Real Estate in Miami Still Selling Strongly

Real estate in Miami continued to sell well in February. Prices are still rising and properties are selling quickly at close to the asking price, according to an article in Propertywire.

Miami remains one of the most popular areas in the US for overseas buyers, particularly with Europeans and South Americans who are looking to buy investment property in Florida. The report from the Miami Association of Realtors shows median sales prices increased for both condominiums and single-family homes last month.

The median sales price for a single-family home rose by 17% to reach $227,000 which means this market has now seen 27 consecutive month of growth. The average price for a single-family home rose by 6.7% in February to reach $415,312. The median sales price for condominiums increased by 7.3% to reach $177,000 compared to a year earlier, marking 32 consecutive months of increases. The average sales price for condominiums increased by 10.8% to reach $337,382 compared to February 2013.

Inventory levels have recently increased, but in spite of this sales activity is still extremely strong which is resulting in rising prices. It's still a sellers’ market as homes are selling so quickly, although rising inventory levels should help create a more balanced market.

Last month the median number of days taken to sell a single-family home was just 47 which is a decrease of 2.1% compared to February last year. The average sales price received was 95.2% of the original list price, an increase of 1.4% compared to February last year. The median number of days taken to sell a condominium in February was 57 which is an increase of 18.8% compared to February last year. The average sales price received was 95% of the asking price which is a decrease of just 0.8%. Last month the number of residential real estate sales in Miami-Dade County fell by 1.9% compared to February 2013. Sales of single-family homes rose by 1.3% compared to February last year, but sales of condominiums fell by 4.1%.

Real estate experts point out that the Miami real estate market still offers great opportunities as prices are still low compared to a decade ago, and when combined with historically low interest rates make purchasing a property more affordable.

The number of active listings at the end of the month increased by 26.8% compared to February 2013. Inventory levels of single-family homes rose by 18.3%, while inventory levels of condominiums increased by 32.2%. At the moment there is a 5.6 month supply of single-family homes, and a 7.5 month supply of condominiums.