Home resales set records in Broward, Palm Beach

The latest monthly market survey by the Realtors found that the number of Broward sales was 21 percent higher than in June 2014, and the number rose 16 percent in Palm Beach.

The June survey also showed that the median sale price of a single-family home was $302,750 in Broward County, up 8 percent from a year earlier and the highest since 2008. The median price of $305,000 in Palm Beach County was up 3 percent in June, year over year.

The Realtors survey also showed year-over-year growth in the number of June sales of condos, which increased 5 percent in Broward and surged 22 percent in Palm Beach. The median condo sale price in June rose to $135,000 in Broward, up 4 percent from June 2014, and $149,450 in Palm Beach County, up 8 percent.

A seasonal summer sales increase, greater consumer confidence and easier access to mortgage financing were key factors in the June survey results, the Realtor groups said.

Real estate agent Michael Citron, who focuses on Broward and Palm Beach County, said the majority of his clients seek homes in the $200,000 to $400,000 price range. “Homes in good-school-district areas are flying like the wind,” he said.

The National Association of Realtors reported that home sales nationwide in June increased at the fastest pace in eight years.

The association’s chief economist Lawence Yun said in a prepared statement that a stronger economy is boosting the housing market: “This wave of demand is being fueled by a year-plus of steady job growht and an improving economy that’s giving more households the financial wherewithal and incentive to buy.”

Yun said that mortgage rates have held in the 4 percent range, and that a slight rise in rates in early spring probably encouraged more buyers to make home purchases before a long-term increase in rates. [Sun-Sentinel] – Mike Seemuth