The Treasure Coast’s residential real estate market continued to stabilize in December, and experts predict it will soon reach normalcy and pre-pandemic figures.
The median sale price is expected to drop as more housing inventory becomes available, said Chris Krzemien, president of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors — but that hasn’t happened quite yet.
It was still a sellers market in December, when the median sale price compared to November increased slightly in Martin and Indian River counties, but decreased slightly in St. Lucie County. Explosive growth in the Tradition area of Port St. Lucie continues to drive the median sale price higher in St. Lucie County than in Indian River County:
- Martin: $550,000 in December, compared to $527,500 in November
- St. Lucie: $381,900 in December, compared to $388,980 in November
- Indian River: $375,152 in December, compared to $353,000 in November
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Housing inventory, median time to contract
The available housing inventory and median time to contract are two indicators the market is headed toward neutrality, when it doesn’t favor either the buyer or the seller over the other, Krzemien said.
From November to December 2022, there was not much deviation in how many months worth of housing inventory was available, staying within the 3 to 3.3 months range. This time last year, there was only 0.8 months worth of housing inventory available in Martin County and only 1 month in Indian River and St. Lucie counties.
The median time to contract — from when the owner lists the house to when the buyer signs a contract — took longer in December than November 2022:
- Martin: 35 days, compared to 34 days
- St. Lucie: 37 days, compared to 29 days
- Indian River: 45 days, compared to 39 days
It took less than 20 days this time last year, when cash buyers were swooping in and purchasing properties well above the asking price, which drove up prices.
Closed sales were down slightly in December compared to November, except in St. Lucie, where they increased:
- Martin: 131, compared to 106
- Indian River: 183, compared to 168
- St. Lucie: 425, compared to 392
“I think we’re going to go back to pre-pandemic numbers (when) prices were rising at a healthy rate,” Krzemien said.