“Holiday real estate marketing”… should I list now or wait until the new year? This has been a question we receive from potential sellers during this time of the year. The final six to seven weeks of the year are extremely busy for everyone, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, office parties, families visiting and so much more that takes time from our schedule. It has been our experience over the past 15 years, that this time of year brings out the most serious buyers because they would rather be enjoying the festive times than buying a home, so you don’t see as many just looking. They are the ones looking have a basic need to get into a property soon.
If you are considering selling your property, there is no time like the present to start the process. Just realize that market conditions reflect a new normal in pricing valuation, time to contract and closing. Housing inventory is still below what we feel is the equilibrium mark, but buyers are still out there in force seeking their ideal property. Multiple offer situations are becoming less a thing of the past market run-up and sellers are making additional concessions to close the deal.
News media outlets will report many things about the general overall market circumstances, potential large price corrections, housing glut, etc., but we live in the good state of Florida, Plant City area where many of the general population wants to move and relocate to our slice of heaven. Our market corrections will be slight in comparison to other areas of the country.
As we look at the Plant City housing data, in November 2022, our market area sold 88 homes, a slight decrease from the previous month and year-to-date down 8.7 percent. New construction sales contributed 32 units or 36 percent of this month’s total. While the new construction production is increasing, it is also diminishing the average selling price per square foot. The new construction averaged $172.42 while all the other properties sold averaged $197.18 bringing the overall area’s average price per square foot to $188.18.
The average selling price was $340,167, which accounted for an 8.9 percent reduction over last month and compared to the year-to-date average, it accounted for a 5.6 percent decline. As we have mentioned before, our market area peaked in May/June and we are still trending to finish the year out with a 20 percent growth rate over last year.
The active inventory decreased slightly this November to 2.1 months’ supply from 2.3. However, we are still six to 12 months from the equilibrium of 3 months’ supply levels.
Comparing the Median prices month over month data, November finished with a median sales price of $342,495, which was 2.1 percent less than in October and a 0.8 percent increase year-to-date. In addition, November’s average days on the market (ADOM) was 24.3 days. We are still closing contracts quicker than before the market surge, when we typically averaged 45 days on the market.
The past three weeks have seen mortgage rates decline from the high of 7.08 percent to 6.49 percent, although the financial markets are showing mixed signals, I do believe the mortgage market to stabilize by the summer months next year.
If you are in the market to buy or sell your home, seek an experienced professional Realtor® to assist you in this transaction process. There are too many consequences, going it alone without proper representation. If you have any questions, want a market value analysis of your home, or see what’s available to purchase, please reach out.
M Crawford
Crawford Group
Sales Snapshot
The following residential properties were a sample listed as sold on the Greater Tampa Realtors Association MLS in November 2022 for the Plant City Market Area.
The home at 7229 Stanaland Rd sold November 18 for $124,750. Built in 1983, it has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and 980 square feet of living area.
The home at 8705 Mary Ivy Dr sold November 18 for $202,500. Built in 1973 it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1440 square feet of living area.
The home at 777 Ashentree Dr sold November 18 for $232,000. Built in 2015, it has 2 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1185 square feet of living area.
The home at 4613 N Country Hills Ct sold November 4 for $235,000. Built in 1985, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1305 square feet of living area.
The home at 1708 Hughes Dr sold November 15 for $261,000. Built in 1975, it has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and 1394 square feet of living area.
The home at 1304 Oakdale St sold November 18 for $280,000. Built in 1956, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1535 square feet of living area.
The home at 2605 Paul Buchman Hwy sold November 4 for $285,000. Built in 2006, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 1262 square feet of living area.
The home at 5303 Keene Dr sold November 14 for $323,000. Built in 1962, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 1276 square feet of living area.
The home 3601 Trapnell Ridge sold November 7 for $340,000. Built in 2013, it has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and 2058 square feet of living area.
The home at 1221 Tahitian Sunrise Dr sold November 29 for $365,890. Built in 2022, it has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and 1936 square feet of living area.
The home at 906 N Wheeler St sold November 4 for $425,000. Built in 1937, it has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and 2271 square feet of living area.
The home at 3911 Midway Rd sold November 11 for $507,000. Built in 1990, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2048 square feet of living area.
The home at 3009 Beautiful Creek Ln sold November 10 for $550,000. Built in 2008, it has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2283 square feet of living area.
The home at 2822 Hammock Dr sold November 3 for $560,000. Built in 1987, it has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and 2985 square feet of living area.
The home at 4746 Justin Ln sold November 30 for $627,500. Built in 2003, it has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath and 2308 square feet of living area.