Florida spring sales uptick

Florida’s spring housing market picked up in March, with more homes selling and more buyers signing contracts across the state. (floridarealtors.org) Florida Realtors said March closed sales reached 24,497 for existing single-family homes, up 5.9% from a year earlier, and 9,423 for condo-townhouse units, up 12%. First-quarter closed sales totaled 59,174 single-family homes, up 5.3%, and 22,567 condo-townhouse units, up 9%. (floridarealtors.org) Contracts also moved higher before closing. New pending sales rose 3.3% in March for single-family homes and 9.6% for condos and townhouses; for the first quarter, they were up 7.1% and 11.6%, respectively. (prnewswire.com) Prices were steadier than volumes. The statewide median sales price in March was $420,000 for single-family homes, up 1.8% year over year, while condo-townhouse prices were flat at $315,000; first-quarter medians were $415,000 for single-family homes and $310,000 for condos and townhouses. (prnewswire.com) Supply has widened enough to give buyers more room to negotiate. Florida Realtors put March inventory at a 4.8-month supply for single-family homes and a 9.1-month supply for condos and townhouses, while Realtor.com’s Florida active listing count stood at 162,486 in March 2026. (wrenews.com) (fred.stlouisfed.org) Florida Realtors Chief Economist Brad O’Connor said one reason sales looked stronger this year is that mortgage rates were higher in the first quarter of 2025 than in early 2026. He said the national average 30-year fixed rate ran between 6.6% and just above 7% in the year-earlier quarter, versus about 6% to 6.1% for most weeks in January and February 2026. (floridarealtors.org) That rate relief may not last through the whole spring. Realtor.com reported on April 1 that mortgage rates had risen for four straight weeks in March and were 40 basis points above a month earlier, even as inventory and homes going under contract were still increasing. (realtor.com) The seller side of the market looks looser in parts of Florida than the statewide sales rebound suggests. Parcl Labs said 14 of the 20 U.S. markets with the highest seller motivation were in Florida, and its list included the Tampa metro alongside Punta Gorda, North Port, Naples and Cape Coral. (app.parcllabs.com) Parcl Labs builds that index from four listing signals: days on market, number of price cuts, the time between cuts, and the size of those cuts. The firm said severe oversupply in many Florida markets was pushing sellers to search for a clearing price. (app.parcllabs.com) The next read on whether March was a one-month pop or a broader spring turn will come with April data. Florida Realtors said its next statewide report is due May 15. (floridarealtors.org)