Miami Home Sales Spike 35 Percent Annually in September

According to a new report by the Miami Association of Realtors, total Miami-Dade County home sales in September 2018 surged 35.7 percent last month a year after Hurricane Irma brought minimal damage and stalled hundreds of sales in September 2017.

Miami-Dade single-family home sales jumped 43 percent year-over-year, from 684 to 978, in September. The condo market continued trending upward with 29.5 percent more sales in September 2018 vs. September 2017. Miami condo sales have risen in seven of the last nine months.

"Miami is one of the most resilient communities in the world and our real estate market embodied that resiliency by bouncing back as expected from stalled transactions in September 2017," said MIAMI Chairman of the Board George C. Jalil. "The sales growth continues a trend of increased Miami home sales, particularly in the existing condo market."

Miami Single-Family Home Sales Jump 43 percent

Miami-Dade County single-family home sales increased 43 percent year-over-year, from 684 to 978. The Miami market has registered 9,851 single-family home sales year to date, an increase of 0.7 percent from this time last year.

The largest segment of growth for single-family home sales is the $200,000 to $600,000 range. The segment recorded 757 single-family home sales, an increase of 49 percent from September 2017.

Miami Existing Condo Sales Have Increased in Seven of the last Nine Months

Miami existing condo sales increased 29.5 percent year-over-year in September, from 804 to 1,041. The Miami market has registered 10,531 existing condo sales year to date, an increase of 5.2 percent from this time last year.

The largest segment of growth for existing condo sales is the $150,000 to $300,000 range. The segment recorded 539 condo sales, an increase of 47.7 percent from September 2017.

Sales Dollar Volume Jumps 42.6 Percent to $900 Million

Total sales volume increased to $900 million from $631.1 million in September 2017. Existing condo sales volume increased from $304.7 million to $374.3 million (an increase of 22.8 percent). Single-family home total dollar volume rose 61.1 percent, from $326.4 million to $525.7 million.

Luxury sales played a significant role in the rise of the total sales volume. Miami single-family $1 million-and-up luxury sales jumped 62.2 percent, from 45 to 73 transactions. Existing luxury condo sales increased 25.6 percent, from 43 to 54 transactions.

Luxury single-family home sales have now increased for five consecutive months. Luxury existing condo sales have increased in five of the last six months.

Lack of access to mortgage loans continues to inhibit further growth of the existing condominium market. Of the 9,307 condominium buildings in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, only 12 are approved for Federal Housing Administration loans, down from 29 last year, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and FHA.

Nearly Seven Consecutive Years of Price Appreciation in Miami

Miami-Dade County single-family home prices increased 7.5 percent in September 2018, increasing from $335,000 to $360,000. Miami single-family home prices have risen for 82 consecutive months, a streak of nearly seven years. Existing condo prices rose 1.3 percent, from $234,500 to $237,500 in September. Condo prices have increased in 85 of the last 88 months.

Low mortgage rates make purchasing a home more affordable. According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage increased to 4.63 percent in September from 4.55 percent in August. The average commitment rate for all of 2017 was 3.99 percent.

Miami Distressed Sales Continue to Drop, Reflecting Healthy Market

Only 6.8 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami were distressed last month, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 9.1 percent in September 2017. In 2009, distressed sales comprised 70 percent of Miami sales.

Total Miami distressed sales increased 1.5 percent year-over-year, from 135 in September 2017 to 137 last month.

Short sales and REOs accounted for 1.6 and 5.2 percent, respectively, of total Miami sales in September 2018. Short sale transactions increased 3.2 percent year-over-year while REOs increased 0.9 percent.

Nationally, distressed sales accounted for 3 percent of sales (lowest since NAR began tracking in October 2008), down from 4 percent a year ago.

Miami Real Estate Selling Close to List Price

The median number of days between listing and contract dates for Miami single-family home sales was 47 days, an 14.6 percent increase from 41 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family homes was 91 days, a 1.1percent decrease from 92 days.

The median time to contract for condos was 70 days, a 4.1 percent decrease from 73 days last year. The median number of days between listing date and closing date decreased 7.5 percent to 111 days.

The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 95.6 percent. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums was 94.7 percent.

National and State Statistics

Nationally, total existing-home sales fell 3.4 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.15 million in September. Sales are now down 4.1 percent from a year ago (5.37 million in September 2017).

Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 21,087 last month, up 17 percent compared to September 2017, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide closed condo sales totaled 8,492 last month, up 14.6 percent compared to a year ago.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types in September was $258,100, up 4.2 percent from September 2017 ($247,600). September's price increase marks the 79th straight month of year-over-year gains.

September was the 81st month-in-a-row (over six and a half years) that statewide median sales prices for both single-family homes and condo-townhouse properties increased year-over-year. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $251,610, up 4.9 percent from the previous year, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide median price for condo-townhouse units in September was $182,500, up 5.5 percent over the year-ago figure.

Miami's Cash Buyers Represent almost Double the National Figure

Miami cash transactions comprised 35.4 percent of September 2018 total closed sales, compared to 43.5 percent last year. Miami cash transactions are almost double the national figure (21 percent).

Miami's high percentage of cash sales reflects South Florida's ability to attract a diverse number of international home buyers, who tend to purchase properties in all cash. Miami has a higher percent of cash sales for condos due to lack of financing approvals for buildings.

Condominiums comprise a large portion of Miami's cash purchases as 48.9 percent of condo closings were made in cash in August compared to 21.1 percent of single-family home sales.

Balanced Market for Single-Family Homes, Buyer's Market for Condos

Inventory of single-family homes increased 9.8 percent in September from 6,060 active listings last year to 6,652 last month. Condominium inventory increased 4.1 percent to 15,435 from 14,834 listings during the same period in 2017.

The increase in inventory is for properties above $300,000 for condos and for properties above $600,000 for single family homes.

Monthly supply of inventory for single-family homes increased 10.7 percent to 6.2 months, which indicates a balanced market. Existing condominiums have a 13.6-month supply, which indicates a buyer's market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six and nine months supply of inventory.

Total active listings at the end of September increased 5.7 percent year-over-year, from 20,894 to 22,087. Active listings remain about 60 percent below 2008 levels when sales bottomed.

New listings of Miami single-family homes increased 73.9 percent to 1,682 from 967. New listings of condominiums increased 59.9 percent, from 1,429 to 2,285. The numbers are impacted from the stalled transactions after Hurricane Irma in September 2017.

Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of September decreased from 1.91 million in August to 1.88 million existing homes available for sale, and is up from 1.86 million a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.3 last month and 4.2 months a year ago.