By now most of our readers are getting quite used to seeing continuous reports about how well the residential real estate market in South Florida is recovering. After all, negative news about this sector of the local market is few and far between, and what negatives there are often only arise after someone reads between the lines. But, that may be just the case in a new report about South Florida home prices.
According to the report, prices for residential property in Miami-Dade County, Broward County and Palm Beach County continues to rise. The report indicates that for this tri-county area in April of this year, prices rose 14.7 percent when compared to April of last year. This is a substantial rise and is on par with the reports that most local residents are used to seeing. However, the “read between the lines” part of the report is this: the percentage rise noted in March of this year when compared to March of last year was higher, at 16.2 percent. So, what does this all mean? Well, as the report notes, it means that even though prices continue to rise, the rate at which they are rising is slowing down.
Of course, viewing this slowdown in the rise of home prices as a negative is all a matter of perception. There are still plenty of real estate markets throughout the country, including some in Florida, where a rise in prices of 14.7 percent would be thrillingly positive news.
Understanding the ebb and flow of any real estate market is just one part of either buying property for investment purposes or for setting up a family home. And, although knowing when a local market is heating up or slowing down can help buyers and sellers appreciate when the perfect time to jump in is, other important matters, like title issues and contract terms, shouldn’t slide to the back burner while someone is attempting to time the jump perfectly.
Source: Sun Sentinel, “Case-Shiller index: Home prices rise, but at a slower clip,” Paul Owers, June 24, 2014
