Florida’s largest metro areas pounded by sluggish housing market in April

Housing contracted closing sales dropped in Florida for April.

Closed housing sale contracts across Florida fell in some of the state’s largest counties in April.

“The Elliman Report” is a monthly analysis detailing housing sales across the most populous states in the country, and the report shows that Florida’s housing market was notably sluggish last month. New signed closing contracts for home sales decreased in every major metropolitan area in the Sunshine State in April.

The Florida housing market had been heated leading into 2024. But Elliman analysts say the Sunshine state home market is obviously getting chilly.

“Most housing markets saw rising prices reaching new highs and sales falling short of prior year levels. Mortgage rates have remained elevated as economic conditions remain vibrant. Bidding wars remain a factor in the market but rising inventory has reduced its dominance,” the report concluded.

Duval County, for the second straight month, had the most significant decrease in housing sales in the state, with 431 total closings. That’s way down from April 2023, when Duval saw 778 homes sold. The home of Jacksonville saw a 44.6% annual drop in contracted home sales in April.

April’s figure is also a notable drop from March’s figure of 526 contracted closings.

Duval’s First Coast neighbor St. Johns County, considered one of the fastest growing counties in the country, also saw a notable dive in closed and contracted home sales. The home to tourist meccas St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra Beach saw home sales plunge by 34.5% in April compared to a year ago.

There were 243 signed St. Johns County closings last month. In April 2023, there were 371 signed contracts for home sales in St. Johns County. The county’s home sales were also off compared to March, when there were 300 signed contracts for home closings.

The only other county with a decrease in home sales exceeding 20% was Broward County, where signed closings dropped by 23.3%. Broward had 434 closing contracts signed in April, compared to 566 a year ago.

Other county home sales figures for April include:

— Sarasota County had 621 signed home closings in April, down by 13.9% compared to 2023’s figure of 721.

— Hillsborough County had a 13.3% drop in home sales in April, with 1,261 closings compared to 1,454 a year ago.

— Collier County had 425 signed home closings in April, an 8.8% decline from 2023’s figure of 466.

— Palm Beach County witnessed a 7.3% decrease in closing contracts, with 380 in April compared to 410 last year.

— Miami-Dade County had 916 signed closings in April, down by 6.5% from last year’s number of 980.

— Lee County witnessed a 6.2% decrease in signed contracts in home sales in April at 1,279, down from the April 2023 number of 1,364.