South Floridas housing market keeps on sizzling.
The median price of a single-family home in Miami-Dade soared 25.7 percent in July to $230,000 from $183,000 a year earlier, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. That was the same as Junes median price of $230,000. Sales of single-family homes in Miami-Dade jumped 27.3 percent to 1,227 closings in July from 964 a year earlier.
Miami-Dade single-family home sales hit their highest level in July since the peak of the boom in 2005. And that robust level of sales came despite a continued tight supply of homes listed.
Miami-Dade single-family home sales were up 4.9 percent over June, when 1,170 closings were logged.
For Miami-Dade condominiums, the median price climbed 33.3 percent in July to $180,000 from $135,000 a year earlier, the Miami Realtors said.
Miami-Dade has chalked up 20 consecutive months of price increases in both single-family homes and condominiums.
A sense of urgency is coming from interest rates going up, said Lisa Dority, a Realtor with RE/MAX Advance Realty II in Miami. Some folks are nervous and dont know how high interest rates will go.
Miami-Dade condo sales rose 13.4 percent in July to 1,538 closings from 1,356 a year earlier, as the inventory of listing increased 13.5 percent to 8,458 units from 7,451 units a year earlier. Miami-Dade had a 6-month supply of condominiums available for sale in July, up from 5.6 months a year earlier and a 5.8 month supply in June.
The median condo price in July was down 3 percent from $185,500 in June, but condo sales volume rose 2.6 percent month to month.
In Broward County, the housing market similarly posted dramatic gains in July. The median price of a single-family home in Broward County jumped 27.9 percent to $275,000 in July from $215,000 a year earlier, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors.
Sales of single-family homes in Broward County rose 12.9 percent to 1,475 closings in July from 1,307 a year earlier, the Realtors group said. Single-family sales rose 8.7 percent in July from June, when 1,356 sales were completed.
The median price of a Broward condo rose 29.2 percent in July to $108,500 from $84,000 a year earlier, Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said. Broward condo sales rose 12.6 percent in July, to 1,525 closings from 1,354 a year earlier and were flat with Junes 1,355 closings.
The inventory of single-family homes available for sale on the Multiple Listing Service fell 10.3 percent in July to 4,297, while condo listings declined 7.1 percent to 5,985, Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said.
Broward had just 3.5 months of supply of single-family homes listed for sale in July, meaning 3.5 times the volume of transactions closed that month, down from 4.3 months of supply a year earlier. Broward had 4.3 months of supply of condominiums in July, compared with 4.8 months of supply last year.
That signals a very tight market, in which sellers can call the shots. Market watchers consider six months of inventory to be a balanced market between buyers and sellers. When inventory is less than that, prices typically rise a fast clip.
The declining amount of inventory of single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses available for sale in Broward County, coupled with existing homeowners receiving a larger percentage of their asking price and the dramatically fewer days on market compared to last year continues to put upward pressure on prices, Charles Bonfiglio, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors, said in a statement. This means that we are still in a healthy, growth market where sellers are continuing to receive at or near their asking prices.