Record demand for Miami properties
Following a record sales year, residential property prices in Miami posted strong gains in January, the latest figures from the Miami Association of Realtors show.
The median sales price of condominiums in the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) increased 36% to $122,500 in January compared to a year earlier. While the median sales price of single family homes jumped 13% to $170,000.
‘Record demand for Miami properties has caused inventory to rapidly decline, resulting in limited supply,’ said Martha Pomares, 2012 chairman of the board of the Miami Association of Realtors.
‘Now home prices in Miami are significantly rising and sooner than expected, as the Miami real estate market continues to outperform the rest of the nation, mostly due to the strong impact of international buyers,’ she added.
Statewide median sales prices in January increased 18.8% to $95,000 for condominiums and 5.3% to $129,000 for single family homes. The national median existing home price for all housing types was $154,700 in January, a 2% drop from January 2010.
In January, the average sales price for single family homes in Miami-Dade County increased 40.4% from $238,527 in 2011 to $334,952 in 2012. The average sales prices for condominiums jumped 45.2% from $171,077 to $248,443.
The sales of existing single family homes in the Miami MSA fell 3% in January from 676 to 659, compared to January 2011. Sales of condominiums dropped 16% from 1,262 to 1,058, compared to January 2011.
Statewide sales of existing single family homes totalled 12,044 in January 2012, down 5.5% compared to a year ago. Nationally, sales of existing single family homes, town homes, condominiums, and co-ops rose 4.3% from December and were 0.7% higher than they were in January 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors.
‘Never before in history had we sold as many homes in Miami as we did last year. As supply is absorbed, there are fewer properties available to sell, and it will be difficult to match the record set last year. But the good news is that home values are rapidly appreciating, as global buyers, investors and corporations focus on Miami,’ said Patricia Delinois, president of the Miami Association of Realtors.
In Miami-Dade County 66% of total closed sales in January were all cash sales, compared to 63% in December and 66 percent a year earlier. Cash sales accounted for 43% of single family and 79% of condominium closings.
Nearly 90% of international buyers in Florida purchase properties for cash. Nationally, all cash sales were unchanged at 31% in January, reflecting the stronger presence of international buyers in the Miami real estate market.