Recently, The increase in sales of homes in the US has beocome the topic of many articles in the newsmedia, which also led to a spike in the stock market just before the Thanksgiving Holiday. Miami Beach, one of the first markets to crash, has also seen increase in home sales. I'd like to take this opportunity to put a local perspective to this latest trend in sales:

75% of the homes sold between August through October in Miami-Dade County were priced under $300,000 and 23% of these sales were for homes listed under $100,000.

Price trends at the lower end of the market have been positive, however moving into the higher price ranges, those are areas that we are still seeing weakness. Typically, when the supply of homes for sale stands at a year or more, prices tend to fall. With a six- to nine-month supply, prices remain flat. When the supply drops below six months, sales activity begins to spur price appreciation, as it has for recent home sold and priced under $100,000.

Below is sampling of the supply of houses listed for sale in Miami-Dade in October, according to the MLS:

  • Under $100,000: four-month supply
  • Under $300,000: eight-month supply
  • $300,000 to $1 million: 21-month supply
  • Over $1 million: four-year supply

Miami Beach’s luxury housing market falls into the upper end category, however, the supply is much more restricted due to the natural barrier (island community) limiting further supply. Also, virtually no new construction is currently taking place, so we’re experiencing a decline in inventory levels for Miami Beach’s 33139 and 33140 zip codes:

  • $300,000 to $500,000: less than six month supply
  • $500,000 to $1 million: 14 month supply
  • $1 million to $2 million: 18 month supply
  • Over $2 million: 23 month supply

The conclusion from the above referenced data – there is no room in the Miami Beach housing market for overpriced listings. The strongest demand is for turnkey (completely remodeled) homes, where the new owners do not have to make an additional investment into the property.

To view latest Miami Beach sales data, visit our Miami Beach Real Estate website

* Data Sources: MLS & Miami-Dade Public Records