Miami Luxury Home Sales Continue to Rise in June

According to a new report by the Miami Association of Realtors, Miami-Dade County luxury real estate sales continue to increase while lower price points experience strong demand and limited supply, resulting in price increases countywide.

Total Miami luxury sales ($1 million-and-above) increased 21.5 percent from 181 to 220 in June 2018. Condo luxury sales led the surge by posting a 28.0 percent jump to 96 transactions. Condo and single-family $1 million-and-above transactions have each now increased year-over-year in six of the last seven months.

"We continue to see a divided real estate market in Miami-Dade with strong overall demand for local properties," MIAMI Chairman of the Board George C. Jalil said. "There is limited inventory available under $600,000. And while luxury sales have significantly increased over the last few months, high supply in the luxury sector offers great opportunities for buyers."

Sales Decrease Slightly Due to Very Limited Supply in the Mid- and Lower Price Points

Miami existing condominium sales decreased 5.0 percent year-over-year in June 2018, from 1,323 to 1,257. The change follows increased sales in both April and May 2018.

Total Miami home sales decreased 2.8 percent year-over-year, from 2,669 to 2,492. Miami single-family home sales decreased a negligent 0.8 percent in June 2018, from 1,346 to 1,335. The change is due to a lack of inventory in lower and mid-price points.

Sales Dollar Volume Jumps 8 Percent to $1.3 Billion

Total sales volume increased to $1.3 billion from $1.2 billion in June 2017. Existing condo sales volume increased from $508.5 million to $552.5 million (an increase of 14.4 percent). Single-family home total dollar volume rose 17.1 percent, from $682.5 million to $799.0 million.

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.

More than 6.5 Consecutive Years of Price Appreciation in Miami

Miami-Dade County single-family home prices increased 6.0 percent in June 2018, increasing from $335,000 to $355,000. Miami single-family home prices have risen for 78 consecutive months, a streak of more than 6.5 years. Existing condo prices rose 2.1 percent, from $235,000 to $240,000 in June. Condo prices have increased in 82 of the last 85 months.

Now mortgage rates make purchasing a home more affordable. According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage decreased to 4.57 percent in June from 4.59 percent in May.

Miami Distressed Sales Continue to Drop, Reflecting Healthy Market

Only 6.3 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami were distressed last month, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 9.2 percent in June 2017. In 2009, distressed sales comprised 70 percent of Miami sales.

Total Miami distressed sales declined 33.5 percent year-over-year, from 245 in June 2017 to 163 last month.

Short sales and REOs accounted for 1.7 and 4.6 percent, respectively, of total Miami sales in June 2018. Short sale transactions dropped 35.0 percent year-over-year while REOs fell 33.0 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 43 days, an 10.4 percent decrease from 48 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family properties was 94 days, a 6.0 percent decrease from 100 days.

The median time to contract for condos was 74 days, a 1.4 percent increase from 73 days last year. The median number of days between listing date and closing date decreased 3.4 percent to 115 days.

The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 95.7 percent. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums was 93.67 percent.

National and State Statistics

Nationally, total existing-home sales decreased 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million in June from downwardly revised 5.41 million in May. With last month's decline, sales are now 2.2 percent below a year ago and have decreased year-over-year for the third straight month.

Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 27,836 last month, down 1.3 percent compared to June 2017, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide closed condo sales totaled 11,128 last month, up 1.2 percent compared to a year ago.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types in June was $276,900, an all-time high and an increase of 5.2 percent from June 2017 ($263,300). June's price increase marks the 76th straight month of year-over-year gains.

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $260,000, up 6.1 percent from the previous year, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in June was $190,000, up 7.5 percent over the year-ago figure.

Miami's Cash Buyers Represent almost Double the National Figure

Miami cash transactions comprised 38.0 percent of June 2018 total closed sales, compared to 37.0 percent last year. Miami cash transactions are almost double the national figure (22 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 53.1 percent of condo closings were made in cash in June compared to 24.6 percent of single-family home sales.

3.9 Months of Supply for Single-Family Homes below $600K in Miami

Inventory of single-family homes increased 2.5 percent in June from 6,052 active listings last year to 6,206 last month. Condominium inventory increased 1.3 percent to 15,264 from 15,0676 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 11.1 percent to 6.0 months, which indicates a balanced market. Existing condominiums have a 13.9-month supply, which indicates a buyer's market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six and nine months supply of inventory.

There is 3.9 months supply inventory for single-family homes and 10.4 for condos below $600,000. In contrast, there is 16 months supply for single-family homes and 40.3 months of supply for condos above $600,000.

Total active listings at the end of June increased 1.7 percent year-over-year, from 21,19 to 21,471. Active listings remain about 60 percent below 2008 levels when sales bottomed.

New listings of Miami single-family homes increased 2.9 percent to 1,696 from 1,745. New listings of condominiums decreased 4.1 percent, from 2,272 to 2,179.

Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of June climbed 4.3 percent to 1.95 million existing homes available for sale and is 0.5 percent above a year ago (1.94 million) - the first year-over-year increase since June 2015. Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales pace (4.2 months a year ago).