South Florida's Housing Market Is A Mixed Bag
MIAMI (CBS4) - As the economy continues to ebb along with slight signs of improvement, many have wondered if the housing market is finally on the road to recovery.
Well, it depends.
Six of the nation's metro areas, including Ft. Myers, have officially hit bottom. At least that's according national real estate analysis by Zillow.com and USA Today. The reason for the markets finally bottoming out – price cuts on home of 60 percent or more.
The markets which the analysis cites as hitting the bottom include Ft. Myers (62% of peak prices), Las Vegas, Nevada (59% off peak prices) and Vallejo, California (56% off peak prices).
While no South Florida markets made the list, local realtors insist we're seeing a steady recovery with the latest sales numbers showing price cuts in key sectors in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.
The national real estate tracking service Trulia.com has reported that the Miami market is number two in the nation for slashing prices, with deals down by about 11% from last year. While Miami-Dade's median home prices were down 23% in February (compared to last year), prices in Broward were actually up 22% from the previous year.
In the South Florida markets, cash is king and foreign investors are taking the opportunity to snap up distressed properties and desirable real estate alike at bargain prices. Some real estate analysts predict it could be another five to eight years before our market really starts to see any widespread gains.
