The comedian George Burns once said, “I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.” With mere days left in 2023, it’s prime time to look forward to 2024, where we’ll spend the next year of our lives.
Right now, the future looks relatively bright for the Sunshine State. While we can’t say for sure how the upcoming year will unfold, here are some notable Florida real estate trends to watch in 2024, according to insights from industry experts.
1. The South Florida housing market will stay strong.
Earlier this year, we noted that Florida contained four of the top 10 housing markets in the country, according to Bankrate. The factors that fueled that trend – relatively low median home prices, no state income tax, and balmy weather – will likely continue to make South Florida properties hot commodities during the upcoming year.
For example, the median sales price of a new one-family home was $387,700 in the South in Q3 2023, compared to $431,000 for the U.S. overall, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Meanwhile, in November 2023, Florida outpaced the nation at large in labor force growth for the 29th month in a row, according to a FloridaCommerce press release.
Continued economic growth and attractiveness as a prime place to relocate should sustain demand for both residential and commercial properties in the region in 2024.
2. Mortgage interest rates will potentially peak.
National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun has predicted that mortgage interest rates will stop climbing and could decline to 5.5 or 6 percent over the course of the next couple of years, according to the Bankrate article “Housing market predictions: The forecast for the next 5 years.”
3. Home prices will likely decline in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area.
The global property information, analytics, and data solutions provider CoreLogic has forecast a very high probability for single-family home prices to drop in 2024 in the Cape Coral and Fort Myers metropolitan area. The home price forecast is based on public record, servicing, and securities real estate databases.
4. The Live Local Act will fuel development in major metro areas.
Florida’s Live Local Act intends to boost affordable housing development. The legislation has already spurred new housing projects in the state, according to CoStar and The Wall Street Journal, and that trend will likely continue in the upcoming year.
If you’re looking for your ideal house, condo, commercial real estate, or land in Southwest Florida, the Avalon Suncoast team can help you. Get started today by calling 941-235-7474 or emailing sales@avalonsuncoast.com.