Florida and Miami continue to climb out of recession

Florida continues to climb out of the recession, with the Miami Association of Realtors reporting this week that sales of existing single-family homes in the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) rose 11% year-on-year in November, from 679 to 755.

And sales of existing condominiums increased 2% from 1,039 to 1,064, versus November 2010.
Across the state, things went even better with sales up by 11% year-on-year to 12,993 for single-family homes and by 2% to 5,590 for condominiums.

"Residential real estate sales have consistently risen in Miami-Dade since August 2008," Jack H. Levine, 2011 Chairman of the Board of the Miami Association of Realtors, told OPP.

"Now, after the relatively rapid absorption of excess housing inventory, we are seeing property prices follow the same pattern. This is very encouraging and reflects market strengthening despite the impediments posed by unnecessary and restrictive mortgage underwriting standards and appraisal challenges."

And it is overseas property buyers who are fuelling a large surge in cash sales say local realtors. Cash sales accounted for 41% of single-family and 79% of condominium transactions in November and 9 out of 10 cash buyers come from abroad.

"International buyers in Miami have fuelled an unprecedented recovery unlike any other in the nation,” Ralph De Martin, residential president of the Miami Association of Realtors told OPP.
“And we are fortunate because Miami combines all of the attributes that are expected to attract international buyers long into the future."
Housing stock levels are dropping too. The inventory of residential listings in Miami-Dade County has dropped 40% from 24,278 to 14,461 active listings, in the last year. Compared to the previous month, the total inventory of homes dropped 4.4% from 15,127. Since August 2008, existing housing inventory has decreased more than 66%, down from 43,100.

http://www.opp.org.uk/news-article.php?id=6038