South Florida Market Data Report

The South Florida real estate market is still going strong. The past several years have been mostly positive for new and current homeowners. Despite some down years, the real estate market has found a way to bounce back thanks to new measures taken by the banks. This mostly meant taking away interest only loans to make sure homeowners avoided future surprises on rate hikes they would not be able to pay later. Distressed property sales were a reality we had to deal with until the market stabilized. But… thankfully banks got their stuff together and things looked a lot brighter for one of the most important economic factors in the US economy, as well as our South Florida’s economy. Since then, homeowners have seen their investments grow rapidly to almost previous levels before the market crashed.

The 2016 forecast points to a good year for South Florida real estate, just keep in mind that the rapid increases in values appear to be slowing down. More homes and condos are in the market in Miami Dade County, which means a home or condo can now take up to 8-9 months to sell, which tells us supply has already surpassed demand. In Broward County the average home or condo takes somewhere between 5-6 months to sell which is considered a normal and healthy market. South Florida real estate is very dependant on South American economies to be healthy and right now it is not the case. The influx of buyers from the south has decreased 5-6 % in the past year, which especially Miami Dade county has felt. International buyers from Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico are among the biggest contributors to making South Florida what it is and has become in the past several years. Most buyers from these countries have been cash buyers which counts for almost 50% of all real estate transactions in South Florida. Good news is that these economies in the South rarely stay negative for more than 1 or 2 years at a time, so buyers should be back in full force once it turns around. This is the reason why you can never count out our local market. Who doesn’t want to leave in sunny Florida with the amazing beaches, restaurants and vibrant people from all over the world.