Home values in Florida increased more in 2022 than in any other US state, according to data analyzed by real estate portal Zillow.
The average value of a home in Florida, according to the most recent publicly available data measured in December 2022, was just under US$405,000 - this represents an increase of more than US$56,000 from the US$345,305 in January 2022.
The 17.27% variation in value surpassed all other states in the country.
Vermont was the runner-up, with home values rising about 15.15% over the 12-month period. The average value of a home there was estimated at $386,000.
The state with the highest value homes was Hawaii, where the average value was $902,175 in December 2022 - an increase of 9.63% from $822,924 in January 2022.
At the opposite end of the spectrum was the state of Idaho, where home values have fallen by 0.18%, or $825, since January 2022. The average home value was $459,947 in December.
"The housing market has really been turbulent in recent years, with home prices being affected by inflation, the pandemic and many other factors," said a spokesperson for Santa Monica Realtors. "This study provides a fascinating insight into which parts of America have seen the biggest increases and the smallest."
The housing crisis facing the United States is particularly acute in Florida. Researchers at Florida Atlantic University are studying housing prices across the country and in the Sunshine State. The data from FAU and Florida International University, called the Beracha and Johnson Index, analyzes house prices by comparing their expected prices and list prices.
In December, the FAU reported that five Florida real estate markets were among the most expensive in the country.
"We hear that the U.S. housing market is slow," said Ken H. Johnson, Ph.D., a real estate economist at FAU's College of Business, "but consumers are still buying and selling, and that activity is keeping prices high in many metropolitan areas."
The Beracha and Johnson Index does not consider historical market prices when showing value versus listing price rankings, according to FAU. However, even the researchers behind the index say that prices in Florida are likely to remain higher as other markets decline.
FAU and FIU said in December that Florida markets, such as North Port and Cape Coral, were starting to fall in price for the first time since the peak of their markets, but that Florida prices remained high.
"It's hard to say where prices will go from here in Florida," said Eli Beracha, Ph.D., of FIU's Hollo School of Real Estate. "But it seems more likely that Florida's real estate markets will fare better than most other markets across the country due to the persistent shortage of homes for sale and the pace at which people are moving to the state."
While real estate trends remain in flux, AgentStory, a real estate technology company, has focused on measuring how many real estate agents are actively involved in the market.
Its proprietary year-end data for 2022 showed that fewer agents were active at the end of 2022 than at the end of 2021, a drop of approximately 6.5% in the Tampa area. In addition, AgentStory said that quarter-by-quarter data tells a different story than just looking at year-over-year changes.
While companies like Zillow or Redfin measure the market by list price and mortgage rates, AgentStory bases its analysis on various listing service data. Its data is also made up of averages rather than medians.
"According to the Tampa report, in the fourth quarter of 2022, there were 2,188 active agents and in the fourth quarter of 2021 there were 2,339. So the difference is -6.5%," AgentStory told WFLA.com. "The year-over-year comparison hides the fact that the first half of 2022 was strong and then fell off."
Looking at listings data, AgentStory reported that Tampa-area homes spent twice as much time on the market in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, for 34 days on the market compared to 17 days the year before.
Turning to the housing market more broadly, the reported rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is currently 6.15%, according to Freddie Mac, a federally backed mortgage company. Freddie Mac reports rates every Thursday. The new rate reported on Thursday is the second consecutive week with a drop in the level.
"As inflation continues to moderate, mortgage rates fell again this week," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Rates are at their lowest level since September of last year, boosting buyer demand and builder sentiment. Declining rates are providing a much-needed boost to the housing market, but the supply of homes remains a lingering concern."
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