South Florida condominium sales picked up in October, showing the second consecutive year-over-year increase in more than two years.
The regional condo market had been reeling from the twin pressures of higher mortgage rates and reforms put in place for older buildings after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside that killed 98 people.
The pace of condo deals increased across the region, led by a 10.6% jump in activity in Broward County. Broward also had the lowest median price of condos at $259,000. That represents a 7.5% drop in the median price from a year ago, according to data from the Miami Association of Realtors.
The drop in prices and increase in sales underscores the affordability challenges the regional residential real estate market has experienced for several years, which was amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to historically low interest rates and a sharp acceleration in demand as new residents rushed to move to Florida.
Median condo prices also fell slightly from a year ago in Miami-Dade County in October to $400,000. The data reflects existing condos and not newly built units hitting the market for the first time. The realtors associated noted sales of condos in Miami-Dade priced between $150,000 to $199,000 "surged" almost 79% from a year earlier.
Palm Beach County saw both sales activity and median prices increase last month. The median price of a condo was $315,000, up 3.3% from last October.
Single family homes
Throughout the slump in condo activity, the single family home market has remained buoyant, even as the pace of price appreciation has slowed considerably.
The number of homes sold continued increasing across the region, though the median price of a single family home sold in Broward County nudged lower, down 0.6%. Median prices remain substantially higher than before the pandemic, at over $610,000 in South Florida. The highest is in Miami-Dade County at $682,000.
The Federal Reserve cut its target short-term interest rate in September and again in October by a quarter percent each month. Central bankers expressed concern about a slowing job market even as inflation remains above the Fed's long-term target. The rate cuts have helped push down mortgage rates. Rates hit their lowest level in a year in late October.
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"The strong finish this year sets up the market for a full-year growth in 2026, underpinned by several favorable tailwinds – lower mortgage rates, sustained condo market stabilization, and an expected increase in out-of-state migration, particularly from New York and California," said Miami Realtors Chief Economist Gay Cororaton.
South Florida's housing market tends to be less impacted by mortgage rate fluctuations because of a significant proportion of buyers using cash. However, borrowing rates influence the affordability of homes, especially for first-time buyers.
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