Miami Beach First Quarter 2017 Market Report

Miami Beach’s condo and single family market was more stable this quarter than were the past four. From last quarter, average sales prices jumped 15% and inventory expanded. Average sales price increased by to $999,241. Median sales price decreased 5.8% to $385,000 over the same period last year. The rise in average sales price was the result of higher end housing entering the market. The market share of lower priced distressed sales fell to 5.3% of all sales.

Miami Beach showed more stability this quarter with rising sales but more negotiability and longer marketing times. The luxury condo market, representing the top 10% of sales, saw a surge of 14.2% for median sales price but those gains were largely caused by the rise in housing quality, suggesting a confidence in Miami’s growing appeal to buyers in other markets. The single family market showed mixed price trends with a median sales price decrease of 22.6% and a 31.3% increase in average sales price. The absorption rate of single family homes, the number of months to sell all listings at the current rate of sales, fell to 27.2 months, nearly identical to the year ago pace.

There is a stable low-level supply of distressed properties, which tend to trade quickly at smaller price points. When the housing market crashed in the late 2000s, distressed homes and condos made up a large chunk of the properties that traded hands. Now that stronger buyers have snatched up many of those properties, the share of distressed property sales is significantly lower. While a small pool of distressed properties might be dragging down sales numbers ever so slightly, it could also be fueling Miami’s ever-growing home prices. Developers willing to snatch up these distresses houses and condos therefore have more freedom to develop higher-end housing.

Trends

Condos:

1. Price trend indicators lowered as distressed market share increased

2. Listing inventory expanded as sales kept stable

3. Longer marketing time and more negotiability

Single Family:

1. Price trend indicators were mixed

2. Number of sales continued to fall, inventory expanded, and average sales prices increased

3. Single-family homes saw prices spike 31.3% to an incredible $2.7 million

Final Word

Miami’s housing market is now facing stability after what was a reality check, according to newly released reports. While the overall picture has improved, sellers need to be more moderate in their asking prices if they are inclined to outpace the current increasing average days on market of 143 and average listing discount of 12%.

Source: Elliman Report