Charlotte County real estate market reaches balance in September

The Charlotte County residential real estate market stabilized as inventory increased in September after a period of climbing prices that peaked in 2022, Realtors of Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port-DeSoto Inc. President Danny Nix said.  

Sales for single-family homes, condos and townhomes were higher in September than August. Realtor Della Booth of Time Realty Services said the year-over-year increase in sales in September was due to Hurricane Ian’s impacts at the end of September 2022. 

Nix previously said as homeowners settle with insurance companies and repairs are made, more homes are hitting the market. Meanwhile, Booth said her firm has noticed 300 price decreases on homes every seven days for Charlotte County and North Port. 

Depending on the neighborhood, some sellers are receiving at or near to their asking price. 

“The new listing increases range from up 84% to over 104% depending on the zip code,” Booth said. “Remember last year, we had no inventory, and we have not had this much inventory in several years.” 

Florida Realtors, from which Nix’s association culls its data, shows the median price for single-family homes in Charlotte County, which includes Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, was $364,900 in September, down from $371,500 in August and down 1.4% from September 2022. 

There were 443 closed sales with 163 buyers, representing 36.8% of the sales, paying in cash. 

The median percentage of the original list price received in September was 96.1%, down from August’s 96.5% and down 0.6% from September 2022. 

There were 627 new listings on the market in September, a 25.9% increase from the same time a year earlier. It took longer for homes to sell in September from the previous month and year. The median time to contract was 44 days, up 120% from a year earlier, and the median time to sale was 97 days, up 54% from September 2022. 

There were 2,157 single-family homes in inventory, a 60.3% increase from September 2022, and inventory in September stood at a 5.9-month supply.  

The trend for townhomes and condos was similar, except for the median sale price increasing in September ($297,332) when compared to August ($240,000). Prices in September were down 3.8% from the previous year. 

Of the 80 condos and townhomes sold in September, 62.5% of the buyers paid in cash, which was up 5.4% from September 2022. Sellers received 95.2% of their original list price, reflecting a 2.3% decrease from the previous year. 

The median time to contract in September was 41 days when compared to 46 days in August. But last year time to contract was 26 days. 

The median time to sale in September was up 37.1% from the previous year. It took 85 days to sell a condo or townhome versus 90 days in August. In September 2022 the median time to sale took 62 days. 

As with single-family homes, the months supply of inventory increased, but for townhomes and condos, there was a 6.4-month supply.