It is now been more than three months since the coronavirus pandemic entered our world, severely impacting our daily lives as well as the Florida economy. This impact has been felt especially hard in the real estate market, resulting in a substantial drop in the number of sales compared to 2019.
The first quarter of 2020 reflected the strong economy with a year-over-year growth of over 10% from 2019. In addition, inventory for single-family homes was a low 3.4 months and the inventory for townhomes/condominiums was on average 5.5 months. The time period from listing to contract was a short 43 days for single-family homes and only 55 days for townhomes/condominiums.
In addition to the strong economic news in the first quarter of 2020, the low mortgage interest rates also helped encourage sales, dropping nearly three quarters of a point from the same time in 2019, from an average of 4.37% to an average of only 3.51%.
The effects of the virus on the real estate market came to a head in April 2020. In Miami, sales declined 40% compared to April 2019. Broward County experienced a decline of 37.4%, and Palm Beach County experienced a decline of 33.8% compared to April 2019. Continue reading