Wishing you and your family a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

The United States will lift all travel restrictions for incoming non-citizen, non-immigrant travelers beginning November 8. 2021. Visitors to the United States are required to be fully vaccinated and produce proof of their COVID-19 vaccination prior to boarding a flight to the country, according to the White House. What does this mean for the real estate industry? Foreign buyers are coming back!

In this historically hot housing market we are experiencing a slowdown in the number of sales over the past 3 months which is due to the decreased level of inventory. In addition, there is a slowdown in new listings. For those looking to purchase a home that is $500,000.00 and less, the inventory is extremely low in this tight housing market.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.14% for the week ending Oct. 28, according to the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) from Freddie Mac. The latest prediction is the mortgage rate will hit 4% in 2022. This will be a gradual increase in mortgage rates. 

The foreclosure moratorium ended on July 31, 2021.  Why are you not seeing foreclosures?Only 1.3% of homes nationwide are vacant, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm. Foreclosures are expected to increase over the coming year, but buyer beware as some foreclosures can have unexpected liens accompanying them. You need to be careful with what you are purchasing. Being on a foreclosure team for 3 years taught me a great amount of information on foreclosed homes.

Yes, we are continuing to see home prices increase. The Florida housing market is performing exceptionally well, with more demand than supply. The pandemic has not stopped the buyers. There are more sales now than in the pre-pandemic era that occurred two years ago. Closed sales of single family homes are up 20% and condo/townhomes closed sales are up 31.5% in September 2021 compared to September 2019.


Where are we with South Florida's Market?
For September 2021 in Broward County:
Closed Sales are down 3% to 1,489 Sales
The Median Price is up 17.5% - $499,450
The Supply of Inventory is Down - 42.3% to 1.5 months of inventory