I don’t have a crystal ball, nor am I a wizard. So instead of predicting the future of real estate, I thought I would share with you some statistics as well as my own observations from the Pinellas County real estate market.
As of today, there are 4,606 active listings in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is slightly lower than the same figure last September (4,760).
There are quite a few sellers out there that are not comfortable at this time to let buyers and agents go through their homes. In the last 30 days 351 active listings went into “Temporarily off Market” status. Most of these sellers are planning to put their homes back on the market as the economy reopens, hopefully soon. I have managed to show homes like these a number of times, despite “off market status”. I am equipped in my car with lots of gloves, masks, disinfectant products, and can provide my clients with these as we enter homes.
Agents and sellers in general go above and beyond in sanitizing homes between showings. Many attend showings personally to have better control over what buyers are doing in the home during the walk through.
I have clients that had to cancel trips to Florida due to lock-down orders in their home states. Most of these clients are anxiously waiting on these restrictions to lift and cannot wait to come to Florida to pursue their goals of buying or selling a home here. There are lots of people out there that plan to retire in Florida, and while some of them may need to put a hold on these dreams due to current pressures, other families are pursuing moving here a few years earlier than originally planned (e.g. taking early retirement).
In the last five years I had a surge of new buyers from California as well as the New England states. There are predictions that the “exodus” from these areas to Florida may accelerate due to Covid-19. I have clients that feel trapped in these states, and the only thing on their mind is to get out of these “overpopulated” areas and make the big move here.
I think we are very fortunate to call Florida our home during these times. Our beaches may be closed, but our many wonderful biking trails and parks have never seen the likes of so many people taking their exercise routines to the outdoors. (Have you seen the inventory of bikes in a Walmart or Target lately? Empty shelves are a typical sight.)
Mortgage guidelines tightened in general. To list a few:
· Jumbo loans have been suspended (though you can still get a first and second mortgage).
· Rehab loans and construction loans have been suspended by most lenders temporarily (I know a few that will still do them).
· FHA loan credit score requirements jumped from 580 to 680.
· Self-employed borrowers can only qualify with 75% of their income now.
· There are lot of buyers that will not qualify to buy, that would have qualified a month ago.
On the other hand mortgage rates are incredible. If you have great credit, this is an amazing time to finance a property for almost nothing.
I showed a gorgeous town-home last weekend that just came on the market. The property was really beautifully remodeled and the sellers priced it at $369,000 in a community where all sales in the last ten years were under $330,000. The seller got 4 offers right away and the property went under contract.
Has the market collapsed? I don’t think so! At least not as of right now.
But I do think that the seller market will finally soften and the continually rising prices will end and possibly reverse at least a bit after a decade.
If you love statistics, here you can study them in detail. These get updated daily as well as monthly.
If you have any real estate needs please contact me. I am here for you wether it is an immediate need or more long term.
Best, Niki
