Greater Ft. Lauderdale Area Pending Home Sales Remain Relatively Flat in April

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According to the Miami Association of Realtors, total current cumulative pending home sales - including single-family homes and condominiums - in Broward County are 3.2 percent above what they were a year ago, up from 8,250 to 8,513, and were down a negligible 1.33 percent month-over-month from 8,628.

The total number of listings - including single-family homes and condominiums - that pended during the month of April in Broward County decreased five percent, down from 3,647, compared to a year earlier and 7.3 percent, down from 3,738, compared to the previous month.

"Total cumulative pending sales in Broward County have consistently increased year-over-year over the last two and half years," said Terri Bersach, president of the Broward County Board of Governors of the Miami Association of Realtor.  "We expect closed sales in Broward County this year to exceed activity during the height of the boom.  The rise of pending sales reflects heightened current demand and should result in increasing closed sales in the future."

Current cumulative pending condominium sales in Broward are 5.2 percent higher than they were a year ago, up from 4,531 to 4,768, but were down a negligible 1.1 percent compared to last month.

Current cumulative pending sales of single-family homes in Broward are .7 percent above what they were a year ago, up from 3,719 to 3,745, but down a negligible 1.6 percent, down from 3,807, compared to the previous month.

"Strong sales activity is resulting in rapid inventory absorption in Broward County," said Natascha Tello, president-elect of the Broward County Board of Governors of the Miami Association of Realtors.  "Bank-owned properties especially are selling very rapidly.  Declining inventory of distressed properties should contribute to price stabilization and further market strengthening.

Nationally, the Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, dropped 11.6 percent to 81.9 in April from a downwardly revised 92.6 in March, according to the National Association of Realtors. The index is 26.5 percent below a cyclical peak of 111.5 in April 2010.

A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.  Increased pending sales are an indication of increased future sales.

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