As compared to the same month last year, the number of pending Florida Miami homes sales was up 54 percent and 51 percent in Broward. The numbers are high because of the many international buyers and home owners purchasing ‘second’ Miami homes that wanted to take advantage of the glum Miami real estate prices. Another contributing factor was first-time and existing buyers if Florida Miami homes benefiting from low mortgage rates.
According to figures released by the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches and the Southeast Florida MLS, in May, total pending Florida Miami homes sales, including single-family and Miami condos, in Miami-Dade increased to 10,456, up 0.62 percent from April. April figures included a last-minute surge by Florida Miami homes buyers taking advantage of the federal tax credit which expired on April 30.
In May, due to the impact of the expiring tax credit, pending Florida Miami homes sales fell 3.23 percent to 3,719 in Broward, compared to April.
Indicated by a national report released Wednesday, a rush of Florida Miami homes buyers seek to meet the tax credit deadline pushed the number of signed sales contracts nationwide to the highest level since October.
On Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements for homes that had been previously occupied 6 percent in April to a reading of 110.9 from a month earlier. The reading for March was improved upward to 104.6 making it the third consecutive month of increases. The rises were due to the federal tax credits of up to $8,000. Sales are expected to drop in the coming months now that the credit has expired analysts predict.
Mortgage rates have hit record lows and prices of homes have dropped dramatically but people are still unlikely to buy if they don't have a job or fear that their jobs are in jeopardy.
On Wednesday, a sign of a slowing market appeared when the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly report on applications to purchase homes fell for the fourth-straight week to the since April 1997. Home prices are expected to drop even more in the second half of the yea because of the high levels of foreclosures.
However, some analysts are less apprehensive than others. Chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, Ian Shepherdson, wrote that he expects "a gentle recovery once the plunge following the end of the tax credit is over.''
Contributed by MLR Realty
