’s still uncomfortable for sellers, but buyers are sighing relief.
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*** Check out my New Video published yesterday showcasing my downtown Delray condo listing for sale.
** And here’s some good homeownership information you’ll fine useful.
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*** Your Weekly INVENTORY Update ***
* 44 months ago there were over 54,000 properties available in S. Florida.
* It bottomed last February at 14,485… or a 73% drop.
* Last week there were 30,939 available.
* This morning’s Inventory is 31, 473.
*** Inventory is up 116 % since last February’s low ***
