Florida’s Housing Market Sees Pending Sales, Median Price and Inventory Rise in March

ORLANDO—The latest data for the Florida home sales market shows continued increases in median sales price in most major metros in the state, but also an increase in for-sale inventory which could help bolster the overall health of the residential sector going forward.

According to data released on Monday by the statewide Realtor organization Florida Realtors, overall sales for single-family homes in Florida in March were flat as compared to a year ago at 25,013. The statewide median single-family home sale price increased 2% during that 12-month period to $256,000. Realtors pointed to a 9.6% increase in active single-family home listings (97,195) as a positive sign going forward that will help keep the lid on rising home prices in the Sunshine State. Pending sales statewide were 2.6% higher than a year ago at 31,383, according to statistics released by Florida Realtors.

“Along with low mortgage rates, the pressure on home prices is easing due to increased inventory, which is a positive trend for housing affordability and could encourage some buyers to enter the market,” says 2019 Florida Realtors President Eric Sain, a Realtor and district sales manager with Illustrated Properties in Palm Beach.

He notes that in addition to the increase in statewide listings for single-family homes in March, inventory for condo-townhouse properties statewide rose 6.6% in March as well. “

Closed sales of condo-townhouses statewide in March totaled 10,340, down 6.1% compared to a year ago.

Florida Realtors chief economist Dr. Brad O’Connor says, “On a statewide basis, more homes typically go under contract in March than in any other month of the year. And compared to March of last year, new pending sales of single-family homes this March were up by 2.6% to a total of 31,383. In fact, this is the highest number of new pending sales we’ve seen in any month across the previous 11 years in which Florida Realtors has tracked this statistic.”

He adds, “New pending sales in the condo and townhouse category, by the way, were also up, rising by 1% from last March’s total. Of course, not all homes that go under contract end up as closed sales, but this is a pretty good sign for the market going into spring.”

Single-family home sales in Miami-Dade County fell 1.9% in March as compared to March 2018, according to the Miami-Dade Association of Realtors. The median sale price of a single-family home in Miami-Dade rose 0.9% during that period to $351,250. The inventory (active listings) of single-family homes in that market area has risen 8.2% in that 12-month span.

Sales in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach MSA fell 3.7% and the median single-family home sales price in that market rose 1.4% to $355,000 as of March 2019.

Other major MSA single-family home sales market results included: Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford MSA, sales were up 1.8% and the median price increased 3.5% to $269,000; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA sales were up 0.9% and the median price increased 3.3% to $237,695 and the Jacksonville MSA registered a 0.9% increase in home sales, while the median sale price remained flat as compared to last March at $250,000.