What’s Going to Happen with Single Family Home Prices in the Fort Lauderdale Area this year?

After Seeing double digits increases, many experts thought Fort Lauderdale home price appreciation would decelerate or happen at a slower pace in the last quarter of 2021.   However, the latest numbers from the MLS Beaches indicates while prices may have plateaued, appreciation has definitely not slowed. The following graph shows year-over-year appreciation throughout 2021. December data for Fort Lauderdale and Broward County has not yet been released.

 As the graph shows, appreciation has remained steady at around 15 % over the last four months.

 In addition, the latest S&P Case-Shiller Price Index and the FHFA Price Index show a slight deceleration from the same
time last year – it's just not at the level that was expected. However, they also both indicate there’s continued strong price growth throughout the
country. FHFA reports all nine regions of the country still experienced double-digit appreciation. The Case-Shiller 20-City Index reveals
all 20 metros had double-digit appreciation.

Why Haven’t We Seen the Deeper Deceleration Many Expected?

Experts had projected the supply of housing inventory would increase in the last half of 2021 and buyer demand would decrease, as it historically does later in the year. Since all pricing is subject to supply and demand, it seemed that appreciation would wane under those conditions.

The graph below uses data from MLSBeaches  to show the number of available listings for sale each month, including the
decline in listings at the end of the year.

 Here are three reasons why the number of active listings didn’t increase as expected:

1. There hasn’t been a surge of foreclosures as the forbearance program comes to an end.

2. New construction slowed considerably because of supply chain challenges.

3. Many believed more sellers would put their houses on the market once the concerns about the
pandemic began to ease. However, those concerns have not yet disappeared. A recent article published by com explains:

“Before the omicron variant of COVID-19 appeared on the scene, the 2021 housing market was rebounding healthily from
previous waves of the pandemic and turned downright bullish as the end of the year approached. . . . And then the new omicron strain hit in November, followed by a December dip in new listings. Was this sudden drop due to omicron, or just the typical holiday season lull?”

No one knows for sure, but it does seem possible.

Take Away

 Home price appreciation might slow (or decelerate) in 2022. However, based on supply and demand, you shouldn’t expect the deceleration to be swift or deep.   Buyer demand, however, did not slow as much as expected, and the number of listings available for sale dropped instead of improved.

Contact the Tom Wolf Team at RE/MAX for any specific questions on the Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Market

For Over 20 years the Tom Wolf Team Fort Lauderdale Premier Realtors have been assisiting their clients Sell, Purchase and Invest in South Florida Real Estate