January Miami Region Home Sales Press Release

Miami Region January Home Sales

January 27, 2014

Miami-area home sales dipped year-over-year last month but were still the second-highest for a January in seven years thanks to relatively strong condo resales, robust investor purchases and gains in mid- to high-end activity. The median sale price fell month-to-month, which is normal for the season, and while the median remained higher than a year earlier the rate of increase declined again, a real estate information service reported.

In January, 8,983 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the metro area encompassing Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties. January sales fell 16.2 percent from the prior month and fell 5.4 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

A sharp drop in sales between December and January is normal for the season. On average, sales between those two months have fallen 17.8 percent since 1997, when DataQuick's complete Miami-area statistics begin. Last month marked the first time Miami-area sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis since April 2012, when they dipped 0.2 percent.

Last month's sales were 2.3 percent below the average number of sales for the month of January since 1997. January's condo resales were 36.0 percent above average for the month, while single-family detached house resales were 0.8 percent below the long-term January average and new-home sales were 74.3 percent below average.

The 4,318 existing (not new) condos sold in January marked the second-highest level for that month - behind last year - since January 2005, when 4,675 sold. Condo resales made up 48.1 percent of total sales last month, compared with an historical monthly average of 35.5 percent.

When viewed by price segment, Miami-area January home sales dropped 25.4 percent year-over-year for homes priced below $100,000 and fell 14.0 percent for homes priced below $200,000. But sales of homes priced in the typical move-up range between $200,000 and $600,000 increased 4.1 percent year-over-year, while the number of homes that sold above $800,000 rose 49.4 percent from January 2013.

In the Miami region's multi-million-dollar luxury home market, 122 homes sold for $2 million or more during January - a high for that month historically and up 48.8 percent from a year earlier. The figures are based on public property records, where either a price or loan amount was available.

In all of last year, 1,369 Miami-area homes sold for at least $2 million, up 29.0 percent from 2012 and the highest on record.

In the overall Miami market, the median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in January was $177,000, down 3.5 percent from the month before and up 12.2 percent from a year earlier. Because of seasonal factors it is normal for the median sale price to dip between December and January, with that decline averaging 3.3 percent since 1997.

The median sale price has risen on a year-over-year basis for 25 consecutive months. Those gains have been double-digit for the past 18 consecutive months, ranging from 10.2 percent to as much as 27.1 percent last August. However, the year-over-year gains in the median have moderated lately, dropping from 22.0 percent last November to 14.7 percent in December and 12.2 percent in January this year.

Last month's $177,000 median stood 39.0 percent below the Miami area's peak $290,000 median in June 2007. Over the past year the highest monthly median was $185,000 last August, which was the highest for any month since December 2008, when the median was $200,000.

Investors and other out-of-state and foreign buyers continue to put significant pressure on the Miami region's housing market.

Buyers based outside of Florida purchased about 13 percent of all homes sold in the Miami area in January, based on the mailing addresses of buyers. Of the buyers from outside of Florida, about two-thirds were from the United States and about one-third were buyers who listed a foreign mailing address in the public record (Note: Some foreign buyers use a U.S. mailing address in public records, hence not all sales to foreign buyers can be tracked this way.) New York was the most likely state of origin for out-of-state buyers in January, representing nearly 3 percent of total Miami-area sales.

In January, 261 Miami-area buyers purchased at least two homes on the open market (excludes public foreclosure auctions on the courthouse steps). That was down 11.5 percent from 295 multi-home buyers during January 2013, based on an analysis of buyer names in the public record. (Note: In some cases individuals and partnerships buy under different names). In January this year, buyers of two or more homes purchased 1,021 properties in the Miami region, which amounts to 11.4 percent of all homes sold and is almost the same as the 1,019 properties that multi-home buyers purchased in January 2013. There were 22 buyers in January 2014 that each purchased five or more homes, but only seven bought 10 or more. Combined, the seven buyers who purchased 10 or more homes in January 2014 acquired 375 properties, or about 37 percent of all homes bought by multi-home buyers. A single buyer purchased 261 properties, or nearly 27 percent of all homes bought by multi-home buyers in January.

To view additional January Miami highlights, visit DQNews.com.

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157

Source: DataQuick; DQNews.com

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