“Miami $1-million-and-up home sales surged in four of the last five months, a sign of the robust pent-up demand for Miami luxury properties,” said George Jalil, MIAMI chairman of the board.

Federal tax reform, signed into law Dec. 22, sets a deductions cap for income, sales and property taxes at $10,000. The new cap is fueling more residents of states with high property values and state income tax to purchase properties in states such as Florida, which has no state income tax and a pro-business tax structure.

 

Condo Sales Rise for Fourth Consecutive Month

  • Miami existing condo sales increased for the fourth consecutive month, rising 3 percent to 983 from 954. Existing condo home sales in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range jumped 21.4 percent, from 220 in February 2017 to 267 in February 2018.
  • Single-family home sales decreased 6.9 percent, from 881 to 820. Lack of single-family home supply in mid-price ranges is negatively impacting sales despite strong demand.
  • Total sales volume for all properties accounted for $864 million last month, up 3.6 percent from one year ago. Sales Volume does not include Miami’s multi-billion dollar New Construction condo market.

 

Miami Luxury Sales Surge in February

  • Total Miami luxury $1-million-and-up sales jumped 31 percent one year ago.
  • Miami condo luxury sales increased 30.9 percent, from 55 to 72, in February 2018. Miami condo luxury sales have risen in four out of the last five months (Feb. 2018, Jan. 2018, Dec. 2017 and Oct. 2017).
  • Miami single-family luxury home sales rose 31.1 percent, from 61 to 80. Miami single-family luxury sales have risen in four out of the last five months (Feb. 2018, Jan. 2018, Dec. 2017 and Oct. 2017).

 

6+ Consecutive Years of Price Appreciation in Miami

  • Miami-Dade County single-family home prices increased 3.6 percent in February 2018.
  • Miami single-family home prices have risen for 75 consecutive months, a streak spanning more than six years.
  • Existing condo prices rose 4.5 percent, from $220,000 to $230,000 in February. Condo prices have increased in 78 of the last 81 months.

 

Miami Distressed Sales Continue to Drop 

  • Only 7.6 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami were distressed last month, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 13.3 percent one year ago. In 2009, distressed sales comprised 70 percent of Miami sales.
  • Total Miami distressed sales declined 43.9 percent year-over-year, from 244 to 137 last month.
  • Short Sales and REOs accounted for 1.7 and 5.9 percent, respectively, of total Miami sales.
  • Short sale transactions dropped 41.2 percent year-over-year while REOs fell 44.6 percent.
  • Nationally, distressed sales accounted for 4 percent of sales, down from 7 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 46 days, a 24.6 percent decrease from 61 days last year.
  • The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family properties was 94 days, a 16.1 percent decrease from 112 days.
  • The median time to contract for condos stayed even year over year at 83 days. The median number of days between listing date and closing date decreased 3.1 percent to 123 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.

 

Miami’s Cash Buyers Represent almost Double the National Figure 

  • Miami cash transactions comprised 42.8 percent of February 2018 total closed sales, compared to 47.4 percent last year. Miami cash transactions are almost double the national figure (24 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 percentage of cash sales for condos due to lack of financing approvals for buildings.
  • Condominiums comprise a large portion of Miami’s cash purchases as 54.2 percent of condo closings were made in cash in January compared to 29.0 percent of single-family home sales.

 

Seller’s Market for Single-Family Homes, Buyer’s Market for Condos 

  • Inventory of single-family homes decreased 2.3 percent in February from 6,489 active listings last year to 6,342 last month.
  • Condominium inventory increased 4.0 percent to 15,902 from 15,289 listings during the same period in 2017.
  • County-wide, the monthly supply of inventory for single-family homes increased 1.7 percent to 6.0 months, which indicates a seller’s market. Existing condominiums have a 14.4-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 February increased a small 2.1 percent year-over-year, from 21,778 to 22.244. Active listings remain about 60 percent below 2008 levels when sales bottomed.
  • New Listings of Miami single-family homes increased 11.3 percent to 2,814 from 2,950. New listings of condominiums increased 7.3 percent, from 2,414 to 2,590.