The National Association of Realtors Announced March 21, 2012, that pending home sales are up nationally by 9.2% from last year in the month of February. This is a slight decrease of .5% from January. In the Southeast, the pending home sales in February dropped by 3% , however on average was still up 7.8% from last February. The Pending Home sales data is comprised of homes that have gone under contract, not yet closed, and is considered a direct indicator of the future of the market. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR was quoted as saying “If activity is sustained near present levels, existing home sales will see their best performance in five years. Based on all of the factors in the current market, that’s what we’re expecting with sales rising 7-10 percent in 2012.” This is wonderful news for the Miami Beach real estate marketplace, since it was hit very hard by the real estate crash in 2008.
In Miami Beach, we could certainly already see an uptick in sales. The inventory in Miami is dropping very quickly and is estimated to be at a six month supply, which is down from a nine month supply this same time last year. Nationally, 2.43 million existing homes were listed for sale in February, which is the fewest since 2005. In Miami the supply of homes listed for sale was down nearly 50% from last year. Further, Inman News ranked Miami as the third city for listings over $1 million. If you are interested in buying a condo in Miami, now is definitely the time. We anticipate home sale median prices will increase due to the lack of inventory, as well as buyer interest in the Miami market. If you are selling your condo, the conditions have not been this favorable since well before the crash in 2008. Contact Miami Condos and Homes for more information!!