Home Prices Increase Yet Buyers Stand Their Ground

The prices of homes have been on the rise as we enter 2016 but buyers have been taking a closer look at what they are willing to pay.

In both Broward and Palm Beach counties, single family homes hit a median price of $285,000 per local Realtor boards. Prices were up annually by 8% in Broward county and 4% in Palm Beach county while closed sales also experienced increases by 7% in Palm Beach and 6% in Broward.

Inventory still remains tight with fewer homes on the market in South Florida. The low supply typically would give sellers more power, yet a slight shift in the market has been seen as buyers are resisting overpriced homes. Sellers have become accustomed to the lack of homes for sale and were trying to leverage this by setting the price of their home slightly higher as a result.

The resistance is causing for a shift towards more of a normalcy in the marketplace and a “gradual rebalancing.” Although average days on market for a home in Palm Beach County was down to 44 days from 52 a year ago, that is still a higher level since last spring. Broward county inched its way up to 59 days up from 49 according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors Association.

The general consensus by local realtors is that homes that are priced correctly are selling in approximately 30 to 45 days. If you price your home right, there are plenty of buyers out there. However, if you are priced too high, buyers are becoming savvy enough to decipher that and your home may sit on the market and become stale. The longer that a home stays on the market, typically the lower the sale price. It is also shared that there is still a healthy demand by buyers, yet there are signs showing of more “normal” market conditions.

The tri-county South Florida region ranks sixth nationwide among the top markets for buyers, according to a report released Tuesday by the Zillow.com real estate website. Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Hartford, Conn., and New York are the top five.