Broward home sales pick back up in November

Just like its neighbor Miami-Dade County to the south, a new report shows Broward enjoyed a solid month for home sales during November, upending the downturn seen throughout most of this year.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors’ association just released its housing market report for November, stating home sales in the region jumped 6.5 percent year-over-year to 1,257 deals closed last month.

Median prices also saw a steep upturn of 9.7 percent in November year-over-year, rising from $290,000 to $318,000 per home.

That jump in closing price can be explained in two ways: traditional wisdom says markets that have less than six months of supply favor sellers, while Broward’s inventory fell nearly 12 percent to 3.7 months in November. The number of distressed properties, which typically fetch lower prices, sold in Broward also fell significantly last month.

The same could not be said of Broward’s condos and townhouses, which have about 6.1 months worth of inventory accumulated as of November. Prices, however, spiked 14 percent year-over-year to $145,000 per unit. Sales volume rose much more moderately at 3.3 percent year-over-year, from 1,163 to 1,201 closings.

Broward’s housing market has suffered through sliding sales volume over the past few months, similarly to Miami-Dade. Local market watchers attributed much of that slowdown to a particularly contentious U.S. presidential election, along with hesitation from foreign buyers due to economic instability abroad.