There were buyers all over the place in January. But the gap between what they want, and what sellers want is still strong.
Don’t get me wrong – buyers are buying. They’ve been watching mortgage rates fall since peaking in November and are now taking action.
Florida Real Estate Market 2023 Initial Data
And according to my January market reports, buyers are doing a good job negotiating. In fact, in January the Sold-to-List ratio came in at 91.6%. In other words, a $1 million home, on average, sold for $916,000. Last May that number came in at 99.5% or a sale or $995,000.
And the average Days On Market (DOM) – the time it takes a property to sell – hit a one-year high of 48.5 Days. For context, last May the DOM was 20 days.
I interpret these two data points like this: sellers are still pricing their property as if it was last May, but starting to ease off… buyers are watching, waiting and have no urgency as rates ease… sellers make their first price drop… buyers act.
Also, the rate of DOM rising, and the rate of Sold-to-List falling is starting to level off. In fact, with mortgages rates trying to break the 6% support level and fall further, buyers are getting antsy and coming out from hibernation.
More Real Estate Market 2023 Information To Know
It’s important to add context from the 2022 local real estate market and use it as a benchmark as we follow real estate market 2023.
Last year my number one these was inventory. (You can see more below). Since February 2022, the supply of properties coming to the market is up almost 112%. And it appears that trend may take hold as Q1 2023 unfolds.
Take a look at this chart showing New Listings for the Delray Beach market. After a year of declining New Listings, January rose about 45%, from 342 new listings to 497.
Should this trend continue, the overall number of active listing may increase, putting more downward pressure on pricing.
The combination of The Federal Reserve saying rate hikes will be smaller and not last long, and the stock market making a meaningful rebound last month… buyers are feeling full of themselves.
Next week I’ll have my January Market Update video for you. It’ll be packed with local market charts, and other important national information.
* Photo above is from a 14th floor Boca Raton condo looking southeast on a perfect February winter day last weekend.
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*** This Friday begins the Delray Beach Open ATP Tennis Tournament.
*** If you’re thinking about relocating or moving to Delray Beach, this link provides a slew of things you’ll need to know.
*** For you out-of-towners, if you missed my latest video on what you must know about Delray Beach in 2023, watch it.
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*** Your Weekly INVENTORY Update ***
* 46 months 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 31,168 available.
* This morning’s Inventory is 31,053.
*** Inventory is dropping, 4 weeks in a row ***
What would you like to know about our local real estate market or Delray? Send me your thoughts. Back with more next week…
