Dear Neighbor,
As ever, the questions I am hearing from the both optimists and pessimists in Royal Palm are focused on asking prices, selling prices and (especially!) inventory. As inventory levels are increasing – we have been hovering around 75 active listings with spikes into the low 80’s multiple times over the past six months – the topic of inventory is on the minds of many residents.
For the pessimist, higher inventory levels can mean only one thing – “The end is nigh!” and that we are headed for some level of “market correction” – AKA falling prices. Inventory levels are an important and useful metric. However, no single data point can be analyzed independently with any meaningful insight gleaned.
Inventory levels are indeed higher this year than the same timeframe last year – and so are sales. September and October 2018 saw lower sales volume than September and October of 2017, but that has been reversed for the entire period November 2018 through February 2019. Year over year sales volume is up; likewise inventory levels are up.
The other speculation I have heard about this inventory level of homes in Royal Palm is that there is a mass exodus afoot. In every geographically defined area there is a metric called “turnover rate” which sheds light on many things about the local market. Based on national averages, there is no cause for concern about the turnover rate in Royal Palm.
