When home buyers in South Florida finally reach acceptable contract terms on real estate agreements, it can be exciting. Some buyers look for months for the perfect piece of residential property to call home, and when they find it all of the effort seems to be well worth it.
Most of our readers probably know by now that the local residential real estate market has bounced back in a big way from the lowest points after the bursting of the housing bubble several years ago. But is the bounce back beginning to leave some potential buyers on the outside looking in?
According to a recent report, that very well may be the case. The report indicated that as median sales prices for homes in some local areas continue to rise month after month, the prices are beginning to outstrip many people’s ability to afford the homes. For instance, the median income in Palm Beach County is $51,278. A buyer with that income would be able to afford just 58 percent of the homes on the market in Palm Beach County, according to the report. That is down 6 percent from 2012.
Although the South Florida area isn’t the worst in the nation for this type of scenario – that distinction belongs to San Francisco, where individuals earning a middle-of-the-road income in that area can only afford about 14 percent of the homes listed – the numbers in the local area are concerning for some. Everyone can be happy that the real estate market is bouncing back on strong demand coupled with residential development, but when does the bounce back become more of a problem than a solution for the average South Florida buyer?
Source: Sun Sentinel, “Buyers finding fewer affordable homes in South Florida,” Paul Owers, Oct. 20, 2013
