September Recap
September saw a continued hot real estate market in South Walton County, Florida. The strong Seller’s Market continued, as indicated by the shrinking amount of homes for sale and the continued increase in prices compared to September 2020. Also of interest is that the number of cash sales in September represented 30% of all residential transactions in Walton County, up from 27% in 2020. Below are some summary stats of Residential homes in key areas of south Walton County for September 2021.
Another important point to note is that desirable homes sell quickly. The average days on market was 12 days for homes that sold in September, compared to 39 days in 2020.
Short Term Rentals (STRs)
Many people buy homes in this area to use as short-term rentals (STRs) for vacationers. The vacation and rental business has shown a significant increase in the summer of 2021 compared to the prior year. There’s a great report at the Walton County TDC, but here are a few of the key highlights:
- Visitors increased 7.8%
- Total rental units increased 10.5%, however…
- Average Occupancy rate was 85.8%, an increase of 6.8%
- The Average Daily Rate (ADR) of accommodations jumped 24.1% to $543.44 per night
In short, demand is up, revenues are up, and the number of rental nights are up.
Additionally, the Panhandle area of Florida was recently ranked #1 in the “100 Best Places to Buy a Vacation Rental” report compiled by Rented Research and Weiss Analytics. The report ranks destinations by the cost of ownership, short-term revenue potential, acquisition cost, annual appreciation, and projected changes in asset value.
Our rental market is growing, and that’s helping keep demand high for our housing. I’ve operated a vacation rental here since 2013. Contact me if you’re interested in understanding how this might work for you, or how to find great properties.
Interest Rates
You may have heard in late September that rates were starting to climb, however, the climb was short-lived and dipped below 3% again in early October. Here’s an interesting article on Mortgage Rates that suggests the low rates may again reverse slightly, but that the fundamentals may not change significantly.
“In our view, other housing market fundamentals remain supportive of further home price appreciation—including low levels of inventory and low interest rate”
If the interest rates stay stable, and demand for homes in our area continues to outpace supply (as is the case now), waiting for the market to adjust to being favorable for purchase could mean that much patience will be required.
Interested in more information for your specific area, or thinking of buying/selling? Contact me – I’d be happy to help.