[NOTE: Scroll to the bottom for the complete report]
The REALTORS® Confidence Index (RCI) for South Florida and the region is now available with data through November 5th. I want to give you some highlights here, and you can read or download the whole report below. All the points noted match my own direct experience this year. I hope you find this valuable.
In the region, housing starts are up along with purchase applications for mortgages. Confidence in the economy and the housing market is increasing among home buyers and sellers, but institutions remain conservative.
Three main issues are noted by REALTORS®, Inventory, Lending and Appraisals.
Inventory
Inventory is still tight, with not as many homes coming onto the market as buyers waiting in the wings to purchase them. Comments:
“Inventory still down, sellers waiting for prices to go up if they can; rental market is way up, prices too.”
“Buyers want properties in A1 condition. Investors are out there & will do the work to get property in A1 condition but only at a rock bottom price.”
Lending
Loans are still tight, and lenders are viewed as unresponsive to true market conditions. Small banks can often supply the solution. Comments:
“Banks are ignoring settlement dates [with] no accountability on their end of the transaction. Three settlements in October were delayed due to lender issues”
“I had two buyers with over 800 credit score and the bank would not loan. They ended up paying cash and looking for a loan after the closing.”
Appraisals
Appraisals are coming in unrealistically low, either from using too many recent bank-owned sales as comparatives, or from appraisers coming from different markets too far away, or perhaps, more subtly, from an exagerated conservatism throughout the entire appraising industry as a reaction to having aided the housing boom previously with over-confidence.
One REALTOR® notes that buyers “are coming in with cash to close the gap between low appraisals and sellers sticking to their house price.”
The REALTORS® Confidence Index is a key indicator of housing market strength based on a monthly survey sent to over 50,000 real estate practitioners nationwide. The report below concerns the South Florida and regional housing market.
