August Southwest Florida Real Estate Outlook

August 14, 2023 | Blog

Can you believe the first half of the year is already in the books?  The excitement surrounding the start of school and the kickoff of football season is as thick as the air in Southwest Florida right now.

It’s the perfect time to review expectations when it comes to our local real estate market and work on your game plan for the fall and winter months.

Let’s start with a look at where we’ve been and where we are heading.  Mortgage rates are sitting around 7%.  While that’s twice what they were at the start of 2023, rates remain at historically low levels.

Higher rates and the increased cost of borrowing mean we’re seeing a rebalancing of the Southwest Florida real estate market.  Housing prices are leveling off but aren’t expected to drop drastically due to a continued shortage of homes for sale, also know as available inventory.

In July, there were 4,523 single-family homes and 1,538 condos and townhomes for sale in our market.  A six month supply is standard in a normal market and we’re looking at four months for single-family and five months for condos and townhomes.

Another factor that impacts price is new construction.  Permits were down more than 20 percent year-over-year, which means it will be a while before new construction will outpace the influx of buyers who continue to relocate to Southwest Florida to live in paradise.

With fewer homes to choose from, those that are priced right and in a preferred location sell fairly quick after hitting the market.  On average in July, single-family homes sold in a month and condos and townhomes sold in about 42 days.

Now that you have a better idea of where our market is going, it’s time for us to talk if you plan to sell your home in 2023.  Reach out to us 239-542-1075 and let’s get your house sold before the hectic rush of the holidays.