Thursday afternoon highs in the low 90s in some areasGov. DeSantis to hold news conference in Kissimmee
FILE – This June 20, 2019, file photo shows an existing home is offered for sale in Rutledge, Ga. Americans purchased more homes in October 2019, though sales were held back by a shortage of available properties. The National Association of Realtors says that sales of existing homes rose 1.9% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million. That’s 4.6% higher than a year ago, and suggests lower mortgage rates are propping up the housing market. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File) The red hot real estate market is showing signs that it is starting to cool down. Inventory here in Southwest Florida is slowly starting to go up, but prices aren’t necessarily going down. It’s been a seller’s market for the past two years, a trend real estate experts say could be ending. “82 showings in two days and 22 offers, it was crazy,” said Jenny Moorhead, with Cornerstone Coastal Properties. Thousands are people are flocking to the sunshine state. Partly driven by a virus. “During the pandemic, since everybody was relocating here, all of those properties started getting absorbed,” said Moorhead Real estate experts say they’re finally starting to see indications of a stabilizing market. One thing driving that is Federal interest rate hikes. “Prices are now going to start to plateau or possibly come down in my opinion from all the charts I’ve looked at within 5-10% we’re going to see a decrease in prices of homes,” said Rick Haas, a Marzucco Real Estate Equity Partner. Good news there, but if you’re wondering if the market will ever be where it was pre-pandemic, don’t hold your breath. “We’re up about 30-36% so even if we go down 5 to 10% we’re still let’s say 10% at the max we’re still up 26% compared to 2019,” said Haas. Moorhead says her brokerage is slowly starting to see inventory go up which means more competition for sellers and possibly a silver lining for buyers. “I am seeing more price reductions whether prices are actually coming down I don’t think so,” said Moorhead. The house Haas showed us is proving that point. “A couple of years ago would have went for the 600’s and now it’s listed at 1.7 (million),” said Haas. Haas says his greatest piece of advice, find someone who is good at negotiating because it’s still a tough market. Moorhead says come fall, we’ll start to see a better market.