Despite a pandemic that has leveled several sectors, Florida’s housing market wrapped up 2021 with more sales, higher median sale prices and more new listings compared to the year before, according to new housing data released by Florida Realtors.
Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 350,516 at the end of 2021, up 12.9 percent compared to the 2020 year-end level, according to data from Florida Realtors’ research department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations.
The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes also rose to $348,000 in 2022, up 20 percent from the previous year. Additionally, new pending sales for existing single-family homes rose 5.7 percent at the end of 2021 compared to the previous year, while new listings for single-family homes were up 7.1 percent from a year ago.
Looking at Florida’s year-to-year comparison for sales of condo-townhouses, a total of 160,177 units sold statewide in 2021, up 34.2 percent over 2020. The statewide median price for condo-townhouse properties at the end of the year was $252,000, up 17.2 percent from the previous year. New pending sales for condo-townhouse units for the end of 2021 increased 29.2 percent compared to a year ago, while new listings for condo-townhouses rose 5.5 percent from year-end 2020.
“In all, there were over 528,000 total sales of existing homes (all types) in 2021 – an increase of 19 percent over 2020’s total,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor. “The dollar volume of these sales totaled nearly $241 billion, which, because prices also swelled in 2021, represented an increase of over 48 percent.
Statewide, the number of cash sales doubled year-over-year in both property type categories at the end of 2021, up 53.2 percent for single-family existing homes and 50.2 percent for condo and townhouse units.
According to Florida Realtors’ data, at the end of 2021, in December 2021 and also for 4Q 2021, inventory (active listings) for single-family homes stood at a 1.0-months’ supply, while inventory for condo-townhouse properties was at a 1.3-months’ supply.
“Inventory levels at year’s end were dangerously low in both property type categories,” Dr. O’Connor said. “With inventory as low as it is now, early 2022 isn’t looking so great for prospective buyers in either property type category. Current homeowners, however, continue to have the opportunity of a lifetime in the strongest seller’s market in ages.”
The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, however, was down for 2021, posting a 2.96 percent average which is down significantly from the previous year’s average of 3.11 percent, according to Freddie Mac.
Looking ahead in 2022, Chief Economist O’Connor noted mortgage rates trends will impact ongoing market conditions.
“With the Federal Reserve now getting serious about tapering its mortgage and bond purchases, as well as preparing to raise the federal funds rate later this year, we should expect mortgage rates to rise in the coming weeks,” he added. “This increase has been underway for a couple of weeks already. If these increases are sustained, then we should eventually expect some slowdown in the rate of price growth, which on the whole is probably a good thing as our economy continues to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.”
To view the complete data, including December and 4Q reports, click here.