The Orlando real estate numbers are in, and we have analyzed the data for you. We are in a seller’s market in terms of the months of inventory available. We started the new year with almost 4 months of available homes for sale, which we haven’t seen in years. The market was trending towards a buyer’s market, but things have shifted within the last few months. Inventory is down again month-over-month. It is higher than what it was last year but not by much. We started in the year with the lowest numbers in sales that I have seen in quite a long time, but it immediately picked back up! The questions that keep coming up are: are we shifting into a slower market? What’s going on because the market is sending us mixed signals? When you really break it down, we don’t have enough months of supply for the amount of demand in our area. We’re sitting at 1.72 months of inventory for the Central Florida Metro area, so we really don’t have enough homes for sale for the amount of people who want to buy here. Even with the rising rates, those have sort of leveled off a bit, and it’s become a little more normal.
One thing that is important to note is the actual appreciation rate. It is the lowest that I have seen in quite a long time. This means that the average median sales price in Orlando right now is only 1.1% higher than it was last year. In the last couple of years, we’ve been in the double digits every month, where it’s 20-30% higher than it was the year before. We are now seeing a slowdown in the appreciation rate. We have been expecting this to come, and this is what a “slowdown” looks like. There are not as many buyers as there were last year, so the prices are going to kind of level off and probably be steady for the rest of the year, maybe even be a little bit higher (around 3-5%) once we look back at the entire year.
If you’re waiting for prices to drop, you might be waiting a long time. There are still lots of opportunities, for example, if a home has been sitting on the market for a long period of time, that means they overshot, and they’re not looking at the trajectory. Understanding that the prices aren’t appreciating at 2-3% per month anymore like they were in the past. Those are the opportunities where you have negotiating power.
As a seller, the prices are still 1% higher than they were last year. So if you do still have a need to sell, you’re still at the top of the market here; we just don’t expect them to drastically go down. If you’re considering selling this year vs. next year, it probably won’t matter too much because the prices should be around the same. Whatever your needs are, it all depends on your specific location. You could live in a neighborhood where you’re in a completely opposite market; it’s all about supply and demand.
Give us a call, and we’ll help you navigate whatever situation you’re in! (407)982-7240