PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — As potential homebuyers navigate the current housing market, a recent nationwide analysis found pending home sales went down in October.
It can feel almost like another job to find and buy a new home. Nicholas Cimino can relate.
"Literally nearly every day. I'm on all the platforms," said Cimino. "I'm constantly searching."
He's been looking for a new home in the Tampa Bay Area for about the past eight months.
"A lot of people have come to Florida, Tampa Bay in general. The options are rather more selective," said Cimino. "Let alone homes now have all increased in price, interest rates have gone up, so trying to find a home within where I'd like to be, it's just not out there right now from what I've seen."
It may feel familiar to people across the country.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the Pending Home Sales Index, which they say is a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings, dropped 1.5 percent to 71.4 in October, saying it's the lowest number since the index originated in 2001.
"You have this pent-up demand with all these people that rent that really would like to buy. There's low inventory, higher prices, and higher interest rates and other things like inflation impacting all of those things," said Ken Jones, a realtor with the Just Florida Homes team at EXP Realty.
Jones thinks pending home sales are down for a number of reasons.
"There's a hesitancy within the current market, and the reason for it is there's a rise in interest rates, so their payments are higher. The amount of money out of pocket because of the higher prices of the homes is more significant, and a lot of buyers have had to change the product that they're looking for and the price range that they're looking within because their buying power has changed," said Jones.
Jay Quigley, the president of Greater Tampa Realtors, said in the market today that they're seeing homes that aren't perfect and sitting on the market longer.
"Buyers who are a little hesitant to jump in, mainly due to interest rates, couple other things that are affecting it is not just interest rates," said Quigley. "But where do we live? We live in Florida. The entire state is in a flood zone. We have a homeowner's insurance crisis here."
The different factors make for an interesting housing market, with potential buyers like Cimino holding out hope they'll be in the perfect home soon.
"2024, let's see how the market trend goes, but you just got to stay at it," said Cimino.