Our main takeaway this month is:
Palm Beach County Housing Affordability Declines to a 9-year Low!
In taking a closer look at the internal numbers, what we’re seeing is the following:
- The number of sales was 1,103, which is down 4 percent from a year ago.
- The median price of single-family homes sold last month was $325,000. That was up 5 percent from a year ago but slightly down from the June 2017 peak of $345,000.
- The pace of sales was significantly quicker in January in Palm Beach County, with properties talking 48 days to sell, down from 57 days on market.
- Active single family home listings declined 2 percent, so the supply of inventory dropped to 5.2 months with just under 7,400 active listings. However, this is up from 4.8 months in December. Again, anything under 6 months is considered a seller's market.
- Interestingly, the condo/townhouse inventory levels and supply are more balanced at 6,772 active listings and 6.2 months supply respectively.
- Let’s discuss Interest Rates. The stocks and bonds markets have been very volatile recently with the yield on the 10-year bond increasing which has had a knock-on effect with 30-year mortgage rates specifically. The rate on the benchmark, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.38 percent this past week, the highest level since April 2014.
- Housing Stats are Up 9.7% nationally, which is still not enough for the demand. On a more local level, Pulte Homes last week opened a new townhouse community in Palm Springs called Preston Square which includes 160 homes starting at $253,990.
Of Important note:
Housing Affordability! According to the National Association of Home Builders Affordability index, Just 55.9% of homes sold in Palm Beach County in the 4th quarter of 2017 were affordable for a median-income family – that was the lowest level of affordability since 2008.
Here is a quick video explaining the current status of our market:
Check out the market stats in detail here:
SINGLE FAMILY HOMES | January 2018 | January 2017 | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closed Sales | 1,103 | 1,146 |  -3.8% |
| Closed Sales (Paid In Cash) | 442 | 422 |  4.7% |
| Median Sale Price | $325,000 | $310,000 | 4.8% |
| Median % of Original List Price Received | 94.5% | 94.1% | 0.4% |
| Median Days to Contract | 48 | 57 | -15.8% |
| Inventory (Active Listings) | 7,383 | 7,784 |  -5.2% |
| Months Supply of Inventory | 5.2 | 5.3 | -1.9% |
| TOWNHOUSES / CONDOS | January 2018 | January 2017 | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closed Sales | 911 | 847 |  7.6% |
| Closed Sales (Paid In Cash) | 547 | 533 | 2.6% |
| Median Sale Price | $170,000 | $150,000 | 13.3% |
| Median % Original List Price Received | 94.3% | 93.7% | 0.6% |
| Median Days to Contract | 49 | 49 |  0.0% |
| Inventory (Active Listings) | 6,772 | 6,841 | -1.0% |
| Months Supply of Inventory | 6.2 | 6.2 | 0.0% |
The Palm Beach County market statistics are courtesy of your REALTOR®, a proud member of the Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB). RAPB represents over 14,000 members involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate.
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