Home Prices in Broward Rise … Slowly

As home sales across Florida are “stabilizing,” according to The Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale, median prices on single-family homes on Broward County are slightly on the rise.

This figure was $365,000 in May, up 4 percent from $350,000 at the same time last year when the market was reaching its peak. The median sales price of a condominium-townhouse in May was $209,250, up 11 percent from May 2005, when the median price was $188,000. This is more evidence that the market is cooling a bit and opening itself up to those seeking a Florida home loan.

While the number of sales hit its highest level of the year last month, with 808 single-family homes sold, it was still a 25 percent decrease from 1,071 homes sold in May 2005.

“We’ve seen the price of homes take a bit of a roller coaster ride since the start of the year but there hasn’t been a significant drop,” RAGFL President Dori Longhini said.

As Broward home sales slow and median prices rise, inventory goes up, as well.

Association researchers said 9,537 single-family homes were available in May, up nearly 300 percent from 2,412 in the same month the year before. The condominium-townhouse inventory was 12,297, up 383 percent from May 2005 when the market had 2,547 units available.

To explain why prices continued to rise even with higher inventory, Longhini pointed out some of the differences Broward has from other areas.

“We get a lot of people who come down looking to get away from the colder climates up north, make a nice profit selling expensive homes there, and still see value in our real estate market,” she explained.

For this reason, the market is never too cold. While it may shift and Florida home mortgage loan demand may fall occasionally, prices remain stable.