Florida real estate: Treasure Coast home sales and prices increased in February
The Treasure Coast real estate market in February saw higher home prices, more homes sold, faster sales and more homes on the market, but fewer new listings compared to January, according to state and local Realtor data.
Realtors say the most significant shift was in the number of single-family homes available for sale in February, which increased 4% over January and was closer to levels last seen in mid-2020, after COVID hit the area.
With over 3,700 homes on the market in February, housing inventory continued to normalize from record lows during the peak of COVID, when low interest rates and high demand from outsiders moving to Florida spurred population growth.
Mortgage rates were 2%-4%, according to Freddie Mac’s mortgage survey. The Treasure Coast's population grew by an estimated 6.3% from 647,445 in April 2020 to 688,062 in July 2022, according to U.S. Census data.
The following data comes from: Florida Realtors; Martin County Realtors of the Treasure Coast; Broward, Palm Beach & St. Lucie Realtors; and the Realtors Association of Indian River County, Inc.
Home sale price
Since March 2020, the median sale price has increased by 73% in Martin, 61% in Indian River and 58% in St. Lucie. In February, it was:
Martin: $650,000, up from $570,000 in January
Indian River: $425,000, up from $384,000 in January
St. Lucie: $390,000, same as in January
Homes sold
The number of homes sold in February was 39% higher than in January, which is typical for that time of year, considered to be the peak of the "snowbird" winter tourist season. There were 759 homes sold in February:
St. Lucie: 425, up from 283 in January
Indian River: 171, up from 156 in January
Martin: 163, up from 107 in January
Time to sell a house
It took less time to sell a house in Martin and Indian River — and only one day more in St. Lucie. The median time to contract — meaning the days between a seller listing their house and signing a contract — in February were:
St. Lucie: 35, up from 34 in January
Martin: 40, down from 50 in January
Indian River: 47, down from 55 in January
Homes for sale
February was the first time since November 2022 that Indian River County's housing inventory reached a level Realtors consider a "healthy" market, which is between five and six months worth of supply:
Indian River: 5.1, up from 4.9 in January
St. Lucie: 4.2, up from 4.1 in January
Martin: 4.1, up from 3.9 in January
Active listings
There were 3,714 homes on the market in February:
St. Lucie: 1,949, up from 1,893 in January
Indian River: 1,088, up from 1,036 in January
Martin: 677, up from 636 in January
That's close to the 3,941 in May 2020 and 3,156 in June 2020. Inventory hit a record low of 1,105 in January 2022.
“Inventory is now high enough that it should continue to slow home price growth and give present buyers with a lot more options than they had two or three years ago,” Florida Realtors Chief Economist Brad O’Connor said.
New listings
The number of new listings in February was 1,324:
St. Lucie: 698, down from 741 in January
Indian River: 349, down from 371 in January
Martin: 277, down from 254 in January
Throughout Florida, new listings dropped below normal levels in October 2022, then returned to normal at the end of last year. Even though February was lower than January, Realtors say it's still a good sign of growth.
“There were more single-family homes listed for sale in Florida this February than in any February dating back to 2008 when we started tracking new listings,” O’ Connor said, but "not by a lot, mind you."
Ananya Tiwari is a business reporter for TCPalm. You can reach her via email at ananya.tiwari@tcpalm.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and MuckRack.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida real estate market: Treasure Coast home sales analysis
