U.S. Existing Home Sales Decline for Six Straight Months
According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales were down 20.2% year-over-year and 5.9% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million units. This marks six straight months of a decline in sales.
According to Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, “The ongoing sales decline reflects the impact of the mortgage rate peak of 6% in early June”. He further indicated, “Home sales may soon stabilize since mortgage rates have fallen to near 5%, thereby giving an additional boost of purchasing power to home buyers.”
What’s surprising is that the median existing home price across all property types continues to rise. As of the end of July 2022, the median price was up 10.8% (year-over-year) to $403,800. This marks 125 consecutive months of year-over-year median home price increases, which is the longest-running streak on record.
Housing inventory is continuing to improve with 1.31 million units available for sale as of the end of July 2022, an increase of 10.8% from June and unchanged year-over-year. Based on the current pace of sales, there is a 3.3-month supply of homes on the market at this time.
The average marketing time for July 2022 was 14 days, similar to that observed in June 2022 and down from 17 days in July 2021.
The Florida Housing Market
According to 2022 Florida Realtors President Christina Pappas, “The trend of improving for-sale inventory continued in July, which hopefully will also help housing affordability and ease rising prices over time for buyers.”
Dr. Brad O’Connor, the Chief Economist for the Florida Realtors, indicated “It’s almost not fair to compare 2022 sales numbers to those from a year ago because 2021 was such a uniquely good year for the housing market, with the 30-year mortgage rate hovering near 3% the entire year. But we should also acknowledge that this July, we saw fewer home sales than we did in July of 2019, before the pandemic. This year’s high mortgage rates, combined with a continuation of last year’s rapid rise in home prices have really put the brakes on the number of completed transactions this summer.”
Closed Sales – July 2022
The number of closed sales transactions within the state of Florida has declined (year-over-year) for six straight months. As of July 2022, the number of individual closed sales declined by 24.6% to 34,389 transactions. Single family home sales were down by 22.9% to 23,705 transactions while condominium & townhome sales declined by 30.7% to 9,341 transactions.
Closed Sales – Month by Month
| Month | Closed Sales | % Change YOY |
| July 2022 | 34,389 | -24.6% |
| June 2022 | 41,594 | -20.0% |
| May 2022 | 43,747 | -8.9% |
| Apr 2022 | 43,710 | -16.5% |
| Mar 2022 | 47,203 | -7.5% |
| Feb 2022 | 36,006 | -1.5% |
| Jan 2022 | 33,422 | 3.5% |
| Dec 2021 | 44,392 | -0.2% |
| Nov 2021 | 40,472 | 5.1% |
| Oct 2021 | 40,446 | -5.9% |
| Sept 2021 | 41,477 | 0.7% |
| Aug 2021 | 43,422 | 3.9% |
Median Sales Prices – July 2022
While median sale prices continue to exceed their year-over-year averages, July 2022 represented a slight downturn. The median sale price across all property types was $379,500, up 18.1% year-over-year but down slightly from $388,990 observed in June 2022. During the same period, the median sale price of single-family homes improved by 16.1% to $412,303 while condominiums & townhomes improved by 20.6% to $305,000. Average sales prices were also up by 12.0% for single-family homes ($562,611) and up by 11.6% for townhomes & condominiums ($414,445).
| Month | Median Price | % Change YOY |
| July 2022 | $379,500 | 18.1% |
| June 2022 | $388,990 | 21.7% |
| May 2022 | $385,000 | 24.2% |
| Apr 2022 | $375,000 | 25.0% |
| Mar 2022 | $365,000 | 23.7% |
| Feb 2022 | $350,000 | 23.0% |
| Jan 2022 | $343,000 | 22.5% |
| Dec 2021 | $345,000 | 23.2% |
| Nov 2021 | $335,000 | 19.7% |
| Oct 2021 | $325,200 | 18.3% |
| Sept 2021 | $325,000 | 19.7% |
| Aug 2021 | $321,540 | 17.4% |
Active Inventory – July 2022
Active inventory across all property types continues to improve. For the month of July 2022, inventory is up 44.1% year-over-year to 90,022 units. July levels represented an increase of more than 10,000 units from June 2022 – this is also a substantial improvement from the 46,247 active homes on the market as of the end of January 2022. Single-family home inventory is up 67.5% to 61,453 units while townhomes & condominiums was up by 9.5% to 25,372 units.
| Month | Active Inventory | % Change YOY |
| July 2022 | 90,022 | 44.1% |
| June 2022 | 79,015 | 36.7% |
| May 2022 | 61,318 | 8.8% |
| Apr 2022 | 51,234 | -13.3% |
| Mar 2022 | 46,247 | -28.2% |
| Feb 2022 | 44,715 | -39.1% |
| Jan 2022 | 46,944 | -43.8% |
| Dec 2021 | 50,688 | -44.5% |
| Nov 2021 | 56,659 | -42.9% |
| Oct 2021 | 60,594 | -41.2% |
| Sept 2021 | 63,147 | -39.5% |
| Aug 2021 | 63,168 | -41.1% |
The South Florida Housing Market
The South Florida existing-home market has continued to slow during the monthly of July. Closed sales were down 32% year-over-year to 7,206 units. The overall dollar volume also declined by 25% to $4.8 billion.
The median home price across all property types for July 2022 increased by 16% to $440,000 year-over-year. Luxury transactions across South Florida for $1 million or more continued to impact the median and average values.
Inventory improved slightly with approximately 23,000 homes across all property types available for sale within South Florida. New listings across the tri-county area were down by 5.4% to 11,208. Pending sales also continue to decline with 7,529 new pending sales for the month of July 2022.
The Greater Orlando Housing Market
The Orlando – Kissimmee – Sanford existing home market also continued to slow during the month of July 2022. Closed sales of 3,786 were down 24% year-over-year along with the overall dollar volume which was down by 11%.
The median home price across all property types for July 2022 increased by 18% to $390,000 year-over-year. Luxury transactions in the metro area Orlando area for $1 million or more continued to impact the median and average values.
Inventory levels improved substantially with 8,292 homes across all property types available for sale – up 66%. New listings across the metro area were down slightly by 1.2% to 5,590 units while new pending sales are down by 23% to 3,766 units.
The Tampa Bay Housing Market
Similar to the South Florida and metro Orlando areas, the Tampa – St. Petersburg – Clearwater MSA existing-home market continues to slow. Closed sales for the month of July 2022 were down by 23% year-over-year to 5,226 units. Overall dollar volume was also down by 4.4% to $2.4 billion.
The median home price across all property types for July 2022 increased by 24% to $378,244 year-over-year. Luxury transactions in the Tampa Bay for $1 million or more continued to heavily influence the median and average values.
Inventory levels have improved by a staggering 77% (year over year) with approximately 10,800 homes across all property types available for sale. New listings across the metro area were up by 1.7% to 7,913 units while new pending sales were down by 17% to 5,326 units.
The Greater Jacksonville Housing Market
During the month of July 2022 the greater Jacksonville housing market is also experiencing slower activity. Closed sales of 2,559 were down 24% year-over-year and the overall dollar volume was also down by 11% to $1.2 billion.
Prices across all property types continue to rise by double digits – the median home price increased by 20% to $375,000 year-over-year. Luxury transactions in the Jacksonville continued to influence the market values.
Inventory continues to improve with approximately 6,572 homes across all property types available for sale within the greater Jacksonville area, up 46% year-over-year. New listings were down 8.2% to 3,643 homes while new pending sales declined by 31% to 2,424 homes.
Are you thinking of selling?
Based on the most recent data, the current state of the residential market is changing fast. If you are a homeowner and are considering selling your personal residence, vacation home or investment property, now may be the perfect time to do so while prices are still strong.
Our team has assisted sellers not only throughout the state of Florida, but in most major markets nationwide. We take a highly methodical and deliberate approach when working with or clients and have specific strategies to help get the best value for the property.
To learn more about how we help our clients get the best possible price for their property, visiting our web site or contact us at info@quantumcos.com.
