The Charlotte County real estate market, which stalled a bit following Hurricane Ian last year, is picking up now that insurance companies are paying some of their claims, said Danny Nix Jr., president of the Realtors of Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, North Port, DeSoto Inc.
Nix sees strength in the market and doesn’t think Hurricane Idalia will have much of an impact on local real estate sales.
The Realtors association provides statistics each month for the previous month.
The median sale price for single-family homes was $391,300 in July, up 3% from July 2022. In addition, the average sale price of $469,564 was up 5.4% from the previous year.
Of the 137 closings in July, 35.3% paid cash, but the number of closings was lower compared to 456 in June and 434 in July 2022.
Inventory continued to build in July with a portion of that due to open insurance claims, which prohibit would-be sellers from consummating a deal, Nix said.
There was a 5.2-month supply of inventory in July. During July 2022, it stood at 2.3 months and at 5.1 months for June 2023.
Sale prices for townhomes and condos didn’t fare as well as prices for single-family homes. Nix said the market goes in cycles, hence firmer prices for single-family homes that month.
The median sale price of $297,000 for condos and townhomes was down 2.6% from July 2022 when the median sale price was $305,000. In June this year the median price was firmer at $338,750.
However, of the 47 closed sales, 71.2% of the buyers paid cash.
Because a number of home buyers in Charlotte County are paying cash, the market has been kept stronger, as cash buyers aren’t stymied by increasing mortgage interest rates, which could be a deterrent.
Inventory for townhomes and condos was at 5.6 months for July, down from a six-month supply in June.
There were fewer new listings for condos and townhomes in July—102 versus 133 in June and 115 in July 2022, perhaps reversing an upward trend for inventory buildup.
Last year, as was the case for single-family homes, inventory was much lower with a 1.7-month supply.
At least for now, gone are the days when sellers are getting 100% of their original listing price. For many months during the pandemic sellers were getting 100% or even more than their asking prices.
In July, sellers of single-family homes were averaging 96.2% of their sale price compared with 100% in July 2022—a year that saw bidding wars for some properties.
In June, sellers were receiving 96.5% of the original listing price, so July sale prices were showing some stabilization from a market rally that lasted for many months over the past couple of years.
Sellers of condos and townhomes in July were getting an average of 95.7% of their original listing price, up from 95.5% in June, but down from 98.9% received in July 2022.
