South Florida started off the year strong in the real estate sector, and the market is expected to continue flourishing as the spring season draws near. One specific part of the residential real estate market that saw robust growth was the market for home sales. On the contrary, the South Florida condo market saw somewhat of a dip in sales in January.
Sales of single-family houses showed sturdy growth during the month of January, while sales of condos and townhouses went in the opposite direction. The dip in the condo and townhouse arena was by a little more than 7 percent from last year. However, condo prices are still on an upswing; the media price for one condo/townhouse in South Florida increased by a little more than 5 percent, reaching over $144,000.
The condo and townhouse market statewide was relatively strong, compared with just South Florida's market. Throughout Florida, the median home price range grew by more than 5 percent, reaching $137,000. Transactions were prevalent in the housing markets of Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando.
Now is an appealing time for home sellers to invest in the residential real estate market of Florida, with housing price gains occurring throughout the state, thus resulting in improvements in home equity. This is why new home listings in January increased by nearly 8 percent compared with the previous year. However, buyers can also benefit from today's historically low mortgage interest rates. An applied understanding of related laws may help individuals to successfully execute deals that meet their real estate goals long-term.
Source: bizjournals.com, "South Florida condo sales drop in January despite strong prices, as home sales grow", Brian Bandell, Feb. 23, 2015