765 homes sold in November according to the ECAR (Emerald Coast Association of Realtors) compared to 1373 the previous year. By now, I’m certain that you all have heard about the rising interest rates paired with cyclical seasonal cooling, which is slowing demand.
What kills me is all of the “doom and gloom” rumors about how the sky is falling and we’re headed into a similar recession of 2007-2008. In my opinion, that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Sure, ECAR recorded about half the sales this month than it did the year prior, but the conditions are completely different too.
Values are still holding, and properties are being bought and sold all over the area. We are seeing, however, some price corrections and additional incentives to push the sale of some homes, but that’s not necessarily indicative of a crashing market.
Some less-populated areas that are far from military facilities, beaches, and large industrial areas are taking longer to sell than others, and the overall average days on market for our area is around 56 days. That’s no reason to panic, though- values are still higher than they were during pre-pandemic conditions. I’ve personally had several homes that went $10k, $13k, and even $20k over the asking price this past month, so houses are definitely still selling. It requires some creative marketing and sales solutions that many new agents aren’t prepared for or haven’t been trained on yet, but if you are working with the right agent, then you shouldn’t have a problem.
If you’re considering selling your home, give me a call, and let’s talk about if now would be a good time to sell. 850.699.8891