Sales are increasing, but single-family home sales take the lead
This past June we saw encouraging numbers throughout the entire South Florida real estate market. At the start of the pandemic, we saw the market across Miami-Dade and Broward Counties slow as a result of a shift in consumer focus. Since that time, real estate professionals have found a way to take the process virtual in order to provide for the safety of buyers and sellers. Mortgage rates have also reached historic lows, which has helped fueled even greater demand among buyers.
Miami-Dade single-family home sales in June 2020 were up 5.5% when compared to just one month earlier, May 2020. Pending sales, although they remain to be closed, are a critical indication of buyer participation in the market. Miami-Dade single-family home pending sales were up 27.4% when compared to May 2020 and were up 39.4% when compared to June 2019. This increase in contracts and closed sales has caused inventories to drop by 12.8% from May 2020. In the coming months, it is likely that, at the current rate of sales, we will be in a sellers’ market.
Condominium sales in Miami-Dade saw increases as well but did not experience as much growth as single-family home sales. Closed sales were up by 1.9% in June 2020 compared to May 2020, and pending sales were up 54.7%. This indicates that buyer activity in the condominium market is returning to levels seen prior to the pandemic. Historically, condominium sales generally made up 55% of total sales, while single-family home sales made up 45%. That has now reversed to where 55% of total sales are now single-family homes and 45% are condominiums. Despite the increase in activity, the total inventory for condominiums only decreased by 0.5% from May 2020.
The Broward County real estate market paints a similar picture. Comparing single-family home sales in June 2020 versus May 2020, there was a 20.3% increase in closed sales and a 30.2% increase in pending sales. We have also seen the inventory for the same period decrease by 14.3%. Comparing June 2020 to the same month a year earlier, pending sales are up 22.6%. Conversely, in the condominium market, closed sales are up 5.3% and pending sales are up a staggering 41.2% when compared to May 2020. Inventories in that market only decreased by 1.7%, which indicates that buyer demand is keeping pace with the number of new listings coming on the market.
Clearly, the numbers are showing that the pent-up buyer demand from the past few months has begun to enter the market and result in encouraging spikes in sales activity. The housing market is a critical engine within the economy, and as it moves on the road to recovery so will several other industries that are inextricably linked to its performance. To keep the momentum going, there will need to be more listings to meet buyer demand in the coming months. For sellers wondering when to put their home on the market, it’s pretty clear that there has never been a better time than now.
