Miami leads property recovery in Florida
Property sales in Miami, Florida, ended 2010 on a high with real estate agents more confident with the outlook for 2011 as the latest figures show increasing demand pushing up sales.
The sales of existing single family homes in the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) rose 18% in December, compared to December 2009 and were 70% up on December 2008 according to the MIAMI Association of REALTORS and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (SEFMLS).
Sales of condominiums increased as well, up 29% compared to December 2009 and % compared to December 2008m indicating that a long period of stagnation is ending.
The increase in sales in Miami is much higher than in the state, with condominium and single family house sales in Florida both increasing by 4%. Miami sales are also ahead of national sales that increased by 12.3% in December, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
‘Sales figures for December and for all of 2010 are very encouraging,’ said Jack Levine, 2010 chairman of the Board of the MIAMI Association of REALTORS. ‘Increasing sales denote the demand that exists for local properties and show significant strengthening from where we were two years ago,’ he added.
Total closed sales of condominiums increased 43% from 6,854 in 2009 to 9,778 in 2010. Compared to 2008, condominium sales increased 114% last year. Total single family home sales increased 9% from 6,685 in 2009 to 7,308 in 2010 and 67% compared to 2008.
Short sales and foreclosures continue to have an impact on median and average sales prices for both single-family homes and condominiums especially in some areas of the county.
In the Miami MSA, the year-end median sales price dropped a negligible 3% for single-family homes and 18% for condominiums when comparing 2010 to 2009. State-wide the year end median sales price dropped 4% for single family homes and 15% for condominiums.
The national median existing home price for all housing types went to $168,800 last December, a 1% drop from December 2009.
The median sales price of single family homes in December decreased 15% to $173,600 from a year earlier. The median sales price of condominiums dropped 33% to $99,100. Statewide median sales prices decreased 17% to $88,100 for condominiums and 5% to $133,100 for single family homes.
‘While we have seen the Miami real estate market improve overall, many local areas and neighbourhoods are surging. ‘Sales prices and volume are increasing in various cities throughout Miami-Dade County,’ said 2011 MIAMI Association of REALTORS Residential President Ralph De Martino.