Often described as a hot seller’s market, the South Florida market often outperforms national averages. In order to ascertain the best time to sell a home in South Florida, we wanted to explore whether or not there are any seasonal trends.
Although the South Florida housing market has stagnated in the first two months of 2019, the wider real estate segment is still a hot seller’s market. Nevertheless, certain areas in the U.S. have a tendency to go through seasonal trends, meaning that it’s sometimes possible to wait for optimal listing times.
Here we explore whether any trends exist in the South Florida real estate space, alongside some potential factors that might help you receive the best offer possible in the fastest time.
Best Time to Sell in South Florida
The South Florida housing market has had a slow start to 2019, with home sales decreasing in both January and February. The most affected area in terms of declining sales was Palm Beach Country, which experienced a drop of 21.1% in January alone. Nevertheless, this falls in line with national averages, which generally experience a slower market in the months surrounding Christmas.
Although South Florida is accustomed to prolonged periods of nice weather throughout the year, many argue that optimal selling times occur in spring and summer. Buyers are usually more motivated to go house hunting when the weather is nice.
At the same time, families prefer to have closed a deal well in advance of the new school year, meaning that you'll want to have your home listed by at least May. In fact, this is supported by Zillow research, where suggests that property selling prices increase by an average of 1.6% nationwide when they are listed in May.
The number of days that properties were listed in the wider Florida area last year was at their lowest in both April and May. This potentially further supports the belief that May is a good time of the year to sell your South Florida home.
However, as the South Florida housing market is still in favor of sellers, by using an experienced local agent, you're more likely to obtain a good offer on your property year-round.
Key Factors That Help South Florida Homes Sell Faster
- Inventory levels: When inventory levels are low, you’ll likely be able to achieve the best price possible when selling your South Florida home.
- Amenities: As South Florida is an area of sheer size, buyers prefer properties that are situated close to key amenities such as supermarkets, gas stations, and restaurants.
- Condition: If your property is to be viewed by buyers as ready-to-move-in, you’ll need to ensure that your home does not require too much additional work.
3 Tips for Maximizing Your Profits When Selling a Home in South Florida
1. Consider Your Specific Market
Before putting your home on the market, you’ll need to understand the current state of play in the South Florida housing market. The most effective way of doing this is to obtain a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).
In its most basic form, the CMA process allows you to obtain an estimate on how much your South Florida home is worth, by looking at key metrics from the wider marketplace.
For example, this might look at how much similar homes in the area have recently sold for, as well as any trends related to inventory levels. The CMA will give you an idea as to the optimal listing price to maximize your potential equity returns.
If you want more information on how the CMA process works, be sure to read our guide.
2. Make Impactful Repairs and Renovations
Once you’ve obtained an idea as to how much you are likely to get for your South Florida home through the CMA, it is then worth spending some time exploring whether any notable repairs and renovations can be made to attract potential buyers. Moreover, certain improvements made to your home can also lead to an increase in value.
It is important to note that not all repairs and renovations need to be costly, as even small improvements can be worthwhile. For example, this might include performing some work on your front lawn, replacing tiered windows, or organizing an industrial carpet cleaner.
Furthermore, an effective renovation that can be performed both quickly and cheaply is to re-paint the inside of your house. This will appeal to buyers that want a fast move-in, as it's one less job for them to contend with.
Here are some great ideas that you might want to consider when making improvements to your home.
3. Find a Great Real Estate Agent
Once you’ve obtained a CMA on your property, and made any required repairs and renovations to increase buyer appetite, you’ll also want to ensure that you employ the services of a reputable agent operating in the South Florida area.
The overarching reason that you should use a local real estate agent is that they will have long-standing knowledge of the South Florida housing market. This means that you’ll be best positioned to sell your home at the best possible price, subsequently ensuring that you receive an offer that amounts to the property’s fair market value.
If you use a South Florida agent that is partnered with Clever, you’ll be able to achieve all of the above at a selling commission rate of just $3,500. Alternatively, if you’re property sells for more than $350,000, then the commission fee amounts to 1.5% of the sale price.
In comparison to the industry standard of 6%, this allows you to tap into experienced agents from within the South Florida housing market at highly reasonable fees.
To find out more about selling your home with a Clever Partner Agent based in South Florida, you can read further information here.
