2019 goes out with a bang for Boca's single family, townhouse/condo sellers

The real estate market in Boca Raton sure had a December to remember.

According to statistics from the Realtors of the Palm Beach and Greater Fort Lauderdale (RAPB+GFLR), single family and townhouse/condo sales numbers for December of 2019 were positive across the board.

In comparing sales in December of 2019 to the same month in 2018, single family home closed sales increased by 13.7 percent – 191 in 2019 against 168 in 2018.

Another optimistic sign was in overall dollar volume, as the numbers were $145,068,039 in December 2019 compared to $121,903,775 in December of 2018 – a 19 percent increase.

Both the medium (up 9 percent) and average (up 4.2 percent) sale prices were also up, as was the percent of original list price received – plus 2.4 percent.

The story was much the same in the townhouse/condo report, where the overall dollar volume for December of 2019 – compared to December of 2018 – increased a whopping 35 percent ($89,267,726 in 2019, $65,888,249 in 2018).

With that said, there continues to be a negative trend in the inventory of Boca Raton’s single family and townhouse/condo market. The inventory for single family homes dropped 23.6 percent in comparing December 2019 against December 2018, while the townhouse/condo inventory dropped 8.2 percent.

That lack of new single family and townhome/condo properties coming on the market is keeping prices up – good for the seller, not so much for the buyer.

And that inventory shortage is being felt around the country, according to the RAPB+GFLR report.

“With low mortgage rates, low unemployment and continued wage growth, home buyer activity is expected to remain healthy into the new year,” the RAPB+GLFR report states. “New construction has been on the rise in 2019 and is expected to continue into 2020, but many experts note that the country is still not building enough new units to quench demand.

“It remains to be seen whether existing homeowners will be enticed to sell by higher home prices, which could finally bring the overall housing market into greater balance.”

Other year-over-year single family stats from the RAPB+GFLR report were:

• The median sales price was up 9 percent – $485,000 in December 2019, $445,500 in December 2018
• The average sales price was up 4.2 percent – $759,519 in 2019, $729,214 in 2018
• Percent of original list price received up 2.4 percent – 93 percent in 2019, 90.8 in 2018
• Median time to contract decreased 12 percent – 81 days in 2019, 92 days in 2018
• Pending sales were down 1.4 percent – 138 in 2019, 140 in 2018
• New listings were down 30.9 percent – 183 in 2019, 265 in 2018
• Inventory of homes for sale was down 23.6 percent – 1,002 in 2019, 1,311 in 2018
• Months supply of inventory was down 23.4 percent – 4.9 months in 2019, 6.4 in 2018

Townhouse/condo closed sales (up 10.8 percent), medium sales price (up 2.3 percent) and average sales price (up 22.7 percent) also showed positive gains in the year-over-year report.

The drop in inventory in the townhouse/condo market was not down as significantly as it was in the single family home category.

Other year-over-year townhouse/condo stats from the RAPB+GFLR report were:

• Closed sales were up 10.8 percent – 235 in 2019, 212 in 2018
• Medium sales price was up 2.3 percent – $225,000 in 2019, $220,000 in 2018
• Average sales price was up 22.7 percent – $381,485 in 2019, $310,794 in 2018
• Percent of original list price received up .4 percent – 92.5 percent in 2019, 92.1 in 2018
• Medium time to contract was down 5.8 percent – 65 days in 2019, 69 days in 2018
• Pending sales were down 1.3 percent – 154 in 2019, 156 in 2018
• New listings were up .4 percent – 276 in 2019, 275 in 2018
• Inventory of homes for sale were down 8.2 percent – 1,129 in 2019, 1,230 in 2018
• Months supply of inventory was down 5.8 percent – 4.9 months in 2019, 5.2 in 2018

For more information on single family, townhouse/condo housing and commercial properties in Palm Beach and Broward counties, contact Petruzzelli Real Estate at the 2325 N. Ocean Blvd. (A1A) office in Boca Raton or call them at 561.362.8413.