Interest rates chill home sales in Northeast Florida

High interest rates are putting an unusual summetime damper on homes sales in Northeast Florida.

Sales normally rise in June, but both closed sales and pending sales are down this year — a sign that interest rates around 7% are keeping buyers on the sidelines, according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors

Closed sales declined nearly 11% from May to 1,907 in June, and pending sales plummeted 35% to 1,261, the Realtors group said in a news release Thursday.

The median sales price for a single-family home rose 1.3% in June to a record $405,000, but there are more homes on the market than at any time since January 2019, the Realtors said.

“The Northeast Florida real estate market is back to a stabilized level between sellers and buyers,” said association President Rory Dubin.

Despite rising prices, “other factors indicate that the market has stabilized and that interest rates that hover around 7% may be finally catching up with buyers,” the Realtors association said.

There are nearly 90% more homes for sale than last year in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties, the association’s data shows.

Many buyers may be holding off in hopes that interest rates will fall later this year.

A report this week from the U.S. Labor Department showed that the monthly inflation rate dipped in June for the first time in more than four years. Economists speculated the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates in September.

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