South Florida Existing Home, Condo Sales Rise

Existing home and condo sales rose across the tri-county area and statewide in February, but prices continued to be depressed by foreclosures and short sales, according to the latest figures from Florida Realtors.

Single-family home sales rose the most – by 9 percent – in Miami, with 445 homes sold, up from 409 a year ago. The median sales price fell 2 percent, year-over-year, to $191,100 from $195,500.

Home sales in Fort Lauderdale rose 6 percent, to 530 in February from 500 in 2009. The median price slid 13 percent, to $186,700 from $214,400.
In West Palm Beach, 560 single-family homes sold in February, up 5 percent from 532 a year ago. The median price was $219,100, down 4 percent from a year ago, when it was $228,100.

Statewide, existing home sales increased 21 percent, with 11,890 homes sold in February, up from 9,867 a year ago. Month-over-month, existing home sales statewide increased 13.6 percent.

More condos than homes sold in February, with West Palm Beach taking the lead in South Florida. In February, 698 condos sold there, up 45 percent from 483 a year ago. The median price slid 5 percent, to $96,700 from $101,900.

Fort Lauderdale followed, with condo sales up 41 percent to 819 from 581. The median price tumbled 17 percent, to $71,500 from $85,800.

Condo sales in Miami rose 35 percent, to 545 from 403. The median price fell 14 percent, to $126,100 from $146,100.

Statewide, existing condo sales rose 59 percent, to 5,085 from 3,190. The median price fell 15 percent, to $92,200 from $109,100 a year earlier.

Seventeen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas reported increased existing home sales in January, while all but the Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay MSA reporting higher condo sales. A majority of the state’s MSAs have reported increased sales for 20 consecutive months.

Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $131,300, down 7 percent from $141,800 a year ago.

Nationwide, existing home sales dipped 0.6 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in February was $163,600, down 0.4 percent from a year earlier, according to NAR. “Although sales have been higher than year-ago levels for eight straight months and home prices are much more stable compared to the past few years, the housing recovery is fragile at the moment,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a news release.

Still, NAR is predicting a surge in home sales this spring.

“Activity should be picking up strongly in late spring as buyers take advantage of the tax credit, which is critical to absorb distressed properties reaching the market and to continually chip away at inventory levels,” Yun said. “If there is sufficient job creation, housing can become self-sustaining with stable to modestly rising home prices.”

Total housing inventory at the end of February rose 9.5 percent, to 3.59 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.6-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 7.8-month supply in January.