Florida Real Estate Market Update Quarter 2

The Florida real estate market update for Quarter 2 holds great promise for both buyers and sellers throughout the remainder of the year.

The video below features Drayton Saunders, President of Michael Saunders & Company, as he reviews facts and figures of the Southwest Florida real estate market Quarter 2 (between April and June) as well as notable information on luxury consumer trends and the value of listing prior to the busy winter season. Hear what he has to say by watching the quick video:

Florida Real Estate Market Update Quarter 2 Video

While certainly, the First Quarter of the year is generally the busiest, the activity from the winter season quickly removed the high inventory numbers seen at the beginning of 2019. This prompted a shift in the market, creating a more balanced effect. By the end of June, the slowing of inventory gradually began to favor the seller. Ultimately, this behavior is a reflection of annual seasonal patterns.

Market fundamentals remain healthy with the region poised for growth and opportunities for both buyers and sellers. ~ Drayton Saunders

Key Trends:

• Inventory remains up year over year but is slowing with the summer season
• Price appreciation numbers remain stable but are likely influenced by new construction
• Well-priced and well-positioned beats the off-season slow down and captures buyers still on the lookout
• Significant slowing but significant sales in the luxury market

Inventory

Inventory numbers remain up year-over-year, but a slowing in new listings has allowed for a balanced market that swayed with subtle movement from favoring the buyer to the seller. New listings coming to market will be the number to watch throughout the remainder of 2019, as current inventory still provides buyers with a wide array of choice, but some may be holding out to see what Q3’s listing season will bring. An important thing to note is while the market may be technically a “seller’s market,” trends have shown that savvy buyers are only activating if the competitive set of location, price and condition are aligned to suit their interests.

The Luxury Market and Buyer

The second quarter in 2019 for Gulf Coast revealed both significant sales in the ultra-luxury category and significant slowing across the general luxury landscape. As seen in studies of the world’s wealthy commissioned by our affiliate Luxury Portfolio International (LPI), we see this having as much to do with the buyer profile as we do the state-and-local-tax regulations that are encouraging the affluent to establish primary residency in low/no state-tax states. Diving deeper into the value and belief sets of buyers in various price points also reveals why this seemingly odd market behavior isn’t really that odd at all.

“For affluent homebuyers everywhere, a house becomes a home when certain needs are met: 1) security and privacy, 2) the ability to grow as a person, 3) having a personalized/customized space and 4) a place that facilitates happy memories with family and friends.”

Source: Luxury Porfolio White Paper – LUXURY REAL ESTATE: WHAT MATTERS MOST TO TODAY’S GLOBAL ELITE | 2018

Overall luxury buyers are not in a position of urgency and will only purchase property they feel meets their needs and excites them. This equates to a limited pool of prospects even in peak season and a competitive landscape where sellers of resales are having to come down in price to combat the allure of the shiny and new. This is what we observed in the general luxury market last quarter with the current inventory not “sparking joy” (in the words of Marie Kondo).

On the flip side, out-of-town buyers in the $3 million+ category are seeing the high-value proposition the state of Florida affords, the Gulf Coast specifically. Luxury Portfolio revealed that consumer confidence remains high for real estate and as such more are choosing to invest their time and money in the area. Thus far in 2019, there have been 49 sales over $3 million across the Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. In all of 2018, there were 62 sales.

Boca Grande Luxury Real Estate

While an overall understanding of the real estate market is helpful when looking to buy or sell, the Boca Grande real estate market remains a unique niche', making it all that more important to connect with an experienced and trustworthy agent.

Carol Stewart has the professional know-how, and the local insight to help you make the right choices in any market. In 2018, she was again awarded Top Individual Producer for all of Michael Saunders.