Miami January 2008 Home Sales

March 14, 2008

The Miami region's January home sales plunged to the lowest level for any month in more than a decade. The area's median sale price fell 2.5 percent from a year ago, but the median's decline was more than triple that amount in Palm Beach and Broward counties individually.

A total of 5,511 new and resale houses and condos sold in the region encompassing Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties in January. That was down 16.8 percent from 6,622 in December and down 47.9 percent from 10,577 in January 2007, according to DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla, Calif. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

Total escrow closings were the lowest for any month since January 1997, when 5,239 homes sold. DataQuick's complete Miami region stats begin in 1997. January marked the 28th consecutive month in which metro area sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis.

The Miami region's median price for new and resale homes combined was $274,836 in January, up slightly from $271,000 in December but down 2.5 percent from January 2007. The region's January median was 5.2 percent lower than the peak $290,000 median in June 2007. The median has fallen on a year-over-year basis for four consecutive months.

The January median's relatively mild annual decline is somewhat misleading. The median for resale single-family (detached) houses as well as the median for resale condos sank around 10 percent compared with a year ago. The 10 percent annual gain in the median for newly built homes is likely the result of fewer condos or small detached houses selling this year compared with last year, rather than the result of appreciation.

In addition, there were relatively sharp price drops in Broward and Palm Beach counties, where the median for all homes fell 8.7 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, in January compared with last year. Dade County's median rose 5.2 percent, though was 1 percent below its peak $305,000 median in June 2007. The medians in Broward and Palm Beach counties have fallen off their peaks by 17 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Another price gauge analysts watch, the median price paid per square foot for resale houses, has fallen well below its peak for the combined three-county Miami region. It decreased to $171 per square foot in January, down 14.2 percent from a year ago and down 18.7 percent from its $211 peak last reached in June 2006.

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach MSA

	# of Sales			Median Price
	Jan-07	Jan-08	% Chg	Jan-07	Jan-08	% Chg
Resale houses	4,214	2,200	-47.8%	$330,000	$299,000	-9.4%
Resale condos	2,820	1,645	-41.7%	$212,750	$190,000	-10.7%
New homes	3,543	1,666	-53.0%	$281,900	$310,000	10.0%
All homes	10,577	5,511	-47.9%	$282,000	$274,836	-2.5%