South Florida Market Cooling?

We’ve been feeling it in our bones and today the numbers appear to be catching up with our bones in Broward County Florida.  The HOT HOT sellers’ market of the last year has been fueled by low inventory, that is too many buyers going after the limited supply of homes.

This chart is one of my favorite ways to predict changes in inventory.  What it compares is the number of new listings during a period (in this case the month of May 2022) with the number of new pending sales in the same period. I’ve been charting this for years and was astounded when in recent months the ratio was above 100%. That means that for every new home going on the market more than one was being snatched up by eager buyers. As you can see in this image, that ratio is trending lower and now for two successive months.  This means the inventory of available homes is on the increase and should, in theory, start to re-balance the market.

Is the sellers’ market over?  I don’t think so but this is a clear sign, in my opinion that the tide is beginning to change.

So what to do?  I sense that the heady days of sky’s-the-limit pricing of listings are coming to a close. Once again real estate agents are going to need to carefully analyze the marketplace when advising sellers on pricing in light of this inventory switch and the challenges of increasing interest rates and consumer sentiment.

Is it now the time for you to sell?  Give me a call and I’ll be happy to run through the numbers and options with. you.