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Podcast Transcript: Beyond The Open House – DeLand Housing Market Early 2025
All right, let’s jump in.
We’re talking about the DeLand housing market early 2025. You see the signs, maybe you go to an open house, but uh, what’s really going on behind the scenes exactly? There’s often more to it than just the listing.
So, today we’ve got some data. We’re looking at a market analysis from the first quarter of 2025 for DeLand plus a homeowner sentiment report from late April to late May.
And we’re also bringing in perspective from Kelly Niles, who’s a realtor based right there in DeLeon Springs, works all over the area, DeLand included. Knows the market inside out, right?
The idea here is to sort of piece this all together for you — get a clearer picture of the actual market dynamics right now. Forget just the headlines.
Welcome to Beyond The Open House.
Q1 2025 Pricing Trends
What did we see? What stood out?
Well, the average sale price landed just over $372,000. Median was a bit lower, around $356,000.
Okay.
But what’s really interesting is where most of the action was. The bulk of homes sold between, say, $305,000 and $418,000. Kind of a solid middle ground.
Hm. Suggests some stability there.
I think so. It wasn’t all over the place. And homes weren’t sitting forever either. Median days to contract was 54 days. So — steady buyer interest, you know.
And what about sellers getting their asking price? How close were they?
Pretty close, actually. The analysis showed the average sale price was about 97.1% of the list price.
That’s pretty strong.
It is. It suggests realistic pricing from the get-go. Kelly Niles, the realtor from DeLeon Springs we mentioned, points out this kind of stability early on was likely good for both buyers and sellers.
Right. Fewer crazy bidding wars maybe, but sellers still felt they could get a fair price if they listed it right.
Exactly. Assuming that initial price was grounded in reality.
Homes That Didn’t Sell
Okay. But not every house sold. What happened there?
Good point. So, out of about 449 listings looked at, 311 sold, but 108 were cancelled and another 30 expired. That’s quite a chunk.
Yeah, it is. Was there a pattern?
Definitely a pattern, especially with price. Homes listed between $250,000 and $450,000 had a much, much higher success rate.
Okay. So, that confirms that middle market strength, right? But if you were trying to sell something under $250K or maybe something over $600K, it was tougher. What were the hurdles there?
Well, at the lower end, under $250K, Kelly suggests you might be looking at condition issues more often or maybe buyers struggling with financing. Sometimes just not much available that meets expectations at that price point.
Makes sense. And the high end, over $600K?
Overpricing seemed to be a big factor there — just asking too much compared to what the market was willing to pay at that time.
And did location matter within DeLand?
Oh absolutely. The data hinted that the established subdivisions — think Victoria Park, Saddlebrook — had fewer listings fail, fewer cancellations, fewer expireds, compared to maybe areas further out or places known for having more investor-owned properties. It suggests buyers really value that stability of a known neighborhood.
Pricing Strategy
Which brings us back to pricing, doesn’t it? Getting it right seems critical.
It really does. I mean, the numbers are stark. Sold homes got around 97% of list price, but those expired or canceled ones — often their initial list price was 10%, sometimes even 25% higher per square foot than similar homes that actually sold.
Wow. That’s a big gap to start with.
Huge. And it has consequence.
Like sitting on the market longer.
Exactly. Those overpriced homes, they just lingered. We’re talking 90 days, 140 days, sometimes more. The average for sold homes was 74 days.
And buyers notice that. They start wondering what’s wrong.
Precisely. Even if the only thing wrong was the initial price. Kelly Niles is really clear on this with her clients in DeLeon Springs and around DeLand. Price it right from day one. Don’t just test the market way up high — it usually backfires.
What Buyers Wanted in Q1
Okay, so we know the price range that worked best. What about the houses themselves? What features were buyers looking for in Q1?
Yeah, the sweet spot seemed to be 3 or 4 bedrooms, maybe 1,500 to 2,200 sq. ft. Price-wise, that landed mostly between $325K and $425K.
And specific areas again?
Yep. Places like Victoria Park, Saddlebrook, Crystal Cove often saw quicker sales within that category.
And features — pools were a big plus. Updated kitchens definitely. Basically homes that were move-in ready.
Makes sense. People want turnkey if they can get it. What kinds of properties struggled a bit more?
The really large homes — say over 3,000 sq. ft., especially if they were priced over $600K — those tended to sit longer. Also, older homes needing significant updates — unrenovated ones.
Right. And anything with what’s called functional obsolescence — you know, weird layouts, maybe not enough bathrooms for the house size, things that are hard to change.
Kelly’s Advice
So, Kelly Niles’s advice then — if you’re buying in that sweet spot…
Be ready for competition, probably, yeah.
And if you’re selling something outside that main category, you need a smart strategy. Highlight unique features and be really realistic — maybe even aggressive — on price compared to the competition.
Homeowner Sentiment Report: Late April–May
Okay, let’s shift gears a bit. That was Q1. Fast forward to late April into May. We have this homeowner sentiment report. Sounds like the mood changed.
It definitely seems like it shifted. Yeah. The overall feeling became more cautious. Some homeowners were even leaning negative.
Why the change?
A few things seem to be driving it. Financial pressures were a big one. People talked about rising insurance costs, property taxes going up. Job security worries for some, too.
And there was this growing awareness that the market wasn’t quite the red-hot seller’s market it had been. It felt like it was moving towards neutral. Maybe.
So that Q1 stability we talked about — maybe that was the peak before things started to feel a bit different for sellers.
It could be. The sentiment report mentioned actual anxiety tied to seeing more homes listed for sale. Inventory was up — 758 homes listed in DeLand in April.
Wow. More choice for buyers.
Right. And homes were taking longer to sell. Average days on market jumped to 71 days. That’s up like 53% compared to the year before.
And crucially — were sellers still getting close to asking price?
Less so, it seems. During that April–May period covered by the sentiment report, 58% of homes actually sold below the asking price. That definitely suggests sellers were feeling more pressure.
The Local View
So Kelly Niles, being on the ground in DeLeon Springs and DeLand, must have felt this shift directly. How did that change the advice she was giving?
Yeah, she definitely would have. She’d likely be advising sellers then to be even more careful with pricing, maybe build in a bit more time for marketing, be prepared for negotiation.
And for buyers, maybe a bit more breathing room?
Potentially, yes. More inventory, less frenzy perhaps, but still needing to be aware of those broader economic factors like interest rates and affordability.
The big themes coming through were affordability concerns, that inventory surge, demand maybe softening a bit, and just general economic uncertainty kind of hanging in the air.
Wrapping It Up
Okay, so let’s connect the dots.
We have the Q1 data showing relative stability, especially mid-market.
Then later, this homeowner sentiment turning more cautious — pointing to rising inventory and more price reductions.
Did that sentiment actually change market behavior?
It really looks like it did. The sentiment wasn’t just feelings. It seems to translate into action.
While Q1 saw sellers getting close to list price on average, the later period reflected in the sentiment report saw more homes selling below asking.
So homeowners were adjusting expectations.
It appears so. That increased caution — maybe seeing more “for sale” signs pop up — likely made sellers more willing to negotiate or price more competitively to actually get the sale done in a market that was clearly shifting.
More options for buyers mean sellers have to adapt.
#beyondtheopenhouse
Okay, so wrapping this up for Beyond The Open House, what’s the main takeaway for understanding DeLand’s market in early 2025?
It looks like we started with relative calm, especially for those mid-priced updated homes in good neighborhoods.
Right — that $325K to $425K range. Move-in ready stuff.
But then as we moved into spring, things shifted. A more neutral market feeling started to emerge.
Homeowner confidence dipped a bit — driven by costs, seeing more inventory.
Yeah. And that translated into longer selling times and more homes selling below ask.
And the constant overpricing was clear — really a bad strategy throughout.
Definitely. So if you’re involved in the DeLand market, thinking of buying or selling, these trends really matter. It’s not just about the Zillow estimate, is it?
Not at all. Understanding these underlying currents, where the sweet spots are, how pricing impacts success, how sentiment is evolving — that’s key.
It really shows you need to look well Beyond The Open House.
And if you need specific advice tailored to your situation in DeLand or maybe DeLeon Springs or other nearby towns, reaching out to a local expert like Kelly Niles seems like a really smart move.
Absolutely. Her perspective being right there is invaluable.
Well, thanks for exploring this with us today. Hopefully, this gives you a much clearer view of what’s been shaping the DeLand real estate scene.
#beyondtheopenhouse