Miami’s existing condos take sales hit in February, prices rise across board: report

An aerial view of Miami's Brickell neighborhood (Credit: creative commons user Towpilot)
An aerial view of Miami's Brickell neighborhood (Credit: creative commons user Towpilot)

Sales for Miami-Dade County’s slew of newly listed existing condos continued to fall in February, a newly released report shows, all while prices for residential real estate steadily climb across the board.

The county saw 1,063 closed sales for condos during February, a 10.4 percent decline year-over-year, according to the report from the Miami Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, the median price for a unit grew 9.5 percent to $206,950.

Even sales for single-family homes, which have typically fared better than the slowing condo market, held practically even compared to February 2015. There were 979 home sales last month, decreasing only by three transactions year-over-year.

Median prices for single-family homes also spiked by 10.3 percent to $270,221, according to the report.

Miami-Dade’s residential market has been a mixed bag these past few months. Single-family home sales have remained strong despite high prices pulling more inventory into the market, all while the floodgates opened up for existing condos in terms of supply.

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Listings for existing condos hit a whopping 13,853 units during February, up 16 percent from the previous year. Single-family homes also had a 4.7 percent bump in supply with 6,557 houses up for sale last month.

Even though a county-wide perspective shows the residential market is cooling, sales for certain price points are actually picking up speed.

In the $200,000 to $600,000 bracket for single-family homes, sales jumped 18.5 percent to 583 last month, representing about half of all February’s home sales.

And for condos priced between $150,000 and $300,000, sales grew a sizable 8.6 percent to 403 units, or about 38 percent of all multifamily sales last month.

Miami-Dade’s residential market is still finding its footing amidst turbulent economic times. A strong U.S. dollar is discouraging foreign investors, long considered a major buyer pool for Miami, and shifting stock markets are causing some wealthy domestic buyers to hold off.