Luxury Property Sales in South Florida Surge

Luxury property sales in South Florida surged in the year to August, according to a recent report from the Miami Association of Realtors.

There was high activity from wealthy home buyers in Miami-Dade Country, with sales of Miami single-family homes priced at $1 million and above seeing a rise of 36.4 per cent year over year.

Transactions also recorded a sharp rise, from 66 to 90 transactions, registering their fourth consecutive month of increases. Existing luxury condo sales rose by 65.9 per cent, from 41 to 68 transactions.

The boom in luxury property sales in South Florida also stimulated a rise in the total sales volume, which rose by 32.6 per cent to $1.14 billion from $859.7 million in August 2017, according to the Miami Association of Realtors report.

Prices for Miami-Dade County single-family homes increased by 6.7 per cent in August to $360,000, and have risen for 81 consecutive months, or 6.75 years. Existing condo prices, meanwhile, rose by 2.2 per cent to $230,000.

Overall, the Miami-Dade County noted a 13.3 per cent rise in sales in the year until August. Transactions rose from 2,158 to 2,444.

Chairman of the Miami Association of Realtors, George C. Jalil said: ‘Condo sales in the $150,000 to $400,000 range jumped 26.9 per cent year-over-year. Single-family sales in the $250,000 to $600,000 range increased 16.4 per cent.’

Cash buys in the city comprised 37 per cent of sales in August, a minor decline from the 37.5 per cent that was recorded last year. This is far higher than the national average of 20 per cent. Of the cash purchases made in August, 51 per cent were used for condos. This is in comparison to the 22.3 per cent of single-family home sales.

Miami’s high percentage of cash sales is due to South Florida’s ability to attract overseas property investors, a population who often tend to purchase properties in cash.