For South Florida homebuyers, bargains do exist — if they know where to look
The number of single-family homes and condos for sale in both Miami-Dade and Broward continued to drop in November while prices continued to rise — an indication that South Florida’s real estate market is in good health and likely will remain so.
In Miami-Dade, inventory decreased by 8% for single-family homes, while the number of condos for sale dwindled by 4.9%, according to the latest findings from the Miami Association of Realtors. The report measured sales in November 2019 as compared to November 2018.
One reason: buyers from the northeast are continuing to scoop up condos, said Danny Hertzberg, a sales associate for The Jills Zeder Group, an affiliate of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. “We started to see in November 2018 people moving for tax purposes. We realized it was not a minimal trend this year. We realized it is a major, long-term trend. Tax flight is here to stay and is driving the luxury market.”
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Total sales of existing condos and single-family homes decreased by 0.6%, from 2,046 in November 2018 to 2,033 sales in November 2019. Driving the decrease was lack of supply in the median-priced market, according to the report.
The supply of single-family homes for sale decreased from 7,091 to 6,526, bringing the months supply of inventory to 6 months, making it a sellers’ market. The median price for a single-family home rose from $355,000 in November 2018 up 2.8% to $365,000.
Condo supply dwindled from 16,162 to 15,369 listings, a 13.2-months supply that indicates a buyers’ market. The median price rose 6.5%, or from $230,000 to $245,000. Median prices have continued to rise over the past eight years but are still below 2008, when the housing bubble caused a financial collapse.
The difference in pricing of houses and condos has pushed some buyers who would prefer single-family homes to opt for condos instead, said Ron Shuffield, president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty.
Existing condo sales increased by 1%, from 1,050 to 1,061 sales. The luxury condo market led the uptick in activity, with a 4.1% increase in sales year-over-year. That was good news in a market that has been saddled with an oversupply of new luxury units.
“If we look at this kick off of the busy season starting with Art Basel, sales activity was much stronger than last year or the year before,” Hertzberg said. “Looking into 2020, it’s going to take time for our market to recover from a lot of inventory ... but I am optimistic given the strong start.”
In the luxury condo market, sellers are reducing prices, leading to a bump in sales activity. Said Shuffield, “that helped drive activity.”
In both condos and single-family homes, most properties sold at more than 90 percent of asking price. The average number of days on market was 96 days for a single-family home and 119 days for condos.
Still, overall single-family home sales decreased by 2.4% year-over-year, or from 996 to 972 sales. Luxury homes — those priced more than $1 million — suffered an 11.9% decrease in sales, due primarily to the strength of the U.S. dollar, which makes homes here more expensive for international buyers, said Shuffield.
“More of the international buyers are attracted to condos rather than single-family homes,” Hertzberg said, “because it’s more of a turnkey experience and they’re buying it as a second home. You also don’t have sales teams traveling to places like Buenos Aires or São Paulo trying to attract buyers. You do have them for condos and new construction apartment buildings.”
The number of homes bought with cash dipped slightly to 35%, down from 36.9% a year ago. That’s still far higher than the national figure of 20%.
BROWARD
In Broward, the supply of single-family homes declined by 11.8%, or from 6,039 to 5,329 listings. With supply at a four-month level for single-family homes and 5.8-month level for existing condos, both are considered sellers’ markets. The number of condos on the market dropped by 3.8%, or from 8,317 to 8,002 active listings.
Total home sales decreased in Broward by 5.3%, from 2,460 to 2,330 sales. Single-family home sales increased by 2.2%, or from 1,149 to 1,174 sales, while Broward existing condo sales decreased by 11.8%, or from 1,311 to 1,156 sales.
Hertzberg said his colleagues in Broward credit the decline to “a misalignment between the buyer and sellers’ expectations” — meaning sellers are asking more than buyers are willing to pay.
In Broward, too, median home prices got a boost. The median price for a single-family home rose 4.2%, from $360,000 to $375,000. The median price for a condo rose 2.4%, from $166,000 to $170,000.
For buyers, Broward condos present a 30 percent discount over Miami-Dade, noted George Jalil, broker president of Real Living First Service Realty ERA Powered. “If you work in Dade and don’t mind the drive, it would make a difference,” he said. “You would pay a lower mortgage.”
In both single-family homes and condos, properties sold for more than 90% of asking price. The number of days on market increased by 3.5%, to 88 days, for single-family homes, and by 9.3%, to 94 days, for condos.
As in Miami-Dade, cash purchases far exceeded the national figures, with 35.3% of transactions in all cash, down from 38.5% in November 2018.
