We saw two emerging real estate trends happen during February along Northwest Florida:
- Multiple offers on a house are rising.
- Cash is still King.
Multiple offers have been with us again since the bust of the market, but I wanted to share some local market insight as to possibly why this is happening and what you can do to improve your chances as a buyer, and how proper pricing is crucial to sellers.
Let’s take Niceville, Navarre, Fort Walton Beach, Destin/Miramar Beach homes to demonstrate what I’m speaking of.
These 4 markets mirror in some areas and not in others, but all equal in one thing:
Demand in February appears to be carrying over to March.
I am anxious to do this evaluation again next month!
Niceville Year-to-Year Comparison
There’s less than 6 months of inventory – that’s a Seller’s Market!
There are about 70 less homes to choose from than last year. With inventory dropping and less to choose from, multiple offers come in to play!
The average sale price has risen. Of the 37 homes sold, 19 obtained VA loans, 8 were conventional loans, and 5 paid cash.
The 5 who paid cash got on average an extra 5% off the list price.
Cash prevailed!
With only 1 short sale and 2 foreclosures of the 37 that closed, cash was easily King!
Fort Walton Beach and Navarre Year-to-Year Comparison:
Combined we closed 122 homes. 33 were conventional loans, 30 were cash, and 47 were VA loans.
Cash had a slight advantage on getting a better percent off of list price so it prevailed as King!
I think the reason we saw the cash sales only having a modest edge is because these are the markets that saw higher closings in distressed properties.
24 closings were foreclosed properties and 19 were short sales.
Individually…
Navarre dropped to a Balanced market, which is about 6 months of inventory. Their prices inched up a bit, and there are about 150 less homes to choose from.
Demand is created which results in multiple offers.
Fort Walton Beach showed only 4 months of inventory! Now that’s a Seller’s Market! Their inventory has dropped also with 90 less homes to choose from.
Again, demand is created which results in multiple offers.
Destin/Miramar Beach including SanDestin Resort Year-to-Year Comparison:
We closed 46 homes in February. This is equal to last year BUT our average price sold increased by almost $30,000.
Of those sold, 25 were conventional loans and 12 were cash. Cash was King!
Those 12 sales got on average 15% off list price!!!
At this point there are only 56 homes priced under $300,000, which has always been a magic point for Destin.
Demand is created which results in multiple offers.
The $300,000 and under price point allows families to move to Destin who otherwise couldn’t afford to, and it’s an appealing arena for investors.
Of the 46 homes closed only 2 were foreclosed properties and 1 was a short sale. This could be why cash prevailed so heavily.
Our inventory year to year has dropped by about 100 homes, and with steady sales, our months of inventory to sell has dropped as well.
Expect Multiple Offers On A House
These are only a few of the market segments but a good idea of the trends we are seeing.
We are not just telling you that we are in multiple offer situations to pressure you. Getting multiple offers on a house is the reality of our current market.
For a listing agent, it can become a juggling act with the Sellers asking for the Buyers at the table to give their highest and best offer. (Read the benefits of proper pricing).
It’s our job to provide as much information as possible for you to make your decision on what and how to offer.
It’s a great time to buy. Interest rates are low and our prices still resemble many years back and stable.
It’s no wonder many first time home buyers are purchasing larger homes!
Take a look at these real-time graphs for each of the markets we just discussed. Each one showing the number of listings for each area.
Niceville
Navarre
Fort Walton Beach
Destin
Have any questions? Leave me a comment below and I will gladly answer!
