BOBBY FREEMAN: Real Estate Sales Activity Slows Down in Brevard, Single-Family Inventory Up Over 166 Percent

Median Sales Price for Brevard Single Family homes is up 4.2% to $349,000

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Last year, the typical 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the U.S. increased from about 3% in January to over 7% in November.

This threw a wet blanket on what had been a red-hot housing market, reducing both homebuyer demand and the rate of new listings each month.

Sales activity slowed down over the course of the year across the entire country, and Florida’s Space Coast was no exception.

So far in 2023, the 30-year rate is down from its recent high of last November but has remained elevated within the range of 6 to 7% for the past four months.

“After hitting record-low territory in 2020 and 2021, mortgage rates shot up to a 14-year high last year,” says Jennifer McCoy with McCoy Freeman Real Estate. “Many experts and industry authorities believe rates will follow a downward trajectory in 2023.”

Still, sales levels remain low relative to a year ago. In January, closed sales of existing single-family homes were down almost 33% year-over-year.

This improved to just over 21% in February. And the latest statistics from Florida Realtors for March showed this trend continued, with closed sales of existing single-family homes falling by only 15% compared to a year ago.

But a big part of why this year-over-year deficit shrank in March was because the housing market was already starting to weaken this time last year.

That means that going forward this year, when we look at the year-over-year change in sales each month, we’re going to see a big improvement, but much of that will be because we’ll be comparing it to the 2022 market, which steadily worsened all year.

Single-family sales in February 2023 were only about 2% lower compared to February 2019, but in March 2023, they were up 4.6% compared to March of 2019. So sales, at least, continue to trend closely with the pre-pandemic market.

Inventory levels in both property type categories remained higher than a year ago, with single-family inventory up over 166% year-over-year, and townhouse and condo inventory up by 147%.

Recap of the Brevard County Residential Report for March 2023:

■ Closed Sales are down -5.5% for March 2023, in which the number of units closed was 1,031 compared to 1,091 in March 2022, with a decrease in cash sales of -6.3%.

■ New Pending Sales are down -6.3% and New Listings are up 0.2%.

■ The Median Sales Price for Brevard Single Family homes is up 1.0% to $353,580 compared to a year ago, which was $350,000.

■ Months’ Supply of Inventory is up 214.3% to 2.2 months, an increase from 0.7 months in March 2022.

■ Traditional Sales are down -5.7% with a median sales price of $355,000.

■ Foreclosure/REO Sales are up 60.0% with 8 closed sales and a median sales price of $163,500.

■ Short Sale Closings are down -100.0% with 0 closed sales and a median sales price of (no sales).

Recap of the Brevard County Townhouses/Condos for March 2023:

■ Closed Sales are down -7.9% for March 2023 in which the number of units closed was 269 compared to 292 in March 2022, with a decrease in cash sales of -6.5%.

■ New Pending Sales are down -1.5% and New Listings are up 10.4%.

■ Median Sales Price for Townhomes/Condos is down -3.8% to $280,000 compared to a year ago, which was $291,000.

■ Months’ Supply of Inventory is up 200.0% to 3.0 months in March 2023 from 1.0 months in March 2022.

■ Traditional Sales are down -8.6% with a median sales price of $280,000.

■ Foreclosure/REO Sales are up 100.0% with a median sales price of $153,500.

■ Short Sale Closings are N/A with 1 closed sale in March 2023 and 0 closed sale in March 2022.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bobby Freeman, a lifetime resident of Brevard County, has been a top Realtor in the area for over two decades. In his first year as an agent, Freeman received a Rising Star award from his Brokers. Since then, he has achieved numerous sales awards from some of the largest real estate firms in the world.

Freeman, Jennifer McCoy and Nikki McCoy-Freeman are family owners of the McCoy-Freeman Real Estate Group on Florida’s Space Coast. Together they have more than 40 years of extensive experience in all aspects of the real estate industry, have sold over $420 million and are ranked in the top 1% of all Florida Realtors.

Among McCoy-Freeman Group’s achievements are Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS), Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE), Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR) and voted Best Realtor in Brevard County. The group has been featured in many news publications including CNN Money Magazine, CNNMoney.com, WFTV 9 News, News 13, WKMG News 6, Coastal Condo Living Magazine, Hot Retirement Towns Magazine and SpaceCoastDaily.com.

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