The Hot Sheets: May Inventory Momentum and Buyer Positioning

The Hot Sheets: May Inventory Momentum and Buyer Positioning (May 5, 2026)

The Northwest Florida vacation and second-home market continues to show stronger-than-expected unit volume despite broader economic uncertainty. In this episode of The Hot Sheets, Richard Jabbour breaks down May pending sales activity, absorption trends, and why current market behavior increasingly resembles a return to normalized conditions rather than a downturn.
This episode covers:

March closed sales reaching 103 homes versus 66 the prior year
April unit volume increasing to 84 sales compared to 76 last year
May pending transactions already approaching 90 homes under contract
Median pricing stabilizing between approximately $1.8M and $2.3M
Why 7–8 months of inventory does not materially shift leverage toward buyers or sellers
How current absorption trends compare to pre-2020 “normal” market conditions


Who this episode is for:
Second-home buyers evaluating timing
Sellers trying to understand current leverage
Investors watching Gulf Coast inventory trends
Buyers waiting for a major pricing correction
Anyone tracking normalized market behavior post-2020


Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and delayed Hot Sheets update
00:40 Personal update and return to market reporting
01:08 March and April sales volume review
02:02 May pending sales and market momentum
03:03 Why current demand matters despite macro headlines
03:24 Early June pending sales outlook
03:52 Absorption rate and months of inventory explained
04:25 “Buy your straw hats in the winter” market perspective
04:48 Long-term buyer hindsight commentary

#30ARealEstate
#LuxurySecondHomes
#MarketPsychology
#RealEstateTiming
#SecondHomeInvestment
#GulfCoastRealEstate