Buyers have more choices - but will they come to the plate?
Every two weeks, Paradise Sharks publishes the latest home inventory in Jupiter numbers to keep you informed of what is one of the most important factors when talking real estate. Our next report will not come to you until the new year so this is our very last one of 2014. The trend over the last year started with inventory climbing during the 1st quarter, falling steadily during quarters 2 and 3 only to rebound to end the year. Todays' report is once again a bullish sign for buyers as for the third straight month they have more selection when shopping for a home.
As of December 15th, home inventory in Jupiter and the surrounding communities is up almost 2% from where we stood a month ago. The fact that the market is providing buyers more choice is good as we head into what we hope is a strong buying season. We still trail year ago numbers for home inventory in Jupiter by about 4% and also fall about 3% short of the 12 month moving average. So more choices for buyers is a bit of good news for a market that does not seem to know where it is heading.
What was once hot has cooled and we are looking for our seasonal visitors to turn on the heat once again. It wasn't all that long ago we were telling you about how well new home sales were doing, resale transactions were up and prices were climbing. Over the past few months that trend has reversed course in a significant way. Sales have been down for 2 straight months and judges are pushing more foreclosures through our system at a faster pace. The price of a median single family home in the Northern Palm Beaches is down about 9% since July and as of right now it looks like that trend is still in place.
The market is always changing but the pace of today's shifts is speedy and can change direction as easy as a NFL running back darting though an opposing defense on a 46 yard touchdown scamper. At each turn we wonder if this is just a temporary correction and the trend remains bullish for real estate. We still think it looks a bit bullish through the season but have concerns. Things just don't feel like sales and prices are getting ready for a sprint to higher levels. Good opportunities still can get snapped up quickly but there are other good opportunities sitting with no action. The fact that home inventory in Jupiter and the surrounding communities has climbed again is good bait. Now if only the fish would start biting.
I hear a lot of descriptions of how the current real estate market is behaving and the one I like best is schizophrenic. Always interesting, always fun.
Fins up.....
Tom Priester
Principal Broker
Paradise Sharks Real Estate
561.308.0175
tom@paradisessharks.com
RSS Feed