Residential Real Estate News
Greater Fort Lauderdale Area Home Sales Down 35 Percent in November
According to the Miami Association of Realtors, in comparison to November 2021, Broward November 2022 sales decreased 35% year-over-year, from 2,954 to 1,920, because of high mortgage rates and low inventory.
Single-family home sales decreased 35.9% year-over-year, from 1,358 in record-breaking November 2021 to 871 in November 2022, due to lack of inventory and rising mortgage rates. Broward existing condo sales decreased 34.3% year-over-year, from 1,596 record-breaking November 2021 to 1,049 in November 2022, due to lack of inventory and rising mortgage rates.
November 2021 sales surged so high because of historic-low mortgage rates and pandemic-fueled homebuying. Mortgage rates averaged 3.07% in November 2021.
Mortgage rates are more than doubled today, but November 2022 Broward sales remain near pre-pandemic sale totals despite today's higher prices and rates. November 2019 (2,330 transactions) sales are not far from its November 2022 transactions.
The Fed, which has made multiple hikes to the fed funds rate, is intent on slowing 40-year high inflation. While the Fed doesn't set mortgage rates, it affects them through its conduct of monetary policy.
According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.31% as of December 15. That's down from 6.33% last week, but up from 3.12% one year ago.
Broward County single-family home median prices increased 11.3% year-over-year in November 2022, increasing from $485,000 to $540,000. Existing condo median prices increased 9.7% year-over-year, from $232,500 to $255,000.
Home prices are determined by supply and demand. Lower supply and higher demand create higher prices. Inventory for Broward single-family homes (3 months) and condos (2.6 months) are low. Also, one of the supports for home prices is rents and rents are rising strongly.
Locally, the greater share of South Florida luxury sales is also part of the reason for the large year-over-year increase in median prices.
Broward Total Active Listings Rise for Second Consecutive Month
Total active listings at the end of November 2022 increased 48.6% year-over-year, from 5,340 to 7,935.
Inventory of single-family homes increased 88% year-over-year in November 2022 from 2,033 active listings last year to 3,822 last month. Condominium inventory increased 24.4% year-over-year to 4,113 from 3,307 listings during the same period in 2021.
New listings of Broward single-family homes decreased 19.3% to 1,161 from 1,438. New listings of condominiums decreased 8.9%, from 1,755 to 1,598.
Months' supply of inventory for single-family homes increased 130.8% to 3 months year-over-year, which indicates a seller's market. Inventory for existing condominiums increased 44.4% to 2.6 months, which also indicates a seller's market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six- and nine-months supply.
Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of November was 1.14 million units, which was down 6.6% from October, but up 2.7% from one year ago (1.11 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 3.3-month supply at the current sales pace, which was identical to October, but up from 2.1 months in November 2021.
