South Florida home sellers are increasingly pulling their houses off the market — frustrated that they’re not finding buyers at their preferred price.
And the tricounty region — encompassing Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — has led this summer in the rate of homes that were delisted as properties sat on the market longer, a recent report shows.
In June, the Miami metropolitan area had the biggest ratio of homes, 59, that were taken off the market per every 100 homes being added, according to a Realtor.com analysis from July that studied the largest metropolitan areas in the country.
The June data was reported a month later “to allow time to determine whether a delisted home was actually sold or truly taken off the market by the seller,” according to the report.
The results of the analysis reflect real estate trends around the U.S. as there are more listings and homeowners not finding buyers who can match their asking prices, the report shows.
Increased inventory
There were over a million active listings last month, marking a new record since the pandemic.
Real estate experts have said the increased supply is a result of fewer people moving to Florida after the pandemic, homebuyers being priced out of the market and people selling their second or third homes because of rising costs.
Because of the growing supply, some homes are taking longer to sell.
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In South Florida, homes sat on the market last month for about 16 extra days than when they typically sell, the report shows.
Some South Florida homeowners’ choice to delist “points to sellers anchored to peak-era price expectations and willing to wait rather than negotiate,” Danielle Hale, a Realtor.com chief economist, was quoted saying in a recent Realtor.com news article.
Still, the median listing prices in South Florida showed one of the largest declines from metropolitan areas studied, with prices falling from $535,000 in July 2024 to $509,950 last month.
Why delist?
Homeowners may delist if they aren’t immediately needing the money or to be rid of the home, said Mike Pappas, CEO of the real estate firm The Keyes Company.
“The reason they’re pulling their houses is they’ve got a lot of equity,” he said, “and there’s no need to sell necessarily.”
Meanwhile, some homeowners who are facing life issues such as divorce, retirement or needing to upsize or downsize their homes might choose to have the property sit longer on the market.
Pappas said it was more common for South Florida sellers to delist earlier in the year and that current, unreported data could show properties being sold more quickly.
Delisting, however, could lead to a more balanced market, he added.
“That’s actually what supports the pricing better,” he said, “because sellers say, ‘I won’t sell for a lower price,’ and it actually props up the price for the rest of them. We’re right at that balancing act on who’s going to win between the sellers or the buyers.”
