August 2018 Market Report: Total Miami Home Sales Jump Double Digits

Total Miami-Dade County home sales surged 13.3 percent year-over-year in August with single-family homes and condominium markets posting double-digit gains as total luxury sales, median prices and dollar volume increased, according to a new report by the MIAMI Association of REALTORS┬« (MIAMI) and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.

Total Miami home sales increased 13.3 percent, from 2,158 to 2,444. The condo market continued trending upward with 15.9 percent more sales in August 2018 vs. August 2017. Miami condo sales have risen in six of the last eight months. Single-family home sales increased 10.5 percent year-over-year.

"Mid-market home sales fueled another robust month for Miami real estate," said MIAMI Chairman of the Board George C. Jalil. "Condo sales in the $150,000 to $400,000 range jumped 26.9 percent year-over-year. Single-family sales in the $250,000 to $600,000 range increased 16.4 percent. Pent-up demand and slowly growing inventory in the above price ranges are leading to more sales."

Here is the full report: 

Miami Existing Condo Sales Have Increased in Six of the last Eight Months

• Total Miami home sales increased 13.3 percent, from 2,158 to 2,444. The existing condo market led the charge by rising 15.9 percent, from 1,085 in August 2017 to 1,258 in August 2018. Miami condo sales have risen in six of the last eight months.
• Single-family home sales increased 10.5 percent year-over-year, rising from 1,073 to 1,186.  

Sales Dollar Volume Jumps 32.6 Percent to $1.14 Billion

• Total sales volume increased to $1.14 billion from $859.7 million in August 2017. Existing condo sales volume increased from $359.1 million to $499.6 million (an increase of 39.1 percent). Single-family home total dollar volume rose 27.5 percent, from $500.6 million to $638.4 million.
• Luxury sales played a significant role in the rise of the total sales volume. Miami single-family $1 million-and-up luxury sales jumped 36.4 percent, from 66 to 90 transactions. Existing luxury condo sales increased 65.9 percent, from 41 to 68 transactions.
• Luxury single-family home sales have now increased for four consecutive months. Luxury existing condo sales have increased in four of the last five months.
• 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.

6.75 Consecutive Years of Price Appreciation in Miami

• Miami-Dade County single-family home prices increased 6.7 percent in August 2018, increasing from $337,500 to $360,000. Miami single-family home prices have risen for 81 consecutive months, a streak of 6.75 years. Existing condo prices rose 2.2 percent, from $225,000 to $230,000 in August. Condo prices have increased in 84 of the last 87 months.
• Low mortgage rates make purchasing a home more affordable. According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage increased to 4.55 percent in August from 4.53 percent in July. The average commitment rate for all of 2017 was 3.99 percent.

Miami Distressed Sales Continue to Drop, Reflecting Healthy Market

• Only 7.7 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami were distressed last month, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 10.7 percent in August 2017. In 2009, distressed sales comprised 70 percent of Miami sales.
• Total Miami distressed sales declined 18.6 percent year-over-year, from 231 in August 2017 to 188 last month.
• Short sales and REOs accounted for 1.6 and 6.1 percent, respectively, of total Miami sales in August 2018. Short sale transactions dropped 23.1 percent year-over-year while REOs fell 17.3 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 40 days, an 11.1 percent decrease from 45 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family homes was 89 days, a 7.3 percent decrease from 96 days.
• The median time to contract for condos was 75 days, a 13.6 percent increase from 66 days last year. The median number of days between listing date and closing date increased 10.3 percent to 118 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 94 percent.

National and State Statistics

• Nationally, total existing-home sales did not change from July and remained at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.34 million in August. Sales are now down 1.5 percent from a year ago (5.42 million in August 2017).
• Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 26,273 last month, up 4.2 percent compared to August 2017, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide closed condo sales totaled 10,365 last month, up 6.6 percent compared to a year ago.
• The national median existing-home price for all housing types in August was $264,800, up 4.6 percent from August 2017 ($253,100). August's price increase marks the 78th straight month of year-over-year gains. 
• The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $254,290, up 6.0 percent from the previous year, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in August was $185,000, up 8.8 percent over the year-ago figure

Miami's Cash Buyers Represent almost Double the National Figure

• Miami cash transactions comprised 37.1 percent of August 2018 total closed sales, compared to 37.5 percent last year. Miami cash transactions are almost double the national figure (20 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 51.0 percent of condo closings were made in cash in August compared to 22.3 percent of single-family home sales.

Balanced Market for Single-Family Homes, Buyer's Market for Condos

• Inventory of single-family homes increased 2.7 percent in August from 6,268 active listings last year to 6,436 last month. Condominium inventory increased 0.3 percent to 15,070 from 15,030 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 7 percent to 6.1 months, which indicates a balanced market. Existing condominiums have a 13.5-month supply, which indicates a buyer's market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six and nine months supply of inventory.
• Total active listings at the end of August increased 0.98 percent year-over-year, from 21,298 to 21,506. Active listings remain about 60 percent below 2008 levels when sales bottomed.
• New listings of Miami single-family homes increased 2.5 percent to 1,923 from 1,876. New listings of condominiums decreased 1 percent, from 2,371 to 2,347.
• Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of August also remained unchanged from July at 1.92 million existing homes available for sale, and is up from 1.87 million a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales pace, consistent from last month and up from 4.1 months a year ago.  

Note: Statistics in this news release may vary depending on reporting dates. MIAMI reports exact statistics directly from its MLS system.

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