Property sales and prices surges in Miami last month
Residential property sales and prices in Miami, one of the United States most active real estate markets, continued to surge last month due to tight supply. The current situation is generating rapid sales and offers close to asking prices, according to the latest report from the Miami Association of Realtors.
Single family home sales again surged by 27.3% from 964 a year to reach 1,227 in July, the highest monthly number of sales for single family homes in Miami-Dade since the height of the boom in 2005 – condominium sales increased 13.4%. ‘The Miami real estate market continues to thrive as demand for housing intensifies and increasing inventory remains insufficient,’ said Natascha Tello, chairman of the board of the Miami Association of Realtors.
‘Miami is a global city that is not surprisingly attracting worldwide attention on many fronts. Residents, visitors, tourists and business enterprises want to be in Miami and experience all that our unique and vibrant city and market offer. This attention is driving our real estate market and our economy,’ she explained. July’s figures mark 20 consecutive months of appreciation for both single family homes and condominiums in Miami. The median sales price of single family homes spiked 25.7% to $230,000 year on year and remained the same compared to the previous month. The median sales price of condominiums, which has significantly increased in each of the last 25 months, jumped 33.3% to $180,500 compared to a year earlier but declined 2.7% compared to the previous month.
Compared to July 2012, the average sales price for single family homes in Miami-Dade County increased 24.9% to $406,532, while the average sales price for condominiums increased 20.9% to $323,338.
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Miami properties that are priced right are selling very quickly and yielding a very high percentage of the asking price. In July, the median days on the market for single family homes and condominiums were 35 and 45 respectively, reflecting sales at a very rapid pace. The average percent of original list price received was 96.1% for single family homes and 97.1% for condominiums. ‘It’s an exciting time for Miami real estate. Miami has matured into a global, urban city that offers a very attractive lifestyle with endless opportunities for work, leisure, and cultural activities, adding great value to our market,’ said the association’s residential president Fernando Martinez. ‘Buyers and investors realize Miami will continue to generate housing demand and are taking advantage of the local affordability and the potential for profitability,’ he added.
Active listings at the end of July increased 0.8% from 12,547 to 13,583, compared to July 2012. Despite the slight increase in inventory, current active inventory remains insufficient to satisfy intense demand for Miami properties. Inventory of single family homes increased 0.6% while that of condominiums increased 13.5%. At the current sales pace, there is 4.9 months of supply of single family homes and six months of supply of condominiums in Miami-Dade, representing a decrease of 14.2% and an increase of 5.6% respectively compared to year ago levels.
In July some 60% of total closed sales in July were all cash sales compared to 63.5% a year ago. They accounted for 43.3% of single family home and 73.6% condominium sales compared to a year ago. Since nearly 90% of foreign buyers in Florida purchase properties all cash, this reflects the much stronger presence of international buyers in the Miami real estate market.