MIAMI — Broward County total home sales, dollar volume and median prices increased year-over-year in March 2020, according to the MIAMI Association of Realtors (MIAMI) and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.
“Broward real estate continued its trend of positive sales through March 2020,” Broward MIAMI President Sharon R. Lindblade said. “While the impact of COVID-19 on Broward County real estate market is difficult to predict, the solid foundation of the housing market going into the current situation should minimize the impact. The region is on solid financial footing, mortgage rates are at historic lows and supply of inventory has been decreasing for months.”
Broward County continues in a seller’s market (inventory below 6 months of supply) with months of supply trending downward, a sign of the high demand for Broward real estate.
Broward Total Home Sales Increase
Broward County total home sales increased 0.18% year-over-year, from 2,830 to 2,835. Broward single-family home sales decreased 1%, from 1,355 to 1,342. Broward existing condos increased 1.2%, from 1,475 to 1,493.
A rise in mid-market and luxury ($1-million-and-up) transactions fueled the increase in total home sales.
Broward single-family homes priced between $400K to $600K registered a 9.8% home sales increase to 382 transactions. Broward condos priced between $300K to $400K saw a 16% increase to 152 transactions.
In the luxury market, Broward single-family home sales jumped 18.3% to 84 luxury transactions. Broward luxury condos decreased 24.2% to 25 transactions last month.
According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage decreased to 3.45% in March, down from 3.47% in February. The average commitment rate across all of 2019 was 3.94%.
Single-family home dollar volume increased 11.7% from $603 million to $673.8 million. Condo dollar volume increased 3.3% from $341.1 million to $352.2 million.
Lack of access to mortgage loans continues to inhibit further growth of the existing condominium market. Of the 9,307 condominium buildings in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, only 12 are approved for Federal Housing Administration loans, down from 29 last year, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and FHA.
Broward Median Prices Continue Rising
Broward single-family home median prices increased 6.8%, from $365,000 to $390,000. Broward existing condominium median prices increased 6.2%, from $169,525 to $180,000.
Broward Distressed Sales Stay Low, Reflecting Healthy Market
Only 2.9% of all closed residential sales in Broward were distressed in March 2020, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared 4.1% in March 2019.
Total Broward distressed sales decreased 27.8% year-over-year, from 115 to 83.
Short sales and REOs accounted for 0.7% and 2.6%, respectively, of total Broward sales in March 2020. Short sale transactions decreased 26.9% year-over-year, from 26 to 19. REOs decreased 28.1%, from 89 to 64.
Nationally, distressed sales represented 3% of sales in March, up from 2% in February, and unchanged from 3% in March 2019.
Broward Real Estate Selling Close to List Price
The median number of days between listing and contract dates for Broward single-family home sales was 43 days, a 21.8% decrease from 55 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family homes was 82 days, a 13.7% decrease from 95 days.
The median time to contract for condos was 51 days, a 4.1% increase from 49 days. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for condos was 93 days, a 3.3% increase from 90 days.
The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 96.3%. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums was 94.6%.
National and State Statistics
Nationally, total existing-home sales transactions dropped 8.5% from February to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.27 million in March. Despite the decline, overall sales increased year-over-year for the ninth straight month, up 0.8% from a year ago (5.23 million in March 2019).
Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 26,611 last month, 6.4% higher than March 2019, according to Florida Realtors. Florida’s condo-townhouse market totaled 10,823, up 4.7% from the level a year ago. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types in March was $280,600, up 8.0% from March 2019 ($259,700), as prices increased in every region. March’s national price increase marks 97 straight months of year-over-year gains.
Statewide median sales prices for both single-family homes and condo-townhouse properties in March rose year-over-year for 99 consecutive months. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $275,000, up 7.4% from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. Last month’s statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $210,000, up 10.8% over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
Broward Cash Buyers Represent About Double the National Figure
Broward cash transactions comprised 35.9% of March 2020 total closed sales, compared to 37.7% last year. Broward cash transactions are almost double the national figure (19%).
Condominiums comprise a large portion of Broward’s cash purchases as 52.1% of condo closings were made in cash in March compared to 17.9% of single-family home sales.
Seller’s Market for Broward Real Estate
Months supply of inventory for single-family homes decreased 21.3% to 3.7 months, which indicates a seller’s market. Existing condominiums decreased 6.3%, from 6.3 months to 5.9 months, which also indicates a seller’s market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six and nine months of supply.
Total active listings at the end of March decreased 11.5% year-over-year, from 14,844 to 13,114. Inventory of single-family homes decreased 18.6% in March from 6,051 active listings last year to 4,924 in March 2020. Condominium inventory decreased 6.9% to 8,190 from 8,793 listings during the same period in 2019.
New listings of Broward single-family homes decreased 15.7% from 2,091 to 1,762. New listings of condominiums decreased 13.4%, from 2,227 to 1,928.
Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of March totaled 1.50 million units, up 2.7% from February, but down 10.2% from one year ago (1.67 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 3.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from three months in February and down from the 3.8-month figure recorded in March 2019.
To access March 2020 Broward County Statistical Reports, visit http://www.SFMarketIntel.com
Note: Statistics in this news release may vary depending on reporting dates. MIAMI reports exact statistics directly from its MLS system.
About the MIAMI Association of Realtors
The MIAMI Association of Realtors was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating 100 years of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of six organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward-MIAMI Association of Realtors, the Jupiter Tequesta Hobe Sound (JTHS-MIAMI) Council, the Young Professionals Network (YPN) Council and the award-winning International Council, it represents 52,000 total real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local Realtor association in the U.S. and has official partnerships with 222 international organizations worldwide. MIAMI’s official website is www.miamirealtors.com
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