Buying a Florida Gulf Coast Home? Search all Homes for Sale Selling a Florida Gulf Coast Home? Click here for a Home Value Report The market has improved for the first quarter of 2016, but it hasn’t gotten quite back to where we’re used to. Let’s start by taking a look at what’s happening with home prices.  Back in November of 2014, we bottomed out with a 4.3% appreciation. Ever since then, we’ve been inching up to where we are currently, which is a 5.7% increase over the first quarter of 2015.  According to the latest home price forecast, Florida is going to experience a 9% rise in home values over the next year, which is great news for homeowners.  As for mortgage rate predictions, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, MBA, and NAR are expecting rates to rise from about 3.85% to around 4.28% by the first quarter in 2017. So, while you can expect to see rates remain low for now, there’s no telling how much they might rise later on down the road. If we take a look at our local market, you’ll notice that the number of sales dropped in the first quarter of 2016. While this might seem alarming to some, it actually means that our market may be getting back to normal. Take the appreciation of our local market, for example. Despite a slight drop in sales, the average sales price is on the rise here on the Gulf Coast, which is always a good sign for the market!  If you have any questions about market conditions in your part of town, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!