Forget Miami? Another South Florida community sees home sales double

Broward had the most new signed contracts in August compared to its neighboring South Florida counties. It’s no surprise, one Realtor said, with more buyers — both from out-of-state and Miami — searching for a sweet middle ground when it comes to density.

Most of our buyers are not looking to go to a rural area. They feel that Broward is a compromise of having some of the advantages of a big city,” said Dan Teixeira, a Realtor for Douglas Elliman.

New signed contracts more than doubled year-over-year in Broward, by a 135.6% increase for single-family homes and a 161.1% growth for condos, according to the Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel August 2020 report. Miami-Dade experienced a year-over-year increase of 18.5% for single-family home sales and by 2.2% for condos.

The report compared the number of newly signed contracts for homes priced between $200,000 to above $1 million on the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, in August 2019 versus August 2020.

“The market is robust in Broward,” Teixeira said. “We handled long before Covid the quality of life issues. The buyers that are coming up here from Miami and, predominantly, from New York have sensed that Broward offers them a lot of options, from boating to the beach promenade.”

Related story lead image
Related story lead image
Sign Up: Re | source

Whether you’re a real estate professional or simply an aficionado, the Miami Herald’s new RE | source newsletter is your link to residential, commercial and industry news.

The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show put Broward on the map for out-of-state buyers, Teixeira said. Most, if not all, Broward buyers want a waterfront home. Fort Lauderdale beach is attracting condo buyers and Harbor Beach, Las Olas Isles, and Sunrise Intracoastal is drawing those searching for a single-family home.

Buyers from the Northeast and California are driving sales in South Florida, said Teixeira and Dina Goldentayer, executive director of sales at Douglas Elliman.

The amount of new listings is not keeping up with growing demand, according to the report. Except for a 12% year-over-year increase in new listings for single-family homes in Miami-Dade, the number of new listings fell in Miami-Dade and Broward.

“The pandemic has made people realize that they either love their home and will never sell or want to sell and want something different,” Goldentayer said.

Miami-Dade

New signed contracts for single-family homes grew from 1,248 in August 2019 to 1,479 in August 2020. This year, the majority of contracts were for homes priced between $300,000 to $399,999 while homes priced below $200,000 experienced the least amount of activity.

The number of new listings increased from 942 in August 2019 to 1,055 in August 2020. Most of the homes added this year were priced between $400,000 to $499,999.

New signed contracts for condos increased from 1,308 in August 2019 to 1,337 in August 2020. Condos listed from $200,000 to $299,999 sold the most with the least amount of sales happening for homes priced from $800,000 to $999,999.

The number of new listings fell by 45.3%, from 3,674 in August 2019 to 2,010 in August 2020. Most of the condos added in August were priced between $200,000 to $299,999.

Broward

New signed contracts for single-family homes increased from 334 in August 2019 to 787 in August 2020. The majority of buyers bought homes priced between $300,000 to $399,999 in August 2020. Single-family homes priced from $800,000 to $999,999 saw the least amount of activity.

A total of 1,122 single-family homes were added in August 2019 compared to 1,010 in August 2020, a 10% year-over-year decrease. Most of the houses added to the market were listed from $300,000 to $399,999.

The county saw 334 condo sales in August 2019 compared to 872 in August 2020. Most buyers gravitated to units listed below $200,000 in 2020 with the least amount signing contracts for units listed above $1 million.

The market received 1,521 new condo listings in August 2019 compared to 1,276 in August 2020, a 16.1% year-over-year decline in new listings. Most of the homes added were listed below $200,000.