December was a rough month for South Florida home sales: report

Residential sales dropped in all three counties in December, a decline the Miami Association of Realtors attributed to rising interest rates and a lack of affordable inventory.

Yet, median prices generally kept rising in all three counties — although in some cases, at a slower pace than before.

Miami-Dade

Overall, residential sales in Miami-Dade dropped 6.2 percent to 2,081. The total residential sales volume in December fell by 5.6 percent to $928.8 million.

Miami single-family home sales decreased 5.1 percent 1,011 last month. Condo sales dropped to 1,070, a decline of 7.3 percent.

Prices of single-family homes kept rising, with the median price increasing by 6.7 percent to $355,000. The median price of a condo was flat at $235,000.

Broward

Total residential sales also fell in Broward County, down 10.3 percent to 2,357. Single-family home sales were down 11.2 percent to 1,147, while condo closings declined by 9.6 percent to 1,210. The total sales volume in Broward in December totaled $762.7 million, an annual decline of about 11.3 percent.

The median sale price for a single-family home rose slightly, by 3 percent, to $350,000, while condo prices fell by 3 percent to $160,000.

Palm Beach

Residential sales dropped 10.3 percent in Palm Beach County to 2,209. Both single-family home sales and condo sales declined: down 8.8 percent to 980 condo sales and down 11.4 percent for houses to 1,229.

Sales volume for both totaled $861.7 million, a nearly 12 percent drop from the previous year.

The median price of single-family homes budged forward, up 0.9 percent to $344,700, while condo prices rose 8.3 percent to $179,750.