Rant or Rave, which side to take? Actually, both. There are so many inconsistencies in the headlines what is typically a good number like unemployment percentage declines is now atypical the Federal Reserve with raising interest rates to help reverse our inflation growth wants the unemployment number to go up, causing pain to the individual and families alike. The Fed rates increases have a direct effect on the mortgage lending rates. As of 9/29, the average 30-year fixed rates topped 6.7 percent, this in turn slows the housing market. Although this is not an exhaustive list of things to rant about and a simplistic viewpoint but sets up the narrative for the real estate market and a few things to rave about.
No, the real estate market is not crashing but getting to a more normal business setting. One of my biggest raves you find in my postings is securing an experienced Realtor to handle your real estate transaction. I can not say it enough, inexperience in the matters of real estate will cost you time and money. Almost every day we get calls from agents asking the listing agent to show the home to their clients because it’s too far to drive, or they don’t have a suprakey or real estate is their part-time gig. What these agents don’t realize, relationships with clients, having the tools of the trade and understanding the ins and outs of the contract are all part of the career. On a positive rave, as the market continues to get more normalized, many of these inexperienced agents will bow out.
As the ADOM (average days on market) increases both buyers and sellers will feel more comfortable with their pricing decision. For example: when a seller received multiple offers on the first day on the market, they would always contemplate did they set the price too low, or on the other hand when the buyer’s offer was accepted due to bidding up, they usually left the table thinking they offered too much, the win-win value determination between the parties was never established.
At the end of September, we finished the third quarter for the year with 222 residential homes sold which was a 22 percent decline from the third quarter last year. The average sales price was $375,671, up 21 percent from last year and the ADOM more than doubled the time to contract from 11.1 days to 23.6 days.
As we continue to look at the Plant City housing data, in September, 2022, our market area sold 52 homes, about a 42 percent decrease from the previous month while the year over year numbers was down 40 percent and year-to-date down 11 percent, OUCH.
The average selling price per square foot was $207.36, which accounted for a 1.4 percent increase over last month, but when compared to the year-to-date average it accounted for a 3.1 percent gain. The average selling price was $359,349 in September or a 1.8 percent increase over last month and compared to the YTD average it amounts to a 0.5 percent decrease. Now it’s hard to define the trendline, but it appears that our market peaked in May and has starting to decline slightly. One of the factors of the supply demand model, with higher interest rates for mortgages you tend to see prices decline in relevance.
The active inventory decreased this month but saw September’s month’s supply increase slightly to 2.3 over August’s 2.29. We are gaining ground on the equilibrium of 4-6 month’s supply levels.
Comparing the Median prices month over month data, September finished with a Median sales price of $342,995 which was 0.9 percent more than August’s and 1.5 percent increase year-to-date. The average days on market (ADOM) for September was 29.2 days, a 21 percent increase over last month.
What does the near future hold for our real estate market? 4th Quarter–2022, I believe we will see a decrease in units sold for the quarter and year. The average sales price will be flat or slight decline in value for the fourth quarter but the year-over-year numbers will show 18-20 percent increase over 2021. Hopefully the mortgage lender rates will stabilize so the growth rate for next year will be positive.
As always, if you are in the market to buy or sell your home … seek out an experienced professional realtor to assist you in this transaction process. There are too many consequences to go it alone without proper representation. If you have any questions, want to get a market value analysis of your home or just 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 September 2022 for the Plant City Market Area.
The home at 1106 East MLK Blvd sold September 14 for $114,000. Built in 1938, it has 3 bedrooms, 1 bath and 965 square feet of living area.
The home at 4631 Bethlehem Rd sold September 8 for $160,000. Built in 1972, it has 2 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1008 square feet of living area.
The home at 1608 W Ball St sold September 21 for $210,000. Built in 1960 it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1200 square feet of living area.
The home at 1404 E Laura St sold September 9 for $247,000. Built in 2005, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1290 square feet of living area.
The home at 2713 Sparkman Rd sold September 27 for $295,000. Built in 2003, it has 4 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1976 square feet of living area.
The home at 1317 W Redbud St sold September 2 for $360,000. Built in 1984, it has 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and 1388 square feet of living area.
The home at 5770 Harvey Tew Rd sold September 20 for $365,000. Built in 1940, it has 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath and 1818 square feet of living area.
The home at 3419 Silverstone Ct sold September 2 for $398,000. Built in 1995, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 1822 square feet of living area.
The home at 708 Oakland Heights Ave sold September 12 for $425,000. Built in 2007, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 1726 square feet of living area.
The home 2746 Walden Woods Dr sold September 8 for $435,000. Built in 2011, it has 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths and 2736 square feet of living area.
The home at 3403 Aul Country Pl sold September 30 for $490,000. Built in 2002, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2392 square feet of living area.
The home at 3511 Ranchdale Dr sold September 15 for $500,000. Built in 2016, it has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and 2304 square feet of living area.
The home at 2919 Forest Hammock Dr sold September 9 for $675,000. Built in 2001, it has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and 2624 square feet of living area.
The home at 3502 N Forbes Rd sold September 1 for $700,000. Built in 2006, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and 3057 square feet of living area.
The home at 7816 Turkey Creek Rd sold September 27 for $730,000. Built in 1995, it has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and 1655 square feet of living area.