Florida real estate: Treasure Coast sales price dip in December, mortgage rates drop

Gianna Montesano, Treasure Coast Newspapers
Updated ·2 min read
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Residential Real Estate Sales on the Treasure Coast

The Treasure Coast residential real estate market in December continued its decline in home sales in Martin and St. Lucie counties, but increased in Indian River County. Across the tri-county area, the median sale prices dipped, compared to November.

The 30-year mortgage rate ranged from 6.61% to 7.03% in December, lower than in November, according to Freddie Mac.

"Now that we're coming down, there's less pressure on prices," said David Serle, president of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors. "Buyers have realized that prices are not going to be dropping significantly. So they're coming back into the market at a lower interest rate because there's less pressure on the prices."

Closed sales

Closed sales declined in Martin and St. Lucie counties, but increased in Indian River County in December compared to November:

  • Martin County: 128, down from 132

  • St. Lucie County: 384, down from 391

  • Indian River County: 181, up from 141

Median sale price

The median sale price dropped in December compared to November, but prices are beginning to stabilize, reaching a 2-3% appreciation rate, according to Serle:

  • Martin County: $560,000, down from $595,000

  • St. Lucie County: $389,995, down from $400,000

  • Indian River County: $380,000, down from $399,000

Active listings

Active listing increased in Martin and St. Lucie, but decreased in Indian River in December compared to November:

  • Martin County: 590, up from 585

  • St. Lucie County: 1,719, up from 1,678

  • Indian River County: 888, down from 900

New listings

New listings declined in December compared to November:

  • Martin County: 153, down from 205

  • St. Lucie County: 491, down from 581

  • Indian River County: 221, down from 250

Months supply of inventory

The months supply of inventory is an estimate of the number of months it will take todeplete the current housing inventory. The benchmark for a balanced supply of inventory is about 5.5 months, according to Florida Realtors.

  • Martin County: 3.6, same as November

  • St. Lucie County: 3.6, up from 3.5

  • Indian River County: 4.2, same as November

Median time to contract

The number of days a house is on the market before a contract is signed decreased in December compared to November:

  • Martin County: 25 days, same as November

  • St. Lucie County: 32 days, up from 27 days

  • Indian River County: 46 days, up from 36 days

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @gonthescene.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida real estate: Treasure Coast market analysis for December 2023