South Florida existing homes sales continue to sizzle in the face of rising interest rates and a lack of inventory.
The median price of a single-family home in Miami-Dade climbed 21.1 percent to $230,000 in June from $190,000 a year earlier, as buyers duke it out over a tight inventory of homes for sale, the Miami Association of Realtors said.
Sales of single-family homes increased 25.1 percent to 1,170 closings in June from 935 a year earlier, but slipped 3.8 percent below May’s volume amid the shortage of listings.
The median price of a Miami-Dade condo rose 15.9 percent to $185,500 in June from $160,000 a year earlier.
The number of condo deals completed rose 5.5 percent in June to 1,499 from 1,421, but was below May’s volume of 1,672 by 10.3 percent, Miami Realtors said.
“There’s so much pent-up demand. Sellers are in control,’’ said Jim Brinker, an agent with One Sotheby’s International Realty in Miami Beach. “People are paying full price. There is no supply. There’s tons of demand.’’
The story in Broward was similar, with the median price of a single-family home up 23.2 percent to $265,000 in June from $215,000 a year earlier, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors.
Sales of single-family homes rose 3.4 percent to 1,356 closings in June from 1,311 a year earlier, the group said.
The median price of a Broward condominium rose 22.2 percent in June to $105,000 from $85,900 a year earlier, but the number of sales closed in June dropped 8.8 percent to 1,355 transactions from 1,485 a year earlier, as fewer properties were listed for sale compared with already-low inventory a year earlier.
Sales of condos and townhouses plunged 18.2 percent in June from May, when 1,656 transactions were closed. Single-family sales dropped 7.1 percent in June from May.
In June, 5,962 Broward condos were listed in the MLS, or Multiple Listing Service, down from 6,120 a year earlier, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said.
The inventory of single-family homes for sale in Broward dropped 14.4 percent in June to 4,225 from 4,935 a year earlier.
Broward had just a 3.4-month supply of single-family homes and a 4.3-month supply of condos and townhouses listed for sale in June, helping to create a sellers’ market in which prices tend to rise quickly. Typically a 6-month supply of homes — or six times the number of homes sold in a month — is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.
Amid the shortage of supply, houses in Broward are being snapped up faster.
In June, the median time to sell a single-family home in Broward dropped to 29 days from 37 days in June 2012 and condos went in 37 days, down from 38 days a year earlier, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said.
Realtors say sellers are calling the shots, often getting their original asking price — and sometimes more — as bidding wars break out among buyers eager to nail down a property.
In June, single-family homes in Broward fetched 96 percent of their original listing price on average, up from 93.3 percent a year earlier; condos and townhouses sold for 94.4 percent of original listing price, up from 93.8 percent in June 2012, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors.
In Miami-Dade, single-family homes sold for 95.8 percent of their original listing price on average in June, up from 93.1 percent a year earlier, while condominiums went for 96.9 percent of asking price, up 0.9 percentage point from a year earlier.
The inventory of condominiums homes listed for sale in Miami-Dade rose 10.5 percent to 8,173 units in June from 7,395 a year earlier, but with the robust pace of sales, the months of supply inched up only slightly to 5.8 months of supply from 5.7 months of supply last year.
