The question everyone is asking is "Is Now the Right Time To Be a Buyer?"

Hi everybody, Joe Hillner with Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty, where we will sell your home for just a 1% commission, guaranteed! 

Ok, so every week, I share market data to keep you informed with the local real estate market.  
Here is this week’s Boca Market Watch.

First, Single Family Homes:

67 new listings, pretty good, and ranging in price from $365K to $14.95M. 
30 homes back on the market, while 14 homes listed took a price decrease, and 7 sellers raised their asking price.  And  a lackluster week with 33 different properties under contract, and 30 going pending.  17 homes were unsuccessful in selling and were taken off the market or the listing expired outright.  And another decent week for sales with 71 homes closed in the past week,  ranging from $345K to $6.1M!

Next up, Condos and Townhomes:

63 new listings, not too bad, and ranging from $99 Grand to $3.25 Million.  
12 units came back on the market, 18 properties with a price decrease, and 4 sellers with an increase.  And another good week with 53 different properties under contract, and 52 going pending,  And just 14 condos or townhomes were unsuccessful in selling and were taken off the market or the listing expired. 71 closed sales this week, a decent week, and ranging in price from $70 Grand to $1.7 Million!

Here's what's making news right now.

The bidding wars and over asking sale prices that defined last year’s red-hot housing market forced many frustrated buyers to the sidelines, where they decided that they would have to wait until the market cooled in 2022.

Unfortunately for them, the new year did not bring any magic.  And rising interest rates, plus inflation fueled by the war in Ukraine, hasn't slowed down the juggernaut real estate market yet either!

GOBankingRates, an online lender, spoke to several experts from across the industry and the country who all shared some version of the same prediction: that 2022 — and probably beyond — will keep the ball squarely in the seller’s court.

Many of the same conditions that created last year’s historic seller’s market are still in place — most notably, supply is still way too low to meet ever-rising demand.

“The 2022 housing market is skewed heavily in favor of sellers — and it’s likely to stay that way for most of the year,” said Nik Shah, CEO at Home.LLC. “There just aren’t enough homes for sale in the housing market, and this number is getting lower with every passing day. Inventory of existing homes for sale dropped almost 20% in December. As long as this trend continues, home prices will keep going up, while affordability will continue to worsen."

Right now we have a supply-and-demand issue for the foreseeable future. Pending World War III or something catastrophic that we can’t account for, home prices will continue to rise because of it. The reason being: We have the largest buying force IN HISTORY entering the first-time homebuyer space — the Millennials. The average first-time homebuyer is around 34 years old in this country right now and the average Millennial is around 35 years old — so right there is our demand.

No matter what the economy does, that generational tidal wave will wash over the housing market for the entire decade to come.

“Millennials are entering their early thirties — the prime first-time homebuyer age — in large numbers,” Shah said. “They will continue to exert upward pressure on home prices well into the mid-2020s.

Combine that with 1300 people a day NET inflow into the state of FL, that's 466,000 per year, and another 5,000,000 new permanent residents by 2030, and you tell me where they're going to live.  

The inventory shortage is even more critical if one is looking for a rental.  Rents have spiked up 30% or more in the last year, and it's only getting worse.

Yes, prices are rising and will continue to do so — but that will be good news for you once you’re all moved in.

Most people see the rising prices and now the rising interest rates coming in, and think it’s a bad time to get into the market,  Personally, I don’t believe this is a bad time to get into the market at all.

Why, you may ask? Simple. Areas like Boca keep growing in demand, so waiting — even though it is a seller’s market — only results in increased prices, thus further reducing a consumer’s ability to purchase in the future. If you can purchase, do it.  Do it NOW!  

By waiting 6 months, that $350,000 house could cost you close to $400K, and you'll have a much higher interest rate to boot.  Over a 30 year period, you're talking tens of thousands of dollars in additional interest.  What did that gain you? Not much in my book.

And even if the market cools later this year, or next year, prices aren’t going to drop — they’re just going to rise by less. It will never be cheaper than it is right now. There’s no perfect time to buy or sell property. In the long run, real estate trends upwards, so it’s never good to wait in order to beat the market.