Week of June 30, 2011
| Miami-Dade residential real estate sales head to a record By Yudislaidy Fernandez Miami-Dade's housing market is on track to sell more homes and condos than ever in its history, as national and international buyers fuel demand for its attractively-priced inventory. The county's home inventory has fallen more than 60% in the past three years, reduced from 42,000 homes available in 2008 to 17,000 today, said Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors, one of the region's leading realty firms. A balanced residential market should have six to nine months of housing supply, experts say. Today, Miami-Dade is boasting seven months of supply for single-family homes and six months for condos. "As we drop below six months, then the rate of appreciate will begin to increase," Mr. Shuffield said. While real estate-owned properties, which are those banks have foreclosed upon, remain the majority of properties selling in the market, the number has slightly dropped this year, said Ralph De Martino, residential president of the Miami Association of Realtors. Mr. Shuffield added that although distressed sales, consisting of foreclosed properties and short sales, are now 61% of total sales, that figure dropped from 67% five months ago. "We are chipping away at short sales and foreclosure inventory," he said, noting also that agents are starting to sell more non-distressed homes. Mike Murray, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate's regional senior vice president of Southeast Florida, said with interest rates still at historic lows and inventory dwindling, buyers are jumping on competitively-priced listings. "Inventory is shrinking because homes are selling, and they are selling because they are showing value." To read the entire issue of Miami Today online, subscribe to e -Miami Today, an exact digital replica of the printed edition. |
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