Have you noticed any price adjustments across the South Florida residential real estate market yet?  It was just a matter of time before the market shifted and it sure looks like times are changing. We always say that one month doesn’t make a trend, but it certainly looks like we will be in a downtrend for awhile.  Don’t be surprised to see a few monthly increases as buyers jump in to catch the falling knife, but this downtrend may be intact for a few years.  If we just look at the decline in average sale prices from May to August, single-family homes have declined 17% and condos 14%.

The number of condos on the market in South Florida is already back to December 2020 levels.  During the month of August there were 14,044 houses and 25,570 condos available for sale.  Given the ridiculous cost of ownership lately, be prepared for these numbers to continue their upswing.

As inventory continues to climb, the number of transactions remains muted.  There were 3,005 condos and 3,238 houses sold across South Florida during the month of August.  To compare that number (6,243 total sales) to the COVID CRAZINESS, that’s essentially half of the number of sales (12,208) In June of 2021.  How many of those buyers are rethinking that purchase?

To put transaction volume in perspective, here is a snapshot of the average monthly deal volume across South Florida going back to 2012.

Will lower borrowing costs save the real estate market?  Time will tell, but even lower rates cannot compensate for skyrocketing insurance costs.  Lower rates may help spur some sales and refinancing, but won’t be enough to offset increased taxes and insurance.

This real estate market outlook covers real estate activity in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County, Florida.  Here are just a few of the cities in each of these three markets:

• Miami-Dade – Aventura, Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami, Homestead, Doral, Miami Lakes, Downtown Miami, Brickell and Key Biscayne.

• Broward – Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, Hallandale, Weston, Parkland, Wilton Manors, Oakland Park, Plantation, Cooper City, Davie, Coral Springs, Sea Ranch Lakes, Lauderdale by the Sea and Lighthouse Point.

• Palm Beach – Delray Beach, Highland Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach Island, Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, Highland Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, Wellington and Lake Worth.