Inventory for single-family homes, condos and townhomes remains high in Charlotte County. In July, the number of building permits pulled was down 18%, said Shelton Weeks, Lucas Professor of Real Estate at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Weeks cited data from the university’s Regional Economic Research Institute showing a 20% overall decline in Southwest Florida permits. Because builders have sunk a lot of their costs into their homes amid price declines due to high inventory and not enough buyers, they have pulled back on building, he said.
Meanwhile, would-be buyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. The Fed cut rates last week for the first time since the pandemic, lowering borrowing costs by a half-point with the possibility of more cuts this year.
Weeks said 60% to 70% of buyers are using financing, so the latest cut could entice buyers whose monthly mortgage payment would be lower.
Realtors of Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port-DeSoto Inc.’s August data reflects Weeks’ analysis.
In Charlotte County, the 2,924 single-family homes for sale in August represented a 6.8-month supply, up 49% from the previous year. It took longer to sell single-family homes in August, as the median time to sale was 121 days, up 40.7%. The median sale price was $350,000, down 5.8%.
The 766 condos and townhomes in inventory represented an 8.8-month supply, a 81.1% year-over-year increase. Time to sale was 105 days, a 16.7% increase.
Several planned developments with hundreds of new homes have been approved recently in the county, which will add even more inventory.
Curtis Mellon
Curtis Mellon, who along with Mike Federau forms the MLS Detectives Group at RE/MAX Anchor Realty in Punta Gorda, said the market “is still going to slide a little further because of new construction.” He cited some of the new construction in the Punta Gorda area and said some sellers have listed their properties higher than what the market will support.
“Everything is sitting on the market longer,” Mellon said.
Meanwhile, the influx of new homes with prices comparable to older homes are putting pressure on sellers to lower their prices. Punta Gorda Isles is about 93% built out, and newer homes can get closer to their asking price versus older homes, Mellon said.
In August, the median percentage of the original listing price received for single-family homes was 92.2%, down 4.5% from August 2023. Condo sellers received 90.4% of their listing price, down 2.7%.
Mellon said there were recent sales of homes in the $1 million range and higher. For example, one in the Pirate Harbor neighborhood in Punta Gorda sold for $1.93 million.
August statistics from the Realtors association show 17 homes were sold in August for $1 million or higher in the county, an increase of 13.3% year over year, but the majority of single-family homes sold in August (174) were in the $300,000 to $399,999 range.
