Greater Miami Residential Sales Decline 15 Percent in March
Yet $1 million plus luxury homes in Miami bucks sales trend and uptick 4 percent
Recent data from the Miami Association of Realtors shows that total sales in Miami-Dade County decreased by 14.8% in March 2024, falling from 2,513 to 2,141 units sold. Single-family home sales in Miami saw a 4.8% decline year-over-year, dropping from 1,093 to 1,041, while existing condo sales fell 22.5% from 1,420 in March 2023 to 1,100 in March 2024. The condo market has been notably affected by a shortage of inventory at certain price points and higher mortgage rates.
Despite the overall downturn, sales of homes priced over $1 million increased by 4.47% year-over-year in March 2024, rising from 403 to 421.
Miami has been experiencing a significant rise in new listings, attributed to comparisons with the unusually low numbers recorded through late 2022 and early 2023, which were influenced by the initial shock of rising interest rates. For seven consecutive months, new listings have been climbing, approaching pre-pandemic levels, thus expanding the total inventory and providing buyers with more options. New listings in Miami increased by 8.9% year-over-year in March 2024, from 3,421 to 3,725.
However, total inventory remains 36.7% below the historical average for Miami, with current stocks standing at 12,856 compared to the monthly average of 20,302. Active listings at the end of March saw a 30.9% year-over-year increase from 9,818 to 12,856.
Inventory for single-family homes grew 14.2% year-over-year to 3,768, and condominium inventory surged by 39.4% to 9,088 listings. The supply of single-family homes is at 4.3 months, indicating a seller’s market, while the supply for condos is at 8.2 months, suggesting a balanced market.
Median prices for single-family homes in Miami-Dade County rose by 14% year-over-year in March 2024, reaching $650,000, marking 148 consecutive months of price increases–a record duration. Condo median prices went up by 11.3% from $400,000 to $445,000, with prices either staying steady or rising in 148 of the last 154 months.
Distressed sales, including REO properties and short sales, comprised just 0.8% of all residential sales in Miami last month, a decrease from 1.2% in March 2023. In 2009, distressed sales accounted for 70% of Miami’s total sales. Of the total Miami sales in March 2024, short sales and REOs made up 0.1% and 0.7%, respectively.
Nationally, distressed sales represented 2% of total sales in March 2024. In Miami, the median percent of the original list price received for single-family homes was 96.6%, and for condos, it was 95.5%.
The median number of days from listing to contract for single-family homes was 31 days, an improvement from 35 days last year. The time to sale for these homes shortened from 73 to 70 days. For condos, however, the median days from listing to contract increased from 37 to 43 days, and the time to sale lengthened from 76 to 80 days.
Cash sales accounted for 37.2% of all closed sales in Miami in March 2024, down from 40.7% the previous year. This high rate of cash transactions underscores Miami’s attraction as a prime market for international buyers and those relocating from more expensive U.S. regions, often purchasing entirely in cash. Cash sales comprised 49.5% of all existing condo transactions and 24.2% of single-family home sales.
