October 2024 Real Estate Transactions
Which came first? “The chicken or the egg?” An age-old question to ponder but each has a causation effect on the other, neither would be present without the other. The same is true with real estate matters, supply vs demand, fed rates vs mortgage rates, existing properties vs new construction. One data point change has an effect whether direct or indirect and has a causation effect on another data point.
The Fed rates vs mortgage lending rates: The Federal Reserve has been recalibrating its economic policy through its fed rates reduction, in simple terms what it charges the banking institution on loans. Since September they have reduced the rate by 75 basis points and suggested another 100-125 basis points reduction next year. If there was a direct correlation between the two rates this would be great news for the potential home buyers on the sidelines. Although the direction is good for future mortgage rates, those reductions may take a little time to get priced into the prevailing rates. The Fannie Mae average mortgage rates rose over the same period. Buyer’s purchasing demand is very sensitive to these increases and tends to slow the creation of new loans and has a causation effect on the housing inventory.
In our industry, we tend to look at the housing inventory in terms of months’ supply. By most calculations, over 6 months’ worth of supply is characterized as a Buyer’s market. The problem is that when we have several new construction areas being built out, the actual availability of new homes tends to be skewed, due to the reporting closed properties and not total (New Construction) available. Looking at our communities’ MLS sold data and active properties we are running around 2 month’s supply but it’s probably a little higher in the 3 to 3.5 months’ supply range if we knew the total available of potential new construction homes.
All these data points have either a direct or indirect correlation to the overall housing pricing model and to look at just one will give you a misrepresentation of the total picture.
Ultimately, the real estate process is one of the most significant financial transactions most people will ever experience. It’s important to trust this journey to someone who is not only qualified but also fully committed to your success. The changing market requires a Realtor® who has the expertise, resources, and dedication to guide you every step of the way.
As we look at the Plant City housing data, October 2024, our market area had 118 homes sell, with new construction still contributing over 50% of the units sold. We had another 142 under contract and 232 available for sale. We are carrying about a 2 month’s supply housing inventory and our average days on market decreased this month to about 37 days. At this level we are still under a slight advantage to the sellers if they price accordingly to their market valuation.
In October 2024, the average sold price was $374,964 and the average price per SF was $192.25 compared to last month, these data points were up 5% in average price and down 5.5% in price per SF. Looking at YTD (year to date) data, we have sold 1166 units compared to 871, a 34% increase. The additional units are mainly due to new construction. On the YTD average sold prices, we are down slightly 2% and YTD price per SF is down about 3.3%.
The prevailing average mortgage rates from Freddie Mac for the 30-year-term loans took a turn to increase, October’s monthly average came in at 6.43% up from September’s avg of 6.18%. The FED made its second rate cut, 25 basis points, most of the reduction had been priced into the current rates but anticipates 100 to 125 basis points cuts in the following year. These rate cuts will greatly enhance the buyer’s purchasing power and increase the demand on the limited housing inventory.
Although I don’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, all the current data, policy changes, FED rate recalibration, supply, and demand for our community appear to point to a very active and robust real estate market in 2025.
As always, I cannot express enough this importance, if you are in the market to buy or sell your home, please seek an experienced professional Realtor® to assist you in this transaction process. There are too many consequences, rules and statutes are changing, going it alone without proper experienced representation will likely have you leaving money on the table. Get the real scoop on our market. If you have any questions, want a market value analysis of your home, or see what’s available to purchase, please reach out.
M Crawford
Crawford Group
Sales Snapshot
The following residential properties were a sample listed as sold on the Greater Tampa Realtors Association MLS in October 2024 for the Plant City Market Area.
The home at 2302 Maki Rd #83 sold October 16 for $140,000. Built in 1987, it has 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bath and 898 square feet of living area.
The home at 416 Abigail Rd sold October 7 for $260,000. Built in 2000 it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1192 square feet of living area.
The home at 3531 White Dandelion Ct sold October 18 for $289,990. Built in 2024 it has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath and 1673 square feet of living area.
The home at 4545 Nesmith Rd sold October 25 for $300,000. Built in 1967, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1551 square feet of living area.
The home at 1001 Palmer St sold October 21 for $310,000. Built in 1910, it has 2 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1243 square feet of living area.
The home at 3602 Harvest Orchard Dr sold October 24 for $329,900. Built in 2006, it has 4 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1584 square feet of living area.
The home at 3408 Ivy Hollow Dr sold October 30 for $349,990. Built in 2024, it has 4 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1828 square feet of living area.
The home at 4325 Kipling Ave sold October 30 for $374,900. Built in 1988, it has 3 bedrooms, 2 bath and 1519 square feet of living area.
The home 3105 Apostle Iris Way sold October 7 for $385,000. Built in 2017, it has 5 bedrooms, 3 bath and 2674 square feet of living area.
The home at 3650 Capital Reserve Dr sold October 28 for $419,900. Built in 2024, it has 6 bedrooms, 3 bath and 3092 square feet of living area.
The home at 1703 Horseshoe Dr sold October 24 for $450,000. Built in 1988, it has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath and 1968 square feet of living area.
The home at 5305 Coronet Dr sold October 2 for $497,000. Built in 1974, it has 4 bedrooms, 3 bath and 2327 square feet of living area.
The home at 2202 Country Club Ct sold October 18 for $599,900. Built in 1980, it has 4 bedrooms, 3 bath and 3315 square feet of living area.
The home at 2202 Sparkman Rd sold October 25 for $750,000. Built in 2017, it has 4 bedrooms, 3 bath and 3420 square feet of living area.
The home at 4109 E Knights Griffin Rd sold October 28 for $1,165,000. Built in 2005, it has 6 bedrooms, 3 bath and 4048 square feet of living area.