Miami luxury market diverges as condo resales fall

Miami’s luxury residential resale market diverged in the first quarter of the year as single-family home sales increased from last year’s first quarter and sales of existing condos dropped.

The Miami Association of Realtors, classifying luxury sales as those above $1 million, reported that the number of luxury single-family home sales increased 2.3 percent in the first quarter, compared to last year’s first quarter, while luxury condo resales dropped 3.6 percent.

New condo construction cut into sales of existing condos, but resale prices appear buoyant. The Miami Association of Realtors reported that the median condo resale price was $1.7 million in the first quarter, up 13 percent from $1.5 million in the same period last year.

Andres Asion, a Fortune International Group broker, said economic weakness in Latin America and the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies have restrained resales in the luxury residential market.

The Miami Realtors group reported that luxury condos stayed on the resale market an average of 103 days in the first quarter and single-family homes an average of 94 days.

Ron Shuffield, president and CEO of EWM Realty International, said an increased number of single-family homes listed for sale in the luxury residential market held down prices.

The average resale price of a luxury single-family home was $1.7 million in the first quarter, up from $1.6 million in the same period last year.

The number of resale listings for luxury single-family homes rose 22.7 percent in the first quarter, compared to the same period last year, while the number of condos on the resale market increased 8.1 percent. [Miami Herald] – Mike Seemuth