Preliminary Data Shows South Florida Housing Market Strengthening in January 2023

By Gay Cororaton, MIAMI REALTORS® Chief Economist

Preliminary data on the South Florida housing market shows more new listings of single-family homes and a faster pace of price appreciation in January 2023. Statistics aren’t official. Official January 2023 stats will be released on Feb. 21, the same day Florida Realtors and NAR will release statistics. Like Florida Realtors and NAR, MIAMI gives Realtors 15 days after the end of the month to update their closings in the MLS. Not all Realtors update their closings by the end of the month.

As of the week of February 9, the average – 30-year fixed rate slightly ticked up to 6.12% (6.09% in the prior week).  With mortgage rates now hovering at about 6% from the peak of about 7% in November 2022,

Preliminary Data Show New listings rose at stronger monthly pace in January 2023 

Preliminary data for the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach show 4,787 new listings of single-family homes in January, up 1.5% from the prior year and up 45% from the prior month.

New listings of condos/townhomes in January are still down 4% year-over-year, to just 6,480, but this level is up 42% from the prior month.

On a combined basis, new listings of single-family and condos/townhomes totaled 11,267. While total new listings are still down 2% from the prior year, they are up 43% from the prior month.

New listings tend to rise in January compared to December, but the monthly increase in January 2023 is much higher than the 26% to 27% monthly increase in January 2021 and January 2022, which indicates that the increase is more than just due to seasonality effects.

Preliminary Data on Median home sales prices up for single-family homes and condos/townhomes

Preliminary data shows median single-family home sales price in South Florida rose to $566,000 in January 2023, up 8.8% from the prior year.  In December, the annual pace of price appreciation was just 5%. By county, Miami-Dade prices were up 4% year-over-year in January, up 8% in Broward County, and up 13% in Palm Beach County.

In the condo/townhomes market, the median sales price in South Florida rose to $319,850 in January 2023, up 22% from the prior year.  In December, the annual appreciation was just 8%. By county, Miami-Dade median condo/townhome prices were up 11%, up 13% in Broward County, and up 17% in Palm Beach.

Home prices continue to rise at strong pace in South Florida due to the economy’s strong economic fundamentals. In the Miami-Dade Ft. Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area,  non-farm payroll jobs rose at an annual pace of 4.3% in December compared to 3.3% nationally.  Housing supply is still relatively tight even if supply has been increasing. As of January 2023, the level of active listings of single-family and condos/townhomes stood at 30,940 units, up 29% from the prior year but 49% below the level in 2019.