Home Sales Up, Prices Down in South Florida

Realtors: August home sales up, prices down in South Florida
Reprinted from The Miami Herald
BY Matthew Haggmann

South Florida home sales jumped in August amid signs that lower prices are drawing buyers back into the region's long-struggling housing market.

Sales of existing single-family homes in Miami-Dade County increased 22 percent and Broward County sales increased 12 percent compared to the same period a year ago, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Florida Association of Realtors.

Condominium sales were up 13 percent in Miami-Dade, while condo activity in Broward for the month was even compared to August 2007.

A big reason for increased sales appears to be healthy price drops. Prices were at least 20 percent lower in August than a year ago for single-family homes and condos in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

The median price for a Miami-Dade single-family home was $276,000 in August, amounting to a 30 percent drop from last year. For Broward single-family homes, the median price was $269,800, down 27 percent.

The median condo price in Miami-Dade was $210,400; it was $133,300 in Broward.

The outsized inventory of residences for sale also declined in August. Market watchers say the number of homes on the market must shrink significantly -- creating a better balance between buyers and sellers -- before prices start rising again.

The South Florida results were in contrast to the rest of the country.

Nationally, sales of existing U.S. homes fell by 2.2 percent in August, though the number of unsold homes on the market also dropped sharply from the previous month's record high.

The National Association of Realtors said sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million units, from an upwardly revised pace of 5.02 million in July. Sales had been expected to fall by 1.6 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR.

The median price of an existing home dropped to $203,100 from $224,400 a year ago. For single-family houses, the median price dropped 9.7 percent, the biggest decline since records began in 1968.

Resales account for about 90 percent of the market, while purchases of new homes make up the rest. Sales of existing homes are compiled from contract closings and may reflect contracts signed one or two months earlier.

There were 4.2 million unsold homes on the market, a 7 percent drop from the record set in July. It was the steepest drop in inventory since December 2006.

Reprinted from the Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/business/real-estate/story/699288.html