Poll: South Florida housing market cooling. Would you buy a home now?
.JPG "South Florida home sales tumbled last year, causing some real estate experts to expect falling prices by later this year. Above: Pompano Beach, Florida, on April 26, 2021.")
Annual home sales are down in South Florida, forcing more sellers to negotiate prices with buyers. Given the growing trend of price negotiation, the Miami Herald wants to hear whether readers think now is the time to buy.
Total residential sales plunged in South Florida in 2022 compared to the prior year, according to the latest sales report by the Miami Association of Realtors. Miami-Dade recorded 32,627 single-family house and condominium sales last year, a 20% drop from 39,394 sales in 2021.
Broward experienced similar activity. It had 32,573 sales last year, down 19% from 40,423 the prior year.
Therefore, we want to know: Do you think now is a good time to buy a home in South Florida?
Sellers can blame the housing slowdown on a perfect storm. First and foremost, buyers have had enough. Home prices peaked last summer. Miami-Dade alone had a historically high median sales price of $579,000 for a single-family home in June 2022. More buyers are refusing to pay a premium, especially given climbing interest rates. As of Monday, mortgage lender Freddie Mac offers a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage of 6.12%, higher than 3.69% a year ago.
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Out-of-state, wealthy buyers might have once saved the day with cash deals or sight-unseen offers near the asking price at the height of the pandemic. That’s a distant memory. Many are now concerned with the performance of their stock portfolios and investments.
Real estate experts are divided on whether home prices in 2023 will steady, increase or dip compared to 2022.
