July 2018 Market Report: Miami Existing Condo Sales Continue Upward Trend

Miami-Dade County existing condominium sales increased year-over-year for the fifth time in the last seven months as median prices rose for all properties in July 2018, according to a new report by the MIAMI Association of REALTORS┬« (MIAMI) and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.

Miami existing condo transactions rose 8.2 percent year-over-year in July 2018, from 1,132 to 1,225. Single-family home sales decreased 1.2 percent, from 1,117 to 1,104. Total sales increased 3.6 percent year-over-year, from 2,249 to 2,329.

"Miami existing condos have now had positive year-over-year gains in five of the last seven months," said MIAMI Chairman of the Board George C. Jalil. "Entry-level and mid-priced buyers are fueling much of the sales growth. $150,000 to $400,000 priced condos posted 17.6 percent more sales last month than in July 2017."

Here is the full report:

Sales Dollar Volume Jumps 11.3 Percent to $1.07 Billion

• Total sales volume increased to $1.07 billion from $961.1 million in July 2017. Existing condo sales volume increased from $416.2 million to $457.7 million (an increase of 10 percent). Single-family home total dollar volume rose 12.4 percent, from $544.9 million to $612.5 million.
• 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.

More than 6.5 Consecutive Years of Price Appreciation in Miami

• Miami-Dade County single-family home prices increased 10.3 percent in July 2018, increasing from $335,000 to $369,000. Miami single-family home prices have risen for 80 consecutive months, a streak of more than 6.5 years. Existing condo prices rose 8.0 percent, from $225,000 to $243,000 in July. Condo prices have increased in 83 of the last 86 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 decreased to 4.53 percent in July from 4.57 percent in June. The average commitment rate for all of 2017 was 3.99 percent.

Miami Distressed Sales Continue to Drop, Reflecting Healthy Market

• Only 5.8 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami were distressed last month, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 10.9 percent in July 2017. In 2009, distressed sales comprised 70 percent of Miami sales.
• Total Miami distressed sales declined 45.3 percent year-over-year, from 245 in July 2017 to 134 last month.
• Short sales and REOs accounted for 1.3 and 4.5 percent, respectively, of total Miami sales in July 2018. Short sale transactions dropped 50.9 percent year-over-year while REOs fell 43.5 percent.
• Nationally, distressed sales accounted for 3 percent of sales (lowest since NAR began tracking in October 2008), down from 5 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 45 days, a 9.8 percent increase from 41 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family properties was 91 days, a 1.1 percent decrease from 92 days.
• The median time to contract for condos was 76 days, a 5.6 percent increase from 72 days last year. The median number of days between listing date and closing date decreased 1.7 percent to 117 days.
• The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 95.4 percent. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums was 93.8 percent.

National and State Statistics

• Nationally, total existing-home sales decreased 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million in July from 5.38 million in June. With last month's decline, sales are now 1.5 percent below a year ago and have fallen on an annual basis for five straight months.
• Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 25,488 last month, up 3.8 percent compared to July 2017, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide closed condo sales totaled 10,032 last month, up 8.5 percent compared to a year ago.
• The national median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $269,600, up 4.5 percent from July 2017 ($258,100). July's price increase marks the 77th straight month of year-over-year gains.
• The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $255,000, up 6.3 percent from the previous year, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in July was $180,000, up 5.3 percent over the year-ago figure. 

Miami's Cash Buyers Represent almost Double the National Figure

• Miami cash transactions comprised 35.8 percent of July 2018 total closed sales, compared to 39.9 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 48.2 percent of condo closings were made in cash in July compared to 21.9 percent of single-family home sales.

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

• Inventory of single-family homes increased 2.1 percent in July from 6,187 active listings last year to 6,318 last month. Condominium inventory increased 0.7 percent to 15,181 from 15,077 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 10.9 percent to 6.1 months, which indicates a balanced market. Existing condominiums have a 13.8-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 July increased 1.1 percent year-over-year, from 21,264 to 21,499. Active listings remain about 60 percent below 2008 levels when sales bottomed.
• New listings of Miami single-family homes increased 2.0 percent to 1,772 from 1,808. New listings of condominiums decreased 7.9 percent, from 2,328 to 2,145.
• Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of July decreased 0.5 percent to 1.92 million existing homes available for sale (unchanged from a year ago). Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales pace (also unchanged from 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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