Discover the latest trends and insights in the Southwest Florida real estate market with our comprehensive February market report. Gain valuable information on property prices, demand, and investment opportunities, guiding you toward informed decisions in the thriving market.
Sales
Because of an unusually slow pace of newly pended sales in December, we observed an 18% decrease in closings for January compared to the same period in 2023, and the 12-month rolling closed sales through January 31 dropped by 10.5% from the preceding 12 months. January’s year-over-year pending sales trends fared better than those for December, however, which is encouraging, particularly for the $1M and up price segment which posted a 4% year-over-year gain for the month.
New Listings
New listings for January were up 32% year-over-year which may seem concerning; however, January’s pace was not unusual when compared to longer-term trends. A similar pattern held true for new listings on a 12-month rolling basis, where new listings through January 31 were up 7.4%, but were down when compared to all but 3 of the past 10 years. Listing inventory has been on the mend since the pandemic-driven buyer surge brought it to all-time lows in early 2022. As of January 2024, MLS listed 12,558 units, still below the count of 13,076 in January 2020, before the pandemic. Months of supply, after being in seller’s market territory over the past four years, posted 6.23 months as of January 31. In Southwest Florida, real estate professionals generally consider a balanced market to be between 6 and 12 months.
Analysis
Amid shifting market conditions, sellers must price properties competitively with recent closed sales and similar active listings. For buyers, although inventory has finally brought choices back to the market, it’s still crucial to know how to identify when the right home is reasonably priced before it’s no longer available, as properly priced homes are still selling within a reasonable period of time.
Watch this YouTube video for my analysis of February 2024’s Florida real estate market:
We are pleased to report that John R. Wood Christie’s International Real Estate is off to a strong start for 2024, posting a definitive lead in both the number of closed transactions and total dollar volume for January, particularly in the $1M+ category where our agents closed double the number of transactions than our nearest competitor!
*Broker ranking according to SWFLA MLS for residential improved property excluding manufactured housing in Lee and Collier Counties.
Especially in today’s market, conditions can vary considerably between neighborhoods, product types, and price segments. Choosing a skilled local real estate professional is crucial for buyers or sellers navigating the challenging real estate landscape
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