Home prices still rising steadily in South Florida during August

Aerial view of Lantana in Palm Beach County
Aerial view of Lantana in Palm Beach County

South Florida’s housing market has slowed considerably in the past year, but that hasn’t stopped the cost of housing from continuing its steady climb, according to a newly released report.

According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, which tracks the cost of housing in major metropolitan areas throughout the U.S., the price of buying a home in South Florida rose 7.1 percent in August compared to the same month last year.

That means South Florida ranked sixth for the fastest rate of appreciation in the country, behind the hip city of Portland (11.7 percent), Seattle (11.4 percent), Denver (8.8 percent), Dallas (8.1 percent) and Tampa (7.6 percent).

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As real estate analyst Jonathan Miller recently told The Real Deal, strong demand from the middle- and entry-level homes is driving price growth, while the luxury sector experiences most of the housing market’s softness.

Even so, the number of homes trading in the region has fallen considerably compared to last year and 2014, causing prices to fall in certain sections of luxury-heavy markets like Miami Beach and downtown Miami. — Sean Stewart-Muniz