Cash Deals, Luxury Price Point Strongest in South Florida

South Florida’s luxury segment outperformed lower price points again in the fourth quarter, with cash deals dominating the high end of the market.

Across the board, home prices have either dropped, remained flat or grown at a much slower rate than in previous years. This was evident in December across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, and it was the trend in the fourth quarter.

Demand is not evenly distributed on the ultra-luxury end either.

Miami-Dade single-family home sales above $30 million rose 58 percent last year, and condo sales above $20 million increased 37.5 percent. This is a limited segment of the market, with 19 single-family home sales and 11 condo sales in that price point.

Ana Bozovic, founder of Analytics Miami, said deals above $3,000 per square foot set records, especially compared to before the pandemic boom. The same can be said for sales above $1,000 per square foot.

In the $1 million and up price point, single-family home sales rose 18 percent year over year in Miami-Dade County. But $1 million-plus condo sales fell 5 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.

Across Miami-Dade County, single-family home sales rose 3 percent year over year in the fourth quarter. A quarter of those sales were all-cash deals. Condo sales were flat, and half of those were all cash, according to Analytics Miami.

Jonathan Miller, a housing expert who authors Douglas Elliman’s quarterly residential reports, said nearly every market Elliman monitors in Florida showed double-digit sales growth in the fourth quarter.

The Miami area has benefited from the slide in mortgage rates and the strength of the financial markets, he said.

“It’s an incrementally improving market from a transaction standpoint,” he said.

Elliman has reduced the number of cities it taps Miller to track, and in Miami-Dade it now only releases reports on the following:

Miami Beach, barrier islands

In Miami Beach and the barrier islands, which include Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Fisher Island, Golden Beach, Indian Creek, Key Biscayne, North Bay Village, Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside, residential sales rose 17 percent to 749 closings. The median sale price fell 3 percent to $745,000, according to the Elliman reports.

The story changes when looking at condos versus single-family homes. Eighty-five single-family homes traded in the fourth quarter in the barrier island markets, up just one sale more than the same period in 2024. The median price surged, up 22 percent to $3.7 million.

Condo sales jumped 19 percent to 664 closings, while the median price tumbled, down 10 percent year over year to $587,500.

Luxury home sales, defined by Elliman as the top 10 percent of market share, were flat at just nine closings. And condo sales in this price segment increased 21 percent to 68 sales.

Miller said this market is more of a one-off, and not an indicator of a greater pattern.

Coral Gables

Ninety-nine single-family homes sold in the fourth quarter in Coral Gables, up 22 percent year over year. Condo sales experienced similar gains, rising 37 percent with 63 closings. Marketwide trends in pricing are seen in the Gables too: the median price for a single-family home was flat at about $1.9 million, and it dropped 8 percent to $530,000. Sales rose in the top 10 percent of deals, as did pricing.