Single-family home sales on the rise: report

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Residential sales are up, according to a report released today by the Miami Association of Realtors.

Single-family home sales increased the most year-over-year in February — by 14.2 percent.

Existing condo sales rose 1.4 percent, bringing the combined increase in residential sales to 2,174 in February, compared to 2,036 sales during the same period in 2014.

“Seller confidence and buyer demand in the Miami real estate market is leading to more active listings and higher sale prices,” Christopher Zoller, residential president of the Miami Association of Realtors, said in a statement.

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The percentage of cash sales increased from January to February but decreased year-over-year in February, according to the report. In Miami-Dade, 58.8 percent of closed sales in February were all-cash, compared to 57.2 percent in January and 62.5 percent in February of last year. The Miami Association of Realtors cited the lack of Federal Housing Administration loans for condo buildings as the reason for the year-over-year decrease.

Despite that, the percentage of all-cash sales in Miami is more than double the national average. Short sales continued to decline, with distressed sales representing 35 percent of all residential sales in South Florida in February, compared to 36 percent in February 2014.

The number of active listings also increased by 9 percent year-over-year, according to the report. There is currently a five-and-a-half-month supply of single-family homes and a nearly nine-month supply of condo inventory, up from seven-and-a-half months in February 2014. A balanced market is in the six- to nine-month supply of inventory.