Many of our South Florida readers do a good job of keeping their ears to the ground in order to determine which way the real estate pendulum is swinging in the local real estate market. For residential real estate in particular, both buyers and sellers want to know the answer to one important question: does the market favor my position at this time? As 2015 draws toward an end, one report took a look at some of the factors that are having an impact on the South Florida real estate market.
The report examined three crucial areas of any real estate market: inventory, sales prices and the actual number of completed sales. The first area, inventory, seems to clearly favor anyone who is selling their home at present. The recent report indicated that, in both Miami-Dade County and Broward County, the inventory of homes has been declining. It comes down to simple supply and demand – with fewer homes to choose from, sellers will usually have the upper hand in negotiating real estate agreements. However, the inventory of condos and newly constructed homes could have a significant impact in this area as 2016 rolls around.
Next, and directly connected to low inventory, is the fact that sales prices remain high in South Florida. Both Miami-Dade County and Broward County have seen increased sales prices this year when compared to sales prices from last year.
Lastly, and also interestingly connected to the prior factors, is that the actual amount of completed sales is down when compared to figures from last year. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but simply a consequence of the first two factors: with lower inventory and higher prices, buyers seem to know that the current conditions are usually against them, and as a result fewer real estate transactions are being completed. These year-end figures just go to show how important it is to have the right information when preparing to enter into a real estate transaction.
Source: Miami Herald, “Broker’s View/On the Homefront: A more stable real estate market? Thank new construction,” Duff Rubin, Dec. 13, 2015