Overview

Across Southwest Florida, housing inventory has been quite low all year. When it comes to inventory levels, we use “months of inventory” which tells us how long it will take to sell all current listings, at the current rate that homes are selling.

We started out this year with 9 months worth of inventory, compared to 12 months at the beginning of 2019. This may not seem like a huge difference, but it’s actually about 30% less homes for sale. This is across every price range and property type in Southwest Florida. See graph below.

Affordable Single Family Inventory

While inventory has been tight across the board, one property type has been hit the hardest: affordable single family homes. These are standalone houses priced under $300,000.

With this property type, Southwest Florida averages about 5-6 months worth of inventory for the majority of the year, with a little spike in January and February when lots of new listings hit the market.

This year, however, only had 6 months worth of inventory in January. By April, this number shrunk to 4 months.

Currently, when it comes to houses under $300,000, we only have about 3 months worth of inventory. This is a record low for this property type. See graph below.

Summary

When it comes to buying a home in this market, speed and strong offers make all the difference. Buyers need to have a Realtor who can show new listings literally the day they hit the market and get the offer in quick! Buyers also need to make strong offers, close to asking price, with as few contingencies as possible.

Fortunately, record low interest rates are leveling the playing field for buyers in this tight market.

If you’re selling or thinking of selling your home, pricing is everything. While the market is tight, we’re also in the age of information, and buyers are not overpaying. With apps like Realtor.com and Zillow, it’s easy for buyers to keep a constant eye on the market, and if you’re overpriced, buyers will know.