Weekly Special | August 19, 2024

Easier Shopping For Homebuyers

For the past eight years, this newsletter has consistently reported on the strong sellers’ market in the Tallahassee area.

This trend persists, but the dynamics are shifting, as illustrated in the graph above.

This graph aims to provide buyers and sellers with insights into the current supply and demand for homes. It categorizes all available homes into two groups: those under contract (Blue Bars) and those still on the market (Red Bars).

The solid green line shows the monthly percentage of homes under contract, while the dashed green line tracks the one-year average of this measure.

Over the past year, buyers have found that 38% of listings were already under contract when they began their search. Historically, this percentage ranged from the mid to high 20s, but during the two-year period from early 2020 to late 2022, it remained above 50%, with peaks exceeding 70%.

Picture yourself as a buyer, planning to view homes, only to discover that 72% of the listings were already under contract. It was a challenging time for buyers.

The ongoing inventory shortage continues to support home values and drive record-setting appreciation, even as demand softens.

I anticipate further relief for buyers (and hopefully a cooling of appreciation) as new apartments in Tallahassee become available. There were more apartments permitted over the past year than in any year going back 50 years.

Any residential unit, rental or for purchase, provides inventory for a market that has ignored the signs that more homes were needed.

The original one-page Weekly Special PDF is still available.