South Florida by the numbers: The going mortgage rate

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics.

With home buyers and sellers in an extended pricing stare down, very limited inventory, and dramatically rising construction and insurance costs, the South Florida residential real estate market faced serious headwinds entering 2024. But a sliver of good news has smoothed some choppy waters in January, with three straight weeks of falling mortgage rates inspiring buyers to dive back into the market. Is this a sustainable trend, or a momentary uptick doomed to capsize? We examine with great interest (pun intended) the impact of declining mortgage rates on the market in this edition of “South Florida by the numbers.”

9 percent
Increase in submitted purchase-loan applications (on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week, for the period ending Jan. 12), according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The contract rate on the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) fell by six basis points to 6.75 percent and is down by more than 100 basis points from its peak in the fall. [TheRealDeal]

13.5 percent

Increase in available new South Florida listings in December, according to Realtor.com’s December Monthly Housing Trends Report. Declining mortgage rates are a trend it anticipates will make a positive impact on home selling sentiment and the possibility that more new listings will enter the market. (Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale says inventory improvements are being seen across the country, especially in the South, which experienced a 7.7 percent year-over-year increase in active listings.) [SouthFloridaAgentMagazine]

33480
ZIP code of the town of Palm Beach, which saw the biggest year-over-year decrease (-11.42 percent) in one-year annual mortgage payments across South Florida, according to figures collected from Zillow and RocketMortgage. The next closest neighborhood was west Delray Beach, which saw a change of -8.46 percent in mortgage costs. [SFBJ]

6 percent

Range of mortgage rates Redfin predicts 30-year mortgages will dip to in 2024. The online real estate company also expects prices to fall significantly in parts of coastal Florida, with new listings and home sales to rise. [NBCMiami]

66 percent

Increase in South Florida home values between 2019 and 2023, which (along with rising interest rates) eroded buying power, according to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty President and CEO (and Master Brokers Forum member) Ron Shuffield. But with the recently decreased rates, Shuffield notes that more people can afford more houses, and encourages renters to start building equity with a locked-in mortgage rate before landlords potentially raise rents upwards of 30 percent. [Local10.com]

This column is produced by the Master Brokers Forum, a network of South Florida’s elite real estate professionals where membership is by invitation only and based on outstanding production, as well as ethical and professional behavior.