Study Suggests More Owners Are Ready to List

The current market favors sellers, but owners see price increases slowing and buyers being excluded from the market. Many who have held back may decide it is time to sell.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Some possible good news for buyers – more inventory could be brought to market in South Florida in the coming months as sellers are more willing to list their homes.

A survey of 1,300 consumers conducted by realtor.com in the fall of 2021 found that 65% of homeowners across the country plan to sell their home within the next six months, while 26% of homeowners plan to sell their home within the next year .

“Sellers are realizing that markets are leaning heavily in their favor as millions of millennials turn 30s trying to buy their first home while taking advantage of low interest rates,” said George Ratiu, manager of economic research at realtor.com .

It can be good news for shoppers who have struggled with record low inventory levels in South Florida for the past year and a half. Palm Beach County’s single-family home inventory fell 53% to 1.3 months, according to October numbers from Broward, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie brokers. Broward County’s single-family home inventory declined 44% year over year to 1.4 months in October. In Miami Dade County, the county’s inventory decreased 40% year over year to 2.2 months.

Realtor.com’s survey also found that there was an increase in deals over time in 2021. In the spring of a survey, 9% of the sellers said they had already listed their house. That number rose to 19% in the fall. The survey was conducted on a national basis, so the housing market and sellers in South Florida may react differently.

It’s not uncommon for sellers to list more actively earlier in the year as this is usually a high point for new listings, said Bonnie Heatzig, executive director of luxury sales at Douglas Elliman’s Boca Raton district.

For Heatzig, she said she sees sellers a little more open to selling their home now than it was earlier in 2021. She notes that any reluctance they have comes with concerns that they might not find a home suitable house in its price range in today’s market.

“The most compelling reason I hear from those willing to sell is that they want to take advantage of the higher selling prices coupled with the fact that their homes no longer meet their needs or wants,” added Heatzig.

The desire of sellers to participate in the market also grew from spring to autumn, according to the realtor.com survey. Slightly less than 25% of the sellers wanted to sell in the spring in order to benefit from the current market, in the fall it is 35%. According to the spring survey, around 13% of sellers wanted to sell because they saw the news that it was a sellers’ market. But in the fall that number jumped to 30%.

Jeff Grant of ReMAX Realty in Palm Beach Gardens said that while he has seen a steady stream of sellers, he expects the single-family home listings to pick up in January taking advantage of the high seasonal rental prices right now.

It remains to be seen whether these national numbers would pay off in South Florida. The demand is so great that it may not alleviate current pressures on the housing market, local real estate agents say. South Florida home prices are expected to rise more slowly by about 5.8% in the New Year.

“I think the current pent-up demand from buyers will continue to put pressure on the market and that new inventory will be absorbed quickly in multiple supply situations,” said Grant.

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