Appropriate to the Sunshine State, the Florida home sale forecast is looking bright. Home sales in Florida are expected to rise 8-10% next year. Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo said that for most of this past year, Florida’s real estate market outperformed the rest of the country. While it slowed a bit recently, Tuccillo said that was just the market “catching its breath” after such a busy summer and fall.
“For 2016, we expect this settling down to continue,” he continues. “Against the backdrop of an expanding state economy with growing employment, home sales should increase by 8-10 percent over 2015 (numbers) and home prices (measured as actual value) should rise by about 5 percent.
What is impacting the Florida home sale forecast?
According to Tuccillo, a few things.
“The biggest potential snag to this forecast at the state level is the growing shortage of workforce housing in the more populated areas of the state,” he says. “Florida is attracting jobs, and we need to do a better job creating housing options for the workers we are attracting from out of state.”
The United States as a whole can also have an effect on the direction Florida’s real estate market will head in 2016.
“On a national level, rising interest rates may cause a dent in the market, but it will not have a significant effect,” Tuccillo says. “The new closing rules (TRID or Truth in Lending Disclosure) could cause delays in processing and may (affect) a significant number of sales.”
Even wider than the United States, the international market also affects Florida. Florida’s real estate market is very popular with international buyers, so foreign economies effect the housing market here.
“Looking a bit farther afield, weak economic growth in other countries will dampen international demand for Florida real estate – but foreign buyers will remain a noticeable presence in the market,” Tuccillo predicts.
It is great news for Florida that the future of home sales looks so strong. If you are looking to sell or buy, it looks like you might want too add that to your list of New Years Resolutions for 2016! Contact RE/MAX Paradise today to talk to an agent!