Miami coastal condo prices up 30 percent; sales activity highest since 2006

The median sales price of condominiums in Miami rose 30.1 percent in the fourth quarter, with total sales activity reaching its highest fourth-quarter levels since 2006, according to a new report from Douglas Elliman Florida.

Miami’s single-family market showed the most activity, with a 22.8 percent jump in sales to 2,028 in total, while condo sales activity rose 9 percent to 3,178.

A total of 5,206 units transacted in the final three months of 2012, according to the report, which was prepared by the New York-based appraisers Miller Samuel.

Vanessa Grout, CEO of Douglas Elliman Florida, said that, with the fiscal cliff situation resolved, things were looking up for the Miami residential market. “Prices have continued to increase, and the increase has been dramatic over the last year,” she told The Real Deal. “The amount of inventory is decreasing, the days on the market have decreased, and the average prices have increased — so you look at all the factors and it’s finally making sense.”

The report examined Miami’s coastal communities, from Pinecrest in the south to Surfside in the north.

Within the luxury market, which represented the upper 10 percent of all sales, the median condo sales price was $1.18 million, up 32.6 percent from a year ago. On the single-family side, the median sales price was $1.4 million, a 30.1 percent increase.

More crucially, Grout said, was the decrease in share of the market held by distressed inventory, which fell from to 40.2 percent, its smallest share in more than three years.

The distressed market also showed a 3.4 percent increase in condo sales prices and a 12.8 percent increase in single-family home prices.

Franck Dossa, a broker at Condhotel in Miami, said that, with continued price increases and dwindling inventory, Miami could soon see prices surpassing the peak of 2006. “We’ll continue to see the prices going up for the next five years,” he said. “It will be more expensive than 2006 very soon.”