South Florida Resale Inventory Drops 58% Since Thanksgiving Week Of 2008

South Florida’s residential resale inventory has decreased in quantity by 58% since the Thanksgiving holiday week – the symbolic start of the busy winter tourism season – of 2008, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

Nearly 108,000 residential properties were on the resale market in the tricounty South Florida region on Nov. 24, 2008 as financial uncertainty reached an all-time high following the abrupt failure of the investment banking behemoth Lehman Brothers that subsequently triggered a near meltdown of the U.S. economy.

Some three years later, the number of condos, townhouses, and single-family houses on the resale market in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties has shrunk to fewer than 45,000 residences as of Nov. 21, 2011, according to analysis by the licensed Florida brokerage CVR Realty™.

Even though the U.S. economy continues to wobble along with modest GDP growth, a recent downgrade by the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, and a high unemployment rate by modern standards, the number of residential properties under contract in South Florida has spiked to nearly 22,000 – a large chunk of which are all-cash deals – as of Nov. 21, 2011, according to the analysis based on Florida Realtors association data.

Back in 2008, the pending sales in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties totaled slightly more than 9,300.

As of Nov. 21, 2011, Miami-Dade County – where Aventura, Coral Gables, and South Beach are located – has nearly 11,200 pending contracts alone.

Broward County – where Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood Beach, and Pompano Beach are located – has nearly 7,650 pending sales.

Palm Beach County – where Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and West Palm Beach are located – has more than 3,000 pending sales.

Several factors are impacting the changing South Florida residential real estate climate, ranging from the foreclosure freeze that has prompted some lenders to withdraw bank-owned properties from the resale market to a flurry of international buyers with strong foreign currencies who are attracted to the region’s discounted property prices.

As for product type, the condo and townhouse resale market is showing the greatest improvement in South Florida based on available inventory.

South Florida’s condo and townhouse resale inventory is down nearly 60 percent to less than 24,500 units on the market as of Nov. 21, 2011. In 2008, the condo and townhouses inventory on the market in the tricounty region totaled nearly 61,000 units.

Broward County has experienced the deepest drop in condo and townhouse resales available on the market.

As of Nov. 21, 2011, less than 7,200 condos and townhouses are on the resale market in Broward County. Back in 2008, there were nearly 21,100 condos and townhouses for resale in Broward County.

In Miami-Dade County, there are less than 9,200 condos and townhouses on the market as of Nov. 21, 2011 compared to 24,450 resales available in 2008.

In Palm Beach County, less than 8,150 condos and townhouses are on the market as of Nov. 21, 2011 compared to nearly 15,400 resales available in 2008.

The reduction of South Florida condo resale inventory combined with a steady absorption of new unit sales is triggering talk of another new construction boom.

Developers are proposing at least 15 new towers with nearly 4,000 units in South Florida, according to the CondoVultures.com Preconstruction Condo Projects list.

As for the single-family house resale market, nearly 20,400 properties are available for purchase as of Nov. 21, 2011 compared to nearly 46,700 properties available in 2008.

Miami-Dade County has experienced the most significant drop in single-family houses on the resale market with less than 5,850 houses available on Nov. 21, 2011 compared to more than 16,550 houses available in 2008.

In Broward County, the number of single-family houses on the resale market has dropped to less than 6,300 houses as of Nov. 21, 2011 from 15,850 houses on the market in 2008.

The available single-family houses inventory in Palm Beach County has decreased from less 8,250 houses on the market as of Nov. 21, 2011 compared to more than 14,200 houses on the market in 2008.

It is important to note there are various stages to a residential real estate transaction in South Florida.

A transaction begins when a property is made available for sale and ends when a title is conveyed from one party to another party as a result of the recording of a deed with the local government.

As part of the process, a property typically goes under contract and into a due diligence phase by which a deal can be canceled.

The CondoVultures.com new condo sales report is based on completed transactions where a deed is recorded and taxes paid as a result of the sale.

Condo Vultures® LLC is a real estate consultancy and marketing company based at 1005 Kane Concourse, Suite 205, Bal Harbour, Florida, 33154. You can reach Condo Vultures® LLC at 800-750-0517.

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