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The high competition for the limited number of houses in Florida is causing sleepless nights for many home-seekers.
Take an example of Cruz who says that she has been looking for a four bedroom house in Coral Springs without much success. Although there are several of them on sale, she still hasn’t found the perfect home
For more than a year, the real estate industry in South Florida has been characterized by a small number of available houses for sale. In Broward County for example, the number of single family homes on sale stands at 4,297, which is 10 percent less than last year. Palm Beach on the other hand saw a 33 percent decline resulting in 6,236 single family homes on sale. This means that the number of homes in Broward County could satisfy the demand for up to 3 ½ months, while Palm Beach will last for 5.1 months.
This scenario has given real estate agents the upper hand when it came to negotiations with potential buyers. However, the number of homes has been on a constant increase and therefore the real estate agents should watch out. ‘The market is going to show signs of improvement,’ said Dean Ehrlich, a broker and owner of RE/MAX.
As of 2012, traditional buyers and investors have been spending quite some time bargaining the prices of homes. This has caused the number of unit sales to hit the rock bottom after almost a decade.
Though sellers had the upper hand for quite sometime, industry watchers like Cruz and other home buyers have a reason to celebrate.
Firstly, the number of houses being placed in the market has gone up because homeowners are now willing to put their houses up for sale. Palm Beach saw an increase of 21 percent, while Broward County increased its home numbers by as much as 17 percent. This resulted in an increase in the number of people buying homes and consequently a decline in the homes availability after sometime.
The prices continue to rise, allowing sellers to provide better deals for those who are looking to buy off a house.
According to Stephen B. McWilliam, a broker from Florida State Realty Group, homeowners are regularly checking the price for houses, trying to figure out the perfect time to sell their houses.
In addition, the demands from investors are starting to cool down. This has been the trend since last year when investors bought homes at bargain prices and then leased them out. However, the continuous increase in home prices has made the real estate industry unattractive to investors.
In July alone, the average price of a foreclosed house in Broward County was $109,450, while Palm Beach was $112,000. According to RealtyTrac, this is an increase of 22 and 24 percent, respectively.
In the same month, institutional investors only contributed 10 percent of the total sales. This is a decline of 2 percent when compared to the previous year.
John Tuccillo, the chief economist for the Florida Realtors, says that investor’s bottom line prices do not look as appealing to sellers, considering the increase in house prices. Meanwhile, the increase in price and mortgage rates will make sure that the supply and the demand will remain balanced.
Improvements in the real estate industry have regenerated the interest of construction firms. 1,500 homes are going to be built at Parkland by three construction firms namely WCI Communities, Lennar Corp., Toll Brothers, and Standard Pacific Corp.
GL Homes in Palm Beach County is looking to sell out a 691 home luxury community at The Bridges. The GL based in Sunrise is looking to build 823 homes at the Valencia Cove development project. Construction companies say that buyers are getting tired of going from one torn down house to the next.
