Drew Dixon
The number of homes for sale in Florida jumped to record levels in February, according to a new analysis by Realtor.com, a national real estate marketing company.
There were 168,717 single-family homes for sale in Florida last month, the Realtor.com report said. It’s the most homes for sale recorded in the Sunshine State in a single month.
The last time any month came close to that was in July 2016. February’s home inventory in Florida is also a 40% jump from a year ago.
“For-sale home supply has climbed annually in the state since May 2022, but have only exceeded pre-pandemic levels since mid-2024,” said Realtor.com Senior Economic Research Analyst Hannah Jones. “High home prices and mortgage rates have stifled demand in the state, leading to a buildup in home inventory.”
In January, Realtor.com analysts initially said that month hit an inventory record for Florida, with 157,221 homes on the market in the state. February eclipsed it by 7.3%.
Some metro areas in Florida are finally starting to lean toward a buyer’s market as opposed to the seller’s market that has lasted for nearly half a decade.
Two markets on Florida’s Gulf Coast are gaining momentum for buyers, as prices are starting to head downward in Bradenton and Sarasota.
“Home shoppers in Bradenton and Sarasota are in for a treat with climbing inventory, falling prices, and longer time on market,” Jones said. “Buyers are likely to find more seller flexibility as homeowners aim to attract buyer attention.”
The typical home for sale in Bradenton cost about $432,000 in January, a dip of about $100,000 from the previous year.
Sarasota saw a similar decline in home prices settling in at about $575,000 for the average house in January. That’s a $150,000 decline from a year ago.
Both Sarasota and Bradenton also saw increases in the average number of days on the market for homes for sale at 67 days each. That figure is up by a few days in both markets.
Other areas of Florida are showing signs of slowing trends in the housing market.
The Elliman Report, which tracks closed home sales monthly, showed two South Florida counties took a gut-punch to single-family home sales in January. Both Miami-Dade and Broward counties each saw sharp declines in homes sold in January. Each of those counties saw more than 45% declines in year-over-year home sales.
Palm Beach County did show a 41.1% increase in home sales for January.
In the northern end of the state, the trend was similar. Single-family home sales took a tumble in Northeast Florida in January.
There were 1,114 houses sold in January in the six-county region of the First Coast. That’s down by 39% over December’s 1,826 closed signings. It’s also a 2.6% decline in the year-over-year comparison to January 2024, when there were 1,144 homes sold in Northeast Florida, according to figures released by the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR).
