ORLANDO, Fla., June 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — In May, Florida’s housing market reported more new listings, increased for-sale inventory and higher median prices compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors®’ latest housing data.

“Florida’s housing supply continued to improve in May, which should help offer more housing options and opportunities for buyers,” said 2024 Florida Realtors^® President Gia Arvin, broker-owner with Matchmaker Realty in Gainesville. “More for-sale inventory, along with new listings, may ease the pressures buyers are feeling due to higher median prices, coupled with mortgage rates that remain just under 7%.”

Last month, closed sales of existing single-family homes statewide totaled 26,252, down slightly (-0.5%) year-over-year, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 10,415, a drop of 8.6% compared to May 2023. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.

Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor noted that May’s housing data appears to be “a continuation of the same trends we’ve seen in recent months.”

“New listings of single-family home listings were up by 15.2% in May, which was the lowest year-over-year increase we’ve reported this year – outside of a less-than-8% increase in March,” he said. “For townhouses and condos, new listings grew by 13.8% year-over-year in May – also the second-lowest increase reported for this property type category in 2024.”

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in May was $426,581, up 1.6% over May 2023, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. Last month’s statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $330,000, up 1.5% over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

“While sales growth remains sluggish, with new listings still climbing compared to a year ago, inventory levels are still rising at the statewide level,” said Dr. O’Connor. “Now, noted – we are seeing a decent amount of variation at the county level, and even within several counties, when we drill down to the zip code level. Some parts of the state, like most of South Florida, still have inventory levels below what was typical from, say, 2014 through 2019, leading up to the pandemic.

“Other areas of the state – particularly suburban and exurban areas on the fringes of other large metros like Tampa-St. Pete, Orlando and Jacksonville – are seeing inventory levels above pre-pandemic levels. Nothing quite like what occurred in 2008 or 2009, but still notable. These are the areas where we might expect price growth to be slowing down the most in the coming months.”

On the supply side of the market, inventory (active listings) rose year-over-year: Single-family existing homes were at a 4.4-months’ supply in May, while condo-townhouse inventory was at a 7.2-months’ supply.

To see the full statewide housing activity reports, go to the Florida Realtors Newsroom and look under Latest Releases or download the May 2024 data report PDFs under Market Data.

Florida Realtors® serves as the voice for real estate in Florida. It provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to 238,000 members in 51 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Newsroom website is available at http://floridarealtors.org/newsroom.

SOURCE Florida Realtors