Sales of single-family homes rose 67.9 percent in Palm Beach County in April compared to the same period in 2011, the Palm Beach Post reported. There were a total of 2,186 pending home sales last month, up from 1,302 in April 2011. Sales of townhouses and condominiums jumped a similarly-high 39.2 percent. “Since January, we’ve seen an upturn in activity, with the market going from stagnant to full-out go,” said Douglas Rill, president and broker at West Palm Beach’s Century 21 America’s Choice. “If people wanted to buy at the bottom, the party’s over.” [Palm Beach Post]

One indication that home sellers are regianing the upper hand in some of South Florida’s housing markets comes from the proliferation of deals with a clause allowing the seller to stay in the home after the transaction has closed. According to the Sun Sentinel, those types of deals are increasing throughout South Florida and now comprise up to 20 percent of all sales. [more]

Existing home and condominium sales rose in March statewide and in 17 individual Florida cities, according to data released today by Florida Realtors. Condo sales rose 24 percent, compared to March 2010, while single-family home sales rose 12 percent during the same period. Meanwhile, median prices continued their decline as distressed homes remained a major force fueling sales activity. For single-family homes, the median sales price was $126,300 in March, down 7 percent from $136,000 last year. For condos, the median sales price was $84,300, down 11 percent from $94,800 last year. TRD

Defying the seasonal trend, sales rose by 13.2 percent in December, compared to November, in a survey of 54 metropolitan areas, according to the RE/MAX National Housing report released today. Home sales dropped 5 percent from December 2009, but that was the lowest year-over-year drop the survey has seen in five months. While some industry analysts predict a serious decline in home prices this year, the report showed that home prices dropped by only 2.2 percent from December 2009. The inventory of homes for sale continued a downward trend, falling 8.8 percent from November and 2.9 percent from December 2009. “It’s nice to see that sales were much higher than in November, with a year-over-year difference better than we’ve seen in months, and it’s encouraging that prices appear to be remaining stable,” said Margaret Kelly, RE/MAX CEO. “These positive trends should build as we enter the traditionally strong home buying months in the spring and summer.” TRD

The U.S. housing market will rebound in 2012, according to Douglas Yearley, CEO of Toll Brothers, the largest builder of luxury homes in the country. “The recovery is here to stay,” Yearley told Bloomberg News. “I think 2011 will be an improving year, but I think 2012 will be a big year for us.” The housing market will avoid a double-dip after reaching a bottom last year, Yearley added. According to the National Association of Realtors, pending sales of U.S. homes unexpectedly rose 10 percent in October from a month earlier. Yearly also noted that Toll Brothers is seeing more “quality” visitors at its sales offices, a sign that buyers are more serious about making purchases. “The number of visitors isn’t up,” he said. “But the quality of that visitor — the questions they’re asking, their level of interest in a new home — is.” [Bloomberg]

Home sales in Palm Beach showed improvement during the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2009, according to the Evans Report, compiled by market analyst and Palm Beach property owner Leslie Evans. The town saw 60 single-family home sales during the first six months of 2010, compared to 38 homes sold during the first half of 2009. Median home sales also climbed to $2.9 million from $2.5 million a year earlier, although the report noted that a handful of extraordinarily large sales — including a $20.5 million closing — may have skewed the data. Condo sales also improved — Palm Beach saw 152 units sell during the first quarter of the year, compared to the first quarter of 2009, which saw just 114 units sell. “The market is not robust but… to see prices and sales go up is encouraging,” Evans said. [Palm Beach Post]

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The upward trend in home prices solidified in the second quarter of 2010 with more metropolitan areas showing increases from a year ago, aided by a rise in home sales driven by the homebuyer tax credit, according to a survey released today by the National Association of Realtors. In the second quarter, 100 out of 155 metropolitan areas — including New York City, Miami and Fort Lauderdale — had higher median existing single-family home prices compared to the second quarter of 2009. Total existing-home sales, including single-family and condo, rose 9.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million in the second quarter from 5.14 million in the first quarter.

“All year we’ve been seeing relatively flat national home prices,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. He noted that many recorded home prices were significantly depressed last year because of distressed homes sold at discount. “Now, as more normal, non-distressed home sales are occurring, the median price in many areas is showing higher values,” Yun added. “Prices in some areas remain below replacement construction costs, so even with an elevated supply of existing homes on the market we don’t expect any consequential movement in home prices for the foreseeable future.” TRD

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In the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas, the median price
for a single-family existing home was $215,200 in June 2010, a 3.4 percent decrease from
June 2009′s $222,800, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing home sales in the region, however, saw a 7.8
percent year-over-year increase. With the scheduled closing deadline for the first-time homebuyer tax credit looming, existing home sales nationwide slowed in June but remained at relatively elevated levels. Existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums and co-ops, fell 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.37 million units in June, from 5.66 million in May. But the June figure marks a 9.8 percent year-over-year increase from June 2009′s 4.89 million units.  Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said the
market was showing “uncharacteristic yet understandable swings as buyers
responded to the tax credits.” TRD

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Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties staged a substantial comeback in March, according to a report just released by the real estate research group MDA DataQuick, with total home sales reaching 8,658 for the month, up 43.3 percent from February. Although sales tend to spike during that time of year, according to DataQuick, the uptick is significantly higher than what is typically seen across the three counties. This could be due in part to the first-time homebuyer tax credit, according to the report, which may have spurred some buyers into action before the deadline last Friday. [HousingWire]