4th straight drop in pending home sales is significant
As I took some time to enjoy the long Labor Day weekend my mind kept drifting back to the question; Just what on earth is going on with the Jupiter real estate market? At one point, as an old Merle Haggard classic played, I was chillaxin by the pool and wondered if the good times were really over.
Friday, I was out with a friend who is in management for one of the largest local real estate brokerages and she was running late for happy hour. After all, closing the books on a month that was the biggest in their history took some time. Our own little Paradise Shark team was celebrating a week where we were blessed to have had 5 closings. A week ago, we counted so many multi-million dollar construction projects underway on Jupiter Island that we had to start using our toes. It was just a few weeks ago when we reported that the Jupiter real estate market was so strong single family home sales reached the highest monthly level we have ever seen. How on earth can the good times be over?
Markets change, they shift, it's like walking on the sand here at the beach in Jupiter. And the sands of the Jupiter real estate market are looking a bit unstable. As of September 1st, pending home sales in the north county region dropped again for the fourth straight month. Down another 9% from where we stood on August 1st. And those numbers were down 10% from where we stood on July 1st. Right now pending homes sales in the Jupiter area are down over 25% from where we were just 120 days ago. Down 13.5% from the moving 12 month average. Down 14% from where we stood a year ago at this time. The facts are pending home sales in the area have dropped to the lowest level since we began tracking these numbers and we have been doing this for a long, long time.
Are the good times really over for Jupiter real estate? At this point, I have to think we are just headed for a pull back of a market that has run too fast for too long. On the heels of the Palm Beach County appraiser seeing the market so strong that some local valuations were increased as much as 50% in one year, we are due for a correction. Hold on for the ride as sales are going to drop. So far the drop looks like a lack of quality inventory for buyers is at least an important factor. But demand is waning in some segments. In August, we reported median prices for single family homes and condominiums in the Jupiter area both fell in the same month for the 1st time in over 2 years. My gut is telling me that it's about to happen for the 2nd time in a row. What happens from here will tell us if the good times really over for Jupiter real estate.....for now. Always interesting, always fun.
Fins up.....
Tom Priester
Principal Broker
Paradise Sharks Real Estate
561.308.0175
tom@paradisesharks.com
www.paradisesharks.com
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