[Miami, FL] While the Florida housing market as a whole continues to suffer under the weight of foreclosures and sunken property values, there is at least one bright spot: home sales prices. And if home sales prices are the bright spot, Broward County must be the sun.
Reports out of Broward last week show that last month’s single-family home sales prices were up 17% when compared to April 2011. The prices were also up 14% compared to the previous month. Last month’s median sales price was $205,000.
And when it comes to condo prices, those median sales prices for increased even more (17.4%) to $84,300 compared to the same period last year. Condo prices also spiked (14.3%) compared to March. In fact, condominium prices have shown an increase in 15 out of the previous 16 months.
“Home prices in Broward County are experiencing double-digit appreciation much sooner than expected, which is a very positive sign,” said Rick Burch, 2012 president of the Broward County Board of Governors of the Miami Association of Realtors.
“Homes sales also remain at historically strong levels, which reflects the demand that is driving home prices in our area,” he said.
The Broward housing inventory is also on the decline, down 30% from 15,781 to 11,086. That’s a 4% drop from the previous month.
“The remarkable recovery of the Broward housing market benefits our community at large, as real estate is an integral part of the economy,” said Ernesto Vega, president-elect of the Broward County Board of Governors of the Miami Association of Realtors.
He added that, “Unlike other markets throughout the U.S., demand for housing in Broward County should remain strong long into the future due to both U.S. and international buyers who are increasingly attracted to the local area.”
He’s onto something. In April, 83% of condominium closings were cash sales in Broward (40% of single-family homes). The data shows that approximately 90% of international buyers in South Florida purchase properties with cash.
Statewide, the sales price numbers were trending lower, but still showing positive signs. Median sales prices for Florida in April increased 10.2% to $144,350 for single-family homes and 16.1 percent to $108,000 for condominium.
That compares to the national increase of 10.1% increase from April 2011. Yet the U.S.’s total housing inventory rose 9.5% at the end of April. The good news is that the figure is still 20.6% less than it was a year ago.
Home sales prices information in this story comes from the Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis department, 10K Research and Marketing, the Miami-area Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the Miami Association of Realtors.
By: Mark Christopher/Sunshine Slate
Image: Images_of_Money
home sales prices
