Last month, the housing market in Highlands County, Florida saw this year’s trends continue. Housing prices continue to increase, demand remains high, and inventory continues to dwindle.
2024 Housing Market Stats:
- Average Original List Price: $306,000 – A nearly 10.3% increase since the beginning of the year.
- Average Close Price: $273,900 – A 20% increase in close price compared to March.
- Average Days to Sell: 78 – Homes sold 27% faster in February and 37% faster than in March.
- Close Price to Original Price Ratio: 96.1%
- New Listings: 175 – A decrease of 16% from the month prior, and 31% fewer new listings than at the start of 2024.
Home Value Continues to Increase
What do these stats mean? Simply put, the demand for homes continues to increase while the number of available properties decreases, which continues to drive up the cost of housing. This is known as a Seller’s Market. This means sellers frequently see multiple offer scenarios, sometimes driving the final sale above the asking price.
For buyers, unless you have a full-price cash offer, this means needing to be more creative when presenting the seller with your offer. You may consider shorter due diligence and appraisal timelines to help speed up the closing process. Increase the earnest money deposit to make your offer more palatable to the seller. Be flexible with the seller’s timeline, such as offering the seller an additional two weeks to occupy the home after closing. This allows the seller more time in which to locate, purchase, and move into their new home.
New Construction On the Rise
The current market is spurring new home builders to ramp up production, with large numbers of new homes being constructed in communities such as Spring Lake, Sun N Lake of Sebring, and the gated community of Twin Lakes Pointe in Avon Park.
Southern Homes is also launching a new development project in Moss Hammock, located between the existing Golf Hammock community and Highlands Hammock State Park. The home builder recently purchased 45 lots in preparation for the new construction of spacious 4+ bedroom homes ranging from 2,400 to 3,500 total sqft at great value.
With so many new homes being built, and competition for existing homes being so fierce, current home buyers may want to look into the possibility of purchasing a new construction home.
To find out more about various home builders in the area, their building plans, home layouts, standard features, and pricing, reach out to us today! We’ve developed our own internal database for New Construction in Highlands County and can offer you a valuable resource in exploring this aspect of the local housing market.
Call Us: 863-304-8795
2024 Housing Market Stats provided by The Heartland Association of Realtors.
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