Dear Neighbors,

This month’s newsleter is devoted to the friends, neighbors, and clients who joined us for the “Share the Love” brunch. We had a wonderful turn-out, great food, incredible entertainment, and a lot of fun. Please enjoy browsing the photos.

Dear Neighbors,

Some people have wondered whether the higher interest rates we are seeing will result in a decline in home prices. As we examine the housing market, we see more homes now on the market, as compared to last year at this time. Indeed, SunStats – the data tool provided by the Florida Realtor Association – shows that the December (2023) inventory of townhouses and condominiums had increased 76% over the previous year. And in the 33308-zip code, there is now a 6.3-month inventory of townhouses and condominiums, as compared to 2.9 months the previous year. Similarly, the inventory of single-family homes has grown to 7.1 months, up from 4.2 months the year before. Because “months of inventory” is a measure of supply and demand in the real estate industry, the data translates to buyers having more options and, conversely, sellers having more competition.

Dear Neighbors,

Happy and Healthy New Year!

S&B Market Insight – 2023 commenced with a robust real estate market – low inventory and high demand. In July, however, when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, the market abruptly decelerated. As the interest rates continued to rise, the market continued to languish. More homes in our area came onto the market, and they remained on the market for longer periods of time. In November 2023, the Federal Reserve stopped raising rates and, in response, our market began to accelerate. We are experiencing a healthy number of buyers, and the number of homes on the market has increased. This has created a balance between buyers and sellers, resulting in a stabilized market.

Dear Neighbors,

Mark your calendar! We are going to start the new year off with a bang with our “Lunch and Learn” sessions and our annual client appreciation brunch.

Dear Neighbors,

If you took ownership of your property last year, you may have questions about your property taxes and homestead exemption. In Broward County, property taxes are paid in arrears, which means you pay your annual property taxes at the end of the tax year. For example, property taxes for 2023 are paid in the last quarter of 2023. If you acquired your property in 2023, you inherited the property tax rate and the previous owner’s exemption status. Beginning in 2024, your property tax will change based on the purchase price of the property. Additionally, the Homestead Exemption does not automatically transfer from one property to another. If you believe you qualify for the Homestead Exemption or any other exemption, you can apply online at https://web.bcpa.net/bcpaclient/#Homestead.  The deadline to apply for all 2024 exemptions is March 1, 2024.

Dear Neighbors,

As of the date of this writing, all homeowners should have received a “Notice of Proposed Taxes”, also called a TRIM Notice. This notice includes both the market and the assessed values of your property for the current and the prior year. The Notice also contains instructions on how to appeal your assessment before the Value Adjustment Board. The last day to file an appeal with the Value Adjustment Board, challenging your 2023 assessment, is September 18, 2023. If you have any questions about the valuation of your property, please contact the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office at 954-357-6830.

Dear Neighbors,

Although television stations and newspapers are reporting that existing-home sales are sliding nation-wide, “Florida Realtor Sun Stats” paints a very different picture for our local market. When comparing sales data for single-family homes, townhouses, and condominiums from March 2022 to March 2023, the average home price continues to increase. The average sales price for single-family homes increased 2.3% and the average sales price of townhouses and condominiums rose 4.8%. For sellers, this is good news, yet not all market factors are as favorable when putting your home up for sale. We shared in the March newsletter that inventory was growing, and this trend continues. In March 2023, inventory for townhouses and condominiums was 3.8 months and for single-family homes was 5.1 months. This translates to more competition when selling your home. Finally, homes are remaining on the market longer. The graph below displays the median time to contract for single family homes (blue line) and for townhouses and condominiums (green line). As shown, in 2022 properties were staying on the market an average of 13 days, whereas today homes are staying on the market an average of 49 days.

Dear Neighbors,

The Florida Realtors Sun Stat data this month reveals that inventory for condominiums and townhouses has increase d 218% and inventory of single-family homes has increased 269% over the February 2022 inventory. Although this is a huge increase, the condominium and townhouse markets still have only 3.5 months of inventory compared to 1.1 months in February 2022 and the single-family home market has only 4.8 months of inventory compared to 1.3 months in February 2022. For sellers, this signifies greater competition when selling their home. Nonetheless, sellers can take several steps to improve their chances of selling their home in this more competitive market.

What’s better than waterfront homes? Waterfront homes in beautiful and sunny Florida that also has no state income tax. As many look to move out of polulation dense areas such as California and New York, they look to Fort Lauderdale Beach for their first shot at waterfront home ownership. Even local empty nesters who’ve sold their homes and are now looking to fulfil their dreams of living on the beach as well.

The Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office recently announced it’s new Owner Alert service. A free service designed to help you protect your property from scams or fraud by notifying you if a document is received by their office changing the ownership of your property.