Home sales in Miami rose year-over-year for the 11thconsecutive month in March. The March report fromDataQuick also revealed sizeable increases in mid- to high-end activity and a record level of sales to investors and other absentee buyers.
Miami’s median price paid for a home rose 14.1% year-over-year, marking the 15th consecutive month that the city saw a gain.
In March, there were 10,215 new and resale houses and condos closed in the metro area that encompasses Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties. Sales in March rose 18.8% from February and 7.1% from one-year prior, according to DataQuick.
However, while a sharp gain between February and March is normal, the change between those two months has averaged 26.7% since 1997.
During the first quarter of 2013 — January through March — a total of 28,294 homes sold in the region, a 14.2% increase from the first-quarter of 2012.
Sales of homes that were priced below $100,000 dipped 11.2% year-over-year, while sub-$200,000 homes dropped 3.3%.
In Miami and other markets slammed by foreclosures in recent years, you tend to have the greatest inventory restraints in the most affordable areas — the bottom third or so of the market, says Andrew LePage, a spokesperson for DataQuick.