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If it all falls down
What will happen if it all falls down? I guess the housing “recovery” has been fun, but it looks like transaction volume continues to decline. Today we will look at the Greater Fort Lauderdale / Broward County Florida residential real estate market. The average monthly transaction volume has been declining since peaking in 2015.
As for the monthly average transaction volume, here is a chart showing the numbers since 2012 in Broward County, Florida:
Average Monthly Transaction Volume | |||
2012 | 2,555 | ||
2013 | 2,647 | ||
2014 | 2,636 | ||
2015 | 2,829 | ||
2016 | 2,815 | ||
2017 | 2,668 | ||
2018 | 2,428 |
The annual transaction volume numbers show the same downward trend over the past few years:
Broward residential transaction volume | ||
2012 | 30,657 | |
2013 | 31,768 | |
2014 | 31,629 | |
2015 | 33,950 | |
2016 | 33,782 | |
2017 | 32,013 |
Median sale prices for single-family homes have held up through the month of March. Take a look of this next chart which shows the following median sale prices for March 2018
- Tradtional sales – $355,000, up from $340,000 in February
- Foreclosure sales – $302,617 up from $225,000 in February
- Short sales – $280,000 up from $242,500 in February
Note the sharp climb in median sale prices of short sales and foreclosures. This shows that the higher-end distressed properties are finally making their way to market after spending nearly a decade in the court system. Keep in mind that the property owners that have the money for an attorney have been able to delay the property sales for nearly a decade. As we have discussed at length, the foreclosure problem in South Florida will continue to linger for years to come.
How about condo properties in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area? There was a big jump in short sale prices. Once again, this further illustrates that some higher-end distressed condo properties are finally being sold.
- Tradtional sales – $165,000, up from $160,000 in February
- Foreclosure sales – $110,000 falls from $144,500 in February
- Short sales – $162,500 up from $140,000 in February
Mortgage rate falls slightly this week
As for the mortgage rate, there was a slight decline from last week. Transaction volume has been fighting an uphill battle since rates have climbed. The path to normalization may be a bump one for housing. If mortgage rates continue their path higher, you will certainly see the sale prices of houses and condos declining.
Good Reads & Good Tunes
Instead of a “Good Read”, today we will leave you with a classic tune from Jimmy Buffet