“Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.” Coco Chanel

I am going to believe the spring real estate market is going to be awesome. It has been a tough two years, but Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor said, “watch for the Florida real estate market to slowly start growing in 2024 as interest rates flatten and consumers begin realizing what they’re seeing is the new normal in prices and interest rates.”
The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors January market review shows continued price stability. The median sales price of $345,000 is down 4.2% from December but up 4.5% from last year. Prices move up and down each month, but they have stayed in a small range.

There were 1,425 closed sales in January, which is down 28.7% from December and down 11.4% from last year. The numbers are not surprising since mortgage interest rates spiked to around 8% last October and there was very little buyer demand through November. December is not usually a strong month for sales with the holiday season; therefore January closings are down.
The pending sales of 1,705 were also down 4.7% from December and 23.9% from last year.

Dr. Brad O’Connor and Dr. Sean Snaith, a well-known economist with the University of Central Florida, both spoke at the recent annual Florida Real Estate Trends Summit. They both agree that signs point to a slowdown in economic growth at the national level, but Florida is prepared to weather any national economic storm. A few reasons are:
• The state’s labor market is strong.
• Florida’s population growth remains strong at about 1,000 new people a day.
• The state is still attractive to “untethered” remote workers.
• Retirees with home equity looking to relocate are unfazed by high interest rates.
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