Florida pending sales surge points to stronger months ahead

New pending sales of single-family homes in Florida jumped 8% year over year in April, a sharp increase that could signal stronger housing activity heading into the summer market, according to Florida Realtors® Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor.

The April gain was more than double the increases seen in February and March, when pending sales growth remained much more modest statewide.

Pending sales measure how many homes went under contract during the month and are widely viewed as a leading indicator for future closed sales because most transactions finalize several weeks later.

“One of the first things you might notice is that new pending sales for single-family homes in Florida were up year over year quite a bit in January, but in February and March, they were up much more modestly,” O’Connor said during Florida Realtors’ April housing market update.

April’s stronger reading may point to more buyers continuing to move forward despite affordability pressures and elevated mortgage rates.

“Here, we see an 8% year over year increase, which is more than double the increases we saw in each of the previous two months,” O’Connor said. “As a result, I think we can be pretty confident that our run of rising closed sales will continue into May, and likely June.”

For Realtors® in Florida, the increase in pending sales could provide an early indication that buyer activity may remain steadier through late spring and early summer than some expected earlier this year.

The stronger pending-sales numbers also build on a market that has already seen eight consecutive months of year-over-year gains in closed single-family home sales statewide. In April, closed sales rose nearly 2.5% from a year earlier.

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