April 2024 Boca Raton Area Luxury Market Report from Jean-Luc Andriot and The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

As I am a member of The Institute for Luxury Marketing, I thought I would share with you their April 2024 report for Boca Raton - Delray Beach.

It is your guide to a general analysis on the trends and comparative data on the top-residential markets in the Boca Raton - Delray Beach area.

Statistics are separated between single family homes and condominiums / townhomes in Boca Raton - Delray Beach.

At the national level:

A Stronger but Variable Spring Market

March, often heralded as the commencement of the spring market, not only marks the awakening of nature but also provides insights into the trajectory of the real estate landscape for the ensuing months.

After six months of steadily increasing levels of inventory and sales, March’s statistics also tell a story of continued strength. Positive seller sentiment is reflected in the uptick of new properties entering the market, which in turn, is fueling the opportunity for buyers to fulfill their new home expectations.

In the luxury single-family market, inventory levels grew by 24.1% compared to March 2023, and by 5.8% compared to February 2024. New inventory entering the market also comparatively increased by 18.7% and 9.4%, respectively.

In the luxury attached property, market inventory levels grew by 37.7% compared to March 2023, although fell by 5.1% compared to February 2024. Comparatively, new inventory entering the market increased by 20.8% but fell by 3.8%, respectively.

Although inventory has increased annually for both single-family and attached properties, it still needs to be recognized that active listings remain approximately 40% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Sales, on the other hand, have increased both year-over-year and month-over-month. Sales of luxury single-family homes grew by 7.5% compared to March 2023, but more significantly by 31.1% compared to February 2024.

This higher demand for luxury properties also saw homes close quicker during March, selling nine days faster than in February 2024 for single-family homes and ten days faster for attached properties.

Overall, the market is showing that it has become more favorable to sellers, with the sales ratio for single-family homes at 27.4% and 23.2% for attached properties. This is a change from the last few months, which saw the trend move towards a more balanced market.

Typically, the sales ratio, i.e., how fast the market is moving, is a great way to measure the status (i.e., buyer, seller or balanced markets), as it compares the level of inventory remaining against the number of sold properties for that month.

Market Dynamics: Not All Markets are Equal

March’s trend back to a seller’s market is mostly due to the significant increase in sales that, despite considerable increases in new listings, still saw the overall inventory level remain below the 10-year norm.

However, this is not true at the local level, where significant differences between markets have continued to increase over the last few months. Some markets have become more favorable for buyers, while others remain firmly in control of the sellers, and the remainder are favorable to neither.

For instance, East Bay saw a sales ratio of 138.1%, indicating that there were more sales than new listings entering the market during March. Greater Seattle saw 86.2 out of every 100 homes sell, i.e., an 86.2% sales ratio, and St. Louis saw 82 out of every 100 homes sell during March.

At the other end of the spectrum, Whistler in Canada saw very few sales, with a 1.4% sales ratio for its luxury homes. Fountain Hills in Arizona reported only 4.8 luxury homes sold out of 100 i.e., a 4.8% sales ratio, while South Walton in Florida fared slightly better with a 6.7% sales ratio.

On the balanced side, three Florida markets: Coastal Pinellas, Marco Island, and Broward County all reported sales ratios trending downward into the 12 percentiles, thereby leaning towards a buyer’s market.

Whereas Toronto, Kauai, and Sonoma County in California trended upwards into the 20 percentiles, towards a seller’s market. Equally confusing is that in some markets, home prices continue to increase, while in others, they are on a downward trajectory. Different price bands within the same market also report differing results, and it’s not always the lower-priced properties that are selling the fastest!

Additionally, results can seem to be inconsistent from month to month, especially in smaller luxury markets where the sales volume is traditionally low, and prices cover a very broad range!

So how are buyers and sellers meant to understand whether it’s a good time to buy or sell?

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