St Cloud FL Real Estate Market Report For October 2022 Covering The Topic Of Interest Rates
Jeanine is the broker of Corcoran Connect and Kristin is the owner of Studio Nine 13. They will be reviewing what happened in the Saint Cloud Florida real estate market during the 41st episode of the Discover St. Cloud Florida podcast.
Kristin asked Jeanine what happened in the Saint Cloud FL real estate market in October. Jeanine answered that we always like to report real estate transactions by zip code as each one is diverse.
Jeanine started with St Cloud zip code 34769 which includes the historic part of downtown St. Cloud. For October Jeanine said there were 34 homes that were sold. There were 29 one-story homes that were sold and 5 two-story homes. The price per square foot for the one-story homes was $224.76 and $171.12 for the two-story homes.
Video Podcast Of The Real Estate Market Report For Saint Cloud Florida
Kristin added that zip code 34769 is holding steady. She said the price per square foot went up half a percent and year over year is still up 18.9%. The days to contract are 35 and 67 days to close. Kristin said this shows that it is taking a bit longer for things to move.
Jeanine then moved to zip code 34771 which is where her real estate company office is located in. There were 86 homes sold in this zip code in October. Fifty of them were one-story homes at a price per square foot of $239.30 and the remaining 36 homes which were two-story homes came in at $191.00.
St Cloud Florida Homes Sales In Zip Code 34772
Kristin said the average price per square foot overall at $218.95 is holding steady down only .4%. Year over year this zip code is still up 14%. She said the days to contract are 35 and 79 days to close.
Jeanine then reported zip code 34772 numbers where 45 homes were sold in October. Thirty-eight were one-story homes at $126 price per square foot. The 7 remaining homes sold were two-story homes and their price per square foot was $194.30.
Kristin said the average overall price per square foot for 34772 was $212.71 and up by 4% month over month. Year over year, that zip code is up 6.5%. Days to contract is 21 and days to close is 70.
Jeanine commented that it is interesting seeing the days to close increasing quite a bit. Typically, an average closing takes 30 days. Buyers might be giving sellers more time to stay in the home for various reasons and that could be adding to the days to close increase.
Moving onto zip code 34773 which does include the community of Harmony. There were 22 homes that were sold in October. Of the 22 homes that sold, 15 were one-story homes at a price per square foot of $229.48. The 7 two-story homes sold at a price per square foot of $181.26.
Vacant Land Sales In Saint Cloud FL For October 2022
Kristin said the average overall price per square foot was $214.13 holding steady showing a .14% increase. The year-over-year averages are up 22.3% for the price per square foot which is a healthy increase. She said the average days to contract is 30 and the average days to close is 64.
Vacant land for sale was next up and there were only 12 sales in October. Jeanine said there were no big land deals over the last 30 days. The lowest vacant piece of land sold for $3K which was 1/3 of an acre and the highest sold for $220K which was for 2 acres and was a cash deal. So, no big parcels of land were sold in October.
Jeanine then reported on just Harmony Florida homes that sold in October. In Harmony main, which represents the first homes ever built in this community, there were 13 homes that sold. She said people don’t want to leave Harmony. They do what’s called the “Harmony Shuffle” and if they do sell, they buy another home in Harmony.
Jeanine stated that she has a buyer from Arizona who wants a 4-bedroom home in Harmony so for anyone thinking of selling their home, please contact her and he wants to be here by December. In Ashley Park, which represents condos and townhomes, had 5 that sold in October. There were 3 resales and one home sold in The Enclave. The Lakes had 5 homes that were sold.
Harmony FL West Homes Sales
Kristin asked Jeanine about Harmony West sales. Jeanine replied that 13 homes sold in Harmony West in October. Eight of those homes sold were one-story homes at $245.62 price per square foot and 5 two-story homes sold at an average price per square foot of $183.43.
Jeanine and Kristin then shifted the conversation to the home sellers in Saint Cloud FL. The topic is why homes seem to be sitting on the market longer in the current market and why pricing adjustments may be necessary as well as helping a buyer with concessions. Closing costs are now back on the table as well as buying down rates.
Kristin said that these are not bad things, this is part of a normal real estate market. She said the biggest elephant in the room is interest rates. The interest rates are over 7% now and they are not coming down soon. The rates are playing a big role in terms of buyer availability.
Kristin gave the example of her own home which she closed on back in April of 2022. If she had closed on this very same home now at today’s interest rates her mortgage payment would be $700 more than it is today. She dais she wouldn’t have been able to afford the home if that were the case. She doesn’t know many people who would have that kind of flexibility in their monthly mortgage payments.
How Current Interest Rates Affect Home Affordability
Jeanine said she spoke to one of her preferred lenders Colleen Mitchell from Homebridge Mortgage and she ran some numbers for us. Kristin had the idea to have Colleen pull some numbers which Jeanine said was a great idea.
The example she used was a home selling for $395K. She ran numbers for principle and interest at 7% for a conventional loan with 5% down. That came up with a monthly payment of $2,496.55. Let’s call it an even $2,500 a month.
Colleen then took the same price of a home, $395K, and used the interest rates from 6 months ago which was 4.875%. The monthly payment, principal, and interest would be $1,986 at this lower rate. That is a $510 difference in monthly payments from just 6 months ago.
If a home buyer was in the market 6 months ago and was qualified for a $395K home at 4.875% to get them at that same payment you would need to have a home at $237K. They lost $158K in affordability.
So, if your home is priced at $550K Kristin said your buyer pool has shrunk. The reason being is that 6 months ago your buyer that would buy your home today was looking in the $700K range. So, that is a huge shift that is a reality.
Why Homes Are Sitting On The Market Longer Explained
Kristin said therefore we are seeing homes sit on the market longer than they were 6 months ago. Jeanine stated that is why we wanted to talk directly to the sellers as the buyers know what is going on. Buyers are the ones asking for help.
Jeanine continued and said, the offer that you receive now is from a qualified buyer as all the other buyers that may have been putting in an offer 6 months ago are gone. They are looking at less expensive homes now. So, think about that if a buyer needs some help.
Corcoran Connect Honors Veterans In St Cloud FL
Kristin asked Jeanine about the cool contest going on with Corcoran Connect. Jeanine said yes and this is all about our Veteran’s. We support and love our Veteran’s. So, with that said go to our Facebook page here for details.
The first-place prize will be once you recognize your Veteran $100 cash, second place prize a $75 Amazon gift card, and third place prize will be a $50 Publix card. What you need to do is find that post on our Facebook page and tell us in 3 sentences or less why you are nominating a Veteran that inspires you. The Veterans will be the ones who win the prizes not the person who nominates them to be clear.
It could be a story, a family member, or a friend that is a Veteran, and we may even interview one or more of our chosen Veterans. Jeanine shared that her dad was a World War II Veteran with the Navy. We feel, at Corcoran Connect, that it is important to honor and recognize our Veterans.
We hope you enjoyed Jeanine and Kristin walking you through the St Cloud FL real estate market report for October 2022. Our goal is to keep you in the know about the housing market and statistics here in Saint Cloud, Florida.