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Buying or Building a Home in Florida: Strike Now While Mortgage Interest Rates are Going Down

If you are planning to build or buy a home in Florida, now is the best time to do so. Online real estate leader Zillow reports that mortgage interest rates in Florida have gone down by several points. As of May 21, 2019, Florida mortgage interest rate dropped to 4.08%, 4 basis points lower than last week’s 4.12% average rate.

Although a temporary rise in mortgage rates transpired in December and January, rates have reverted to the previous low of slightly above 4%. As a result, spikes in retail estate sales occurred in February and March, 2019.

Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor of the Florida Realtors remarked that the trend is likely to continue up to the second quarter, which is why it is high time for Florida folks to realize that

.. “this might be their last chance to upgrade, downsize or buy their first home while rates are near historical lows.”

However, those seeking to build a single-family housing are advised to apply caution in light of affordability concerns. Growing house demands can also spur costs of construction, which builders have to manage, in order to stay within the current prices of home-building contracts.

Still, Dr. O’Connor projects that as real estate inventory levels across varying price tiers continue to surge, price growth in 2019 will not be sharper than they were in recent years. Based on the 2019 first quarter performance, the trend in median time, or the length of time it takes to close a sales contract for single family homes is 51 days, while condominium or townhouse units take slightly longer at 53 days.

Slow Rather than Drastic Peak in Real Estate Prices is Expected

According to figures recently released by Florida Realtors, the real estate market in the Tampa Bay area is still running on an erratic course. Single-family homes still have the biggest market share, where Pinellas is the only county experiencing price growth. Prices of single-family homes in Pasco and Hillsborough dropped, while remaining flat in Hernando.

Florida Realtors report that selling of Tampa Bay properties is taking longer than it took last year. Moreover recent sellers are reportedly receiving less than their asking price compared to what they got in April 2018.

Skylar Olsen Online, Director of Economic Research at real estate giant Zillow, explains that currently, price corrections are taking place after years of home value growth occurring at a rate that is beyond the pace of income growth.