Miami Pending Home Sales Upticks Again

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(MIAMI, FL) -- The Miami Association of Realtors reported today the total current cumulative pending home sales - including single-family homes and condominiums - in Miami-Dade County increased 15 percent compared to a year ago, from 10,366 to 11,936, and .23 percent, up from 11,860, compared to the previous month.

May Contract Activity

The total number of listings, including single-family homes and condominiums, that pended during the month of May increased by 29 percent, from 2,718 to 3,508, compared to the previous year.

"International buyers increasingly are having a positive effect on the Miami real estate market, as sales continue to exceed last year's levels, which were boosted by the homebuyers tax credit," said Jack H. Levine, 2011 chairman of the board of the Miami Association of Realtors.  "Current figures corroborate the healthy market activity agents are experiencing first-hand and the evident demand for local properties."

Cumulative Pending Sales on the Rise

In the current month, pending sales of single-family homes performed better than that of condominiums.  Pending sales of single-family homes are 12 percent higher than they were a year ago, up from 4,490, and are 2.2 percent above what they were last month, up from 4,919.  Pending sales of condominiums are 18 percent above what they were a year ago, from 5,876 to 6,909, and a negligible .46 percent lower compared to last month, when pending condominium sales totaled 6,941.

"Affordability is another important factor contributing to rising pending and closed sales," said 2011 Miami Association of Realtors Residential President Ralph E. De Martino.  "Despite the sharp reduction in South Florida housing inventory, record affordability is motivating buyers, as substantiated by increased activity at lower price points."

Nationally, the Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 8.2 percent to 88.8 in May from a downwardly revised 82.1 in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. The index is 13.4 percent higher than the 78.3 percent reported in May 2010.

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

See related news story on WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL:

• Foreign Buyers Now Driving $82 Billion in U.S. Real Estate Sales, a 24% Annual Surge with Florida as Leading Investment Gateway

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