In September 2024, Florida's housing market saw a decline in closed sales of existing single-family homes and condo-townhouse units compared to the previous year. According to data from the Florida Realtors Research Department, in collaboration with local Realtor boards and associations, closed sales for single-family homes totaled 18,721, marking a 12.3% decrease from September 2023. Condo-townhouse sales also fell by 20.7%, totaling 6,655.
The median sales price for single-family homes was $410,000, a slight increase of 0.2% from the previous year's $409,243. In contrast, the median price for condo-townhouse units decreased by 3.4% to $314,000 from $324,990 in September 2023.
Hurricane Helene impacted the housing market during six business days in September. However, Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor noted that the National Hurricane Center's consistent forecasting helped mitigate potential disruptions. "That allowed the real estate market in much of the peninsula and the western Panhandle to essentially operate in a close-to-normal fashion as the storm approached," he said.
Dr. O’Connor highlighted that strong home sales in September 2023 contributed to this year's year-over-year decline. He remarked on historical trends showing typical drops from August to September that did not occur last year: “Still, housing demand in Florida and across much of the U.S. has remained relatively weak for much of 2024.”
For the third quarter of 2024, statewide single-family home sales reached 64,749—a decrease of 2.6% from Q3 2023—while condo-townhouse sales dropped by 12.3%, totaling 22,917.
The Federal Reserve's recent rate cut provided some relief late last month by lowering mortgage rates slightly above the 6% mark throughout September. This stimulated buyer demand particularly for single-family homes; new pending sales increased by 1.9% year-over-year.
Conversely, pending sales for townhouses and condos declined by 16.3%, although this was an improvement over August’s decline of 20.5%.
On inventory levels, Florida had a supply of single-family existing homes sufficient for approximately four and a half months as of September and Q3—up by nearly half compared to last year’s figures at this time—and a seven-and-a-half-month supply available within both periods specifically regarding condos/townhouses reflecting an increase exceeding eighty percent over corresponding statistics recorded twelve months prior.