South Florida Housing Market Saw Soaring Demand and Low Inventory in April

South Florida continues to see a surge in home sales and median prices despite rising mortgage rates.

Miami-Dade County recorded the seventh highest number of home sales ever  and the second most sales recorded in any April on record last month, according to a report Thursday by the MIAMI Association of Realtors.

Though sales in Miami fell to 3,445 last month compared to the 3,960 registered in April 2021, it was significantly higher than historical average for the month (2,306) and a huge 32.4% increase over April 2018.

Sales in April 2021 recorded an extraordinary surge due to the pandemic and low mortgage rates.

“Many of the homes that sold in April 2022 had their rates established in February and March when mortgage rates were at 4%,” according to a news release accompanying the report.

Condo and single-family home sales in Miami decreased by 7.4% and 21.3% respectively, but the number of sales were still higher than every other April besides 2021.

Luxury condo sales in Miami, for homes at $1 million and above, recorded almost the same amount of transactions as April 2021, while single-family luxury home sales decreased by 31.2% because of low inventory, according to the report. 

While demand for Miami real estate is at an all-time high, inventory has struggled to keep up.

Total active listings at the end of April decreased 43.2% compared to the year before, and new listings for single-family homes declined 7.1% and condos by 11.3%.

“The recent rise in mortgage rates should eventually temper the velocity of Miami’s record-setting real estate market appreciation, however, ultimately inventory will tell the tale,” Fernando Arencibia Jr., chairman of the board of the MIAMI Association of Realtors, said in the news release. “Although we see opportunities for buyers to have more choices, with a slight increase in days on market and fewer bidding wars, the lack of equilibrium between demand and supply indicates that as we gradually head to a more balanced market Miami’s real estate sector should remain strong.”

Median home prices also showed an increase for both single-family homes and condos. Single-family home median prices were up from 9.7% April 2021, hitting $565,000. The increase in median price for single-family homes has been on a long streak going on for 125 consecutive months, which is over 10 years. Miami condo median prices also increased 20%, reaching $390,000. 

In Palm Beach County, total home sales decreased by 26.2% compared to April 2021 from 4,006 to 2,956. Both condo sales and single-family home sales recorded annual declines of 27% and 25.4% respectively.

Luxury condo sales in Palm Beach showed a 15.9% year-over-year decline while the single-family luxury transactions recorded almost the same numbers as April 2022. 

Meanwhile, median home prices experienced a steady increase.

Palm Beach County single-family home median prices increased 29% compared to April 2021, from $466,000 to $601,000. Condo median prices also increased 22.2%, reaching $293,500.

“Palm Beach real estate remains in a high-demand/low supply market, but more inventory is showing signs of coming to the market,” said Brad Westover, president of the MIAMI Association of Realtors’s Jupiter branch, in the news release. “Palm Beach single-family home active listings were down just 2.5% year-over-year in April 2022, a good sign as higher rates are expected to increase days on market in the months ahead.”

New listings for single-family homes were down by 8.7% and condos by 1.3% compared to 2021. Total active listings at the end of April 2022 also decreased by 23.7%.