Housing Market Heat Shifts To Southeast | Bankrate (2024)

FAQs

Will 2023 be a good time to buy a house? ›

Homebuyer.com data analysis indicates that, for first-time home buyers, June 2023 is a good time to buy a house relative to later in the year. This article provides an unbiased look at current mortgage rates, housing market conditions, and market sentiment.

Although home prices are expected to improve in the second half of the year, the California median home price is projected to decrease by 5.6 percent to $776,600 in 2023, down from the median price of $822,300 recorded in 2022.

Overall, the Florida housing market is likely to remain strong in 2023, with continued demand for homes and steady price growth. However, the market may begin to stabilize as the growth rate slows down, which may lead to more balanced conditions between buyers and sellers.

The hottest housing markets include those markets in North Carolina, Colorado and Texas that were also popular during the pandemic, including Raleigh and Durham, Denver and Austin. Markets to watch that improved the most between November and December 2022 include Portland, Oregon, Richmond, Virginia, and St. Louis.

So far in 2023, the Fed raised rates 0.25 percentage points twice. If they hike rates at the May meeting, it is likely to be another 0.25% jump, meaning interest rates will have increased by 0.75% in 2023, up to 5.25%.

"Possibly in 2024, but it will depend on the Fed's decisions about raising rates in the second half of the year," says Fleming. "And even if they do go down, it won't be back to the rates of yesteryear. 6% mortgage rates used to be normal, and that's more reasonable to expect too."

Selling a home in Florida

Florida sellers still have the upper hand in Florida, simply because there aren't enough homes available to meet demand. In April, there was just a 2.6-month supply of single-family homes; 5 or 6 months is considered a balanced market.

If you need to be occupying your home by a certain date to save on rent, it's a much better deal to close at the end of the previous month (for example, January 30) instead of the beginning of the current month (February 1).

According to Norada Real Estate Investments, Florida home values have risen by an eye-popping 80% over the last five years — and GOBankingRates spoke with several experts who expect the upward trend to continue for at least another half-decade.

California leads the nation for fastest home sales, with the average property snapped up in just 52 days. Compare that to Vermont, the slowest of all 50 states, where it takes nearly half a year — 161 days on average — just to lock down a buyer.

Where is the hottest real estate in Florida? ›

Where are the hottest real estate markets in Florida? The three most expensive markets in Florida to buy a house at the end of 2022 were Sarasota, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research's Cost of Living Index.

1. Cape Coral. Home to 32 Fortune 500 companies, Cape Coral, Florida is one of the top 10 metropolitan areas for job growth in the United States. The Cape Coral metro area (including popular cities like Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres) is also among the fastest-growing areas in the country, in terms of population.

With mortgage rates declining faster than expected, home prices are likely to remain mostly flat throughout 2024. This will be good news for buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines for a good time to enter the market.

In my opinion, real estate is one intelligent option to consider in 2023, as it often has excellent returns, tax advantages and provides diversification even in the face of a challenging economic climate. Real estate also has the potential to compound your investment.

Mortgage Bankers Association: The trade group's latest forecast has U.S. home prices, as measured by the FHFA US House Price Index, falling 0.6% in 2023 and another 1.4% dip in 2024. It then expects national home prices to rise 2.1% in 2025. (Forecast updated on April 17, 2023).

'I believe by the end of 2023 we will see rates start to fall with a target of between 2.5 to 3 per cent in 2024. 'I believe if the base rate can get back to circa 2.5 per cent, then we will see rates hovering around that mark with a return to products that have not been seen in the mortgage industry for some time.'

Both estimates are largely in line with fresh projections from officials in March. The Fed penciled in a 5-5.25 percent peak interest rate for 2023, after which officials see rates falling to 4.25-4.5 percent by the end of 2024.

“We expect that 30-year mortgage rates will end 2023 at 5.2%,” the organization noted in its forecast commentary. It since has walked back its forecast slightly but still sees rates dipping below 6%, to 5.6%, by the end of the year.

“Returning to mortgage rates of 3% or 4% is not going to happen, in my view,” says Yun, who points out that historically rates have been higher. The low rates of 2020 and 2021 were “unique” and those that got them were “lucky,” he says.

How high will interest rates go in 2024? ›

Policymakers expect their interest-rate hikes to push the unemployment rate, now at 3.6%, to 4.5% in the last quarter of 2023, and to 4.6% in 2024.

The other reasons that people leave the state after moving here are varied: “A nearly 14,000-member Facebook group for people moving out of Florida has cited severe weather, low wages, crowded beaches, changing politics, and steep housing prices as reasons people left.”

As of Q4 2022, the number of closed sales for single-family homes decreased by 33.1% from the previous year and the number of new listings was down 17.1% from the year before, according to Florida Realtors. That doesn't mean it's a bad time to buy, though.

All in all, Florida is a great place to buy a house due to its favorable climate, low cost of living, and Florida's affordable real estate market. Florida property taxes are also among the lowest in America. Residents have no shortage of things to do, from theme parks to world-famous beaches.

When Is Your First Mortgage Payment Due After Closing? The first mortgage payment is typically due on the first of the month, one full month (30 days) after the closing date. Monthly mortgage installments are paid in arrears, meaning you'll be making payments for the month prior rather than the current month.

In 2023, experts forecast that the Florida home prices may fall down to 20%. Mortgage Rates Have Almost Doubled: Mortgage rates almost doubled from April 2021's 3.12% to 6.27% for the week ending on April 13, 2023. Sellers are Coming Back, but Slowly: The number of listings dropped by 14.9% in March 2023.

Florida built hundreds of thousands of new rental units between 2012 and 2021, but lost nearly 277,000 units with monthly rents below $1,000, according to the University of Florida.

Florida Housing Market Overview

Looking at the five-year period from September 2017 to September 2022, the median sale price in Florida peaked in May 2022 at $410,900; as of September 2022, the median sale price is down to $392,500.

What style of house sells the most? ›

Colonial. Colonial-style homes have the highest resale factor when all other elements are equal. These two-story homes that often have a boxlike appearance are popular because of the amount of functional living space that they often have.

That's the takeaway from a new Bankrate analysis of nearly 200 housing markets around the country. The personal finance website ranked the top most attractive and active housing markets and found that Gainesville, Georgia, was No. 1.

The Bay Area has the worst performing housing market in the nation, according to a new report.

Palm Beach is the most expensive real estate market in the country, with an average sale price of nearly $13 million, according to Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel.

“Not only are we short of housing units, but we're seeing extraordinary population growth. Put those two things together, and you get unaffordable housing.” The pandemic spurred nearly 1 million people to move to Florida from 2020 to 2022, transforming the state's economy and rocking its already hot housing market.

Florida is one of the most expensive states for housing, and Miami is the least affordable city in the country, according to a report. High demand, short supply, increased migration trends since the pandemic and exploding mortgage rates, make for a pricey combination.

Florida has excellent weather, moderate-to-warm temperatures year-round, and sees a seasonal rush in late fall and early winter. December typically outpaces all other months as Florida's best-selling month. Listing in November means a home will spend the fewest days on the market (DOM) before selling.

Jacksonville added more than 14,400 residents; Port St. Lucie added nearly 14,000 and Cap Coral added over 13,000, according to the analysis. The Villages metro area was the fastest-growing U.S. metro area between 2021 and 2022, increasing by 7.5%, according to the report.

The median home price will rise to $385,800, an increase of only 0.3% from this year's level ($384,500), while home sales will fall 6.8% compared to 2022's level (5.13 million).

Will home prices drop in 2023 Dallas? ›

In Dallas, TX, housing prices are expected to decrease by 0.1% as of April 2023, followed by a further decline of 0.3% in June 2023, but are projected to increase by 0.7% by March 2024.

"In the first half of 2023, the S&P 500 is expected to re-test the lows of 2022, but a pivot from the Federal Reserve could drive an asset recovery later in the year, pushing the S&P 500 to 4,200 by year-end," the investment bank said in a research note.

Economic factors, such as inflation, have a direct impact on the real estate market. As with other goods and services, real estate prices may rise alongside inflation. This is due to the fact that real estate is commonly considered a safe and stable investment that can be used to combat the effects of inflation.

After falling in 2023 and 2024, home prices are predicted to plateau in 2025 before rising again at just above the rate of inflation. However, due to the spike in home values from 2020 through 2022 due to record-low mortgage rates, median sales prices will take at least until 2027 to regain the highs of mid-2022.

With mortgage rates declining faster than expected, home prices are likely to remain mostly flat throughout 2024. This will be good news for buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines for a good time to enter the market.

The state is still in seller's market territory: Demand remains high, and prices are still up year-over-year, despite the decline in the last several months.

The shortage of carpenters, masons and other skilled workers led to higher wages, which increase the bottom-line price of homes. And construction worker pay is rising much faster in Texas than in the nation as a whole.

What markets will boom in 2023? ›

Majority of the experts think consumer sentiment will see an uptick in 2023 and the Indian stock markets performance will be stellar in key areas including banking, automobiles, real estate and company stocks with strong fundamentals.