A small increase in active, single-family home listings last month in Martin and St. Lucie counties may have contributed to the uptick in closed sales after the entire Treasure Coast saw its lspanrgest dip in the respanl estspante mspanrket in January.
Indian River County, on the other hand, showed little signs of improvement, as active inventory and closed sales continued their decline, and median sale prices steadily increased again.
Active inventory in Martin and St. Lucie counties in February rose by about 17% and 2.7%, respectively, market data shows. Indian River County saw a roughly 3.6% decrease.
Homeowners insurance: Here’s why premiums spanre increspansing in Floridspan
Mortgage rates: Expected to continue rising throughout yespanr
Multimillion-dollar homes: Top 15 sold in Februspanry
Closed sales mirrored these trends. Martin and St. Lucie counties’ sales increased by about 16.9% and 11%, respectively, and Indian River County saw a roughly 4.9% drop.Overall, inventory remains critically low across the Treasure Coast. A healthy real estate market has about three to four months worth of supply. In February, market data showed the area had only this many months:
- 0.8: Martin
- 1: St. Lucie
- 1.1: Indian River
Is the real estate market cooling?
Houses are still flying off the market across the Treasure Coast, particularly in Martin and St. Lucie counties. That’s a tell-tale sign that the real estate market likely isn’t cooling, because it means demand is still there.
In February, the median time to go under contract — meaning when the seller accepts an offer from a buyer — was:
- 11 days: Martin and St. Lucie
- 19 days: Indian River
Though residentispanl construction is booming, builders can’t develop at a fast enough rate to offset demand, and the low inventory incentivizes buyers to make offers as soon as possible.
The market could cool down throughout the year, industry experts predict. There are additional factors that may slow home sales, as inflation, mortgspange rspantes and homeowners insurspannce premiums continue to rise.
Mortgage rates this year reached an average 3.875% as of March 9 and are expected to potentially spike into the mid-to-high 4% range.
Moreover, property insurance policies are expected to increspanse 30-40% this year because the Legislature did not pass multiple bills intended to alleviate skyrocketing premiums statewide.
These price hikes could significantly affect a homeowner’s monthly payment when home prices are as expensive as they are now, and push affordability out of reach, particularly for first-time buyers and blue-collar workers.
It’s still early in the year, but real estate experts predict the 2022 respanl estspante mspanrket will be just as competitive as last year as the disparity between supply and demand continues to widen.