Home prices are up again in Miami, but where are the buyers? Condos are an issue
Are homebuyers retreating from the market?
The number of sales in Miami-Dade and Broward dropped this May compared to May 2023, dragged down by fewer condo transactions, according to a new monthly housing report from the Miami Association of Realtors.
Here’s a breakdown:
Miami-Dade home sales
Miami-Dade County had 2,397 home sales, down by 0.6% from May 2023, according to the report.
While total home sales saw a slight decline, single family-home sales continued to increase. The 1,102 sales in May were up 6% from this time last year, according to the report. Single-family homes have increased 6% in six of the last seven months.
But condos sales in the county, which rose last month, plummeted by 5.6% compared to this time last year, according to the report, caused in part by a lack of inventory at key price points. About 53% of the new condo inventory is at or above $600,000. Condo owners also are facing increases in maintenance, assessments and insurance.
Mariya Letdin, a business professor at Florida State University, said the softer housing market could be due to a an increase in inventory, longer-term listings and more sellers dropping the price over time.
“I think people have heard that interest rates might go down, so everyone’s just kind of pumping the brakes a little,” she said.
Home sales in Broward County
Broward County didn’t fare much better: Total home sales in May were 2,583, down 6.8% compared to last May.
People bought 1,249 single-family homes in Broward, a decline of 0.2%.
And like in Miami-Dade, condo sales took a big hit, dropping about 12.2%. The 1,334 condo sales this May dropped from 1,520 last May.
Home prices in Miami-Dade
The drop in total home sales comes as median home prices have increased, continuing a trend of Miami ranking first in price appreciation, according to CoreLogic. The median home price in Miami-Dade County is $650,000, from $620,000 last year at this time.
According to the report, single-family median prices in Miami-Dade have risen for more than 12 years, the longest running-streak on record. In that time, single-family prices rose 242.1% from May 2012 to May 2024, from $190,000 to $650,000.
Condo median prices saw a 2.4% increase, from $415,000 last year to $425,000 last month.
Home prices in Broward
Similarly, in Broward County, the median home sale price was $625,000 in May, a 6.8% increase from last year at this time, when it was $585,000, according to the report.
Condo median prices increased 4.4% from $270,000 last May to $282,000 this May.
Buyers vs. sellers in South Florida
If you’ve noticed homes and condos sitting a little longer on the market, Letdin said there’s a gap in what buyers and sellers want.
“The sellers still have prices from the super low interest rate environment in mind, and annual princess increases that we saw happening from 2020 … to 2022,” she said. “Things were going so amazing if you’re a seller. There’s been a lot of price appreciation and sellers would like to see that continue.”
But buyers, she said, are faced with the challenge of interest rates nearly three times higher.
“They just don’t see it the same way nor can they afford it,” she said.
Still there’s some optimism for homeowners. While it’s been a challenge moving homes off the market, Miami-Dade County homeowners have double the equity as the national average, with homes gaining equity north of a half-million, according to the report.
Nationally, the average in equity gains is $287,111; in Miami-Dade that figure is $533,955, according to a Miami Realtors analysis. The home equity gains are based on single-family homes purchased in quarter one of 2009 and sold in quarter one of 2024.