Ft. Lauderdale Real Estate News

Ft Lauderdale Real Estate News 9/22/2023

Fort Lauderdale Home Prices Show Appreciation of 14.3%

You Call That a "Down" Year?

Blue Line is S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for South Florida Metro Reporting Area
(Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties) from 1987 thru May, 2023
Red Line is the Home Price Index for the U.S.

Following a staggering rise of 36.2% in 2021, and 18.9% in 2020, the Real Estate Market in Fort Lauderdale was supposed to take a bit of a breather. And we suppose you could say it did. According to 2022 Year End statistics released by Florida Realtors, data generated by compiling sales reported through the MLS of local realtor associations throughout the Sunshine State, the Average Sale Price for a Single Family Home in the city of Fort Lauderdale only rose 14.3%.

Yes. ONLY 14.3%.

Which raises two interesting questions:

The first – what kind of Real Estate Market are you in when 14.3% appreciation is considered a "down" year?

The second – why is anybody investing in Real Estate anywhere else?

With mortgage rates high and inventory tight, following two years of explosive growth, you would expect Real Estate to cool off, consolidate, as people became accustomed to the new pricing reality.

Apparently, in Fort Lauderdale, that translates to 14.3%.

An even more telling stat, perhaps, is the "Median Percent of Original List Price Received," which calculates the spread between asking and closing price. Historically, the Median Percentage of List Price Received for a Single Family Home in Broward County has been around 95-96% of the property's asking, with Condominiums and Townhomes around 94-95%. In 2022 the Median Percent of List Price received for a Single Family Home was 100% and 99.1% for Condos and Townhomes.

This is a Median statistic, remember. That means of the 14,438 sales of Single Family Homes in Broward County in 2022, at least half of those were higher than full asking price.

For those of you keeping score at home, that's two years in a row the Median Percent of Listing Price Received in Broward County has been 100%.

What The Heck Is Net Domestic Migration?

A few months ago we reported interesting numbers released in an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the National Association of Realtors concerning Net Domestic Migration. This is a fancy way of saying Who's Moving Where From to Where?

According to this study, tracking the percentage of inbound moves between 2019 and 2022 more people were relocating to the South Florida reporting area (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties) than any other metro in the country.

Aside from the weather (you never have to shovel sunshine out of your driveway) the main contributors to this influx of homeowners was undoubtedly Covid-19 and Taxes.

Once the Pandemic hit, many – especially in Finance thru the Northeast – began working remotely, wondered how smart it was to pay millions for a 900 sq. ft. co-op in a sub-arctic urban shithole when for equal money they could live in a luxury waterfront pool home in a tropical paradise.

In addition, California raised their State Income Tax to 16% to pay for cleaning streets where the homeless people go to the bathroom. We have a good friend, saw our blog, corrected us, claiming California only raised the State Income Tax to 13%. A tremendous consolation. Perhaps the local government should post that on billboards heading east, right before the Arizona state line, see how much difference that makes.

If you want to read our post concerning Net Domesticate Migration, click the link below.

Land of No Land

The old adage of "they're not making any more" has never applied more appropriately than it does to Fort Lauderdale. Broward County is not large, less than 30 miles north to south, and though it technically stretches halfway across the Floridian peninsula, around 45 miles, almost two thirds of it is comprised of wetlands, which is it's source of fresh water. In all Broward County there is only 471 square miles of developable dry land, and at this point it is fully developed.

The last large chunk of undeveloped land left in Broward, 61 (Everglades adjacent) acres by the corner of US-27 and Sheridan Street, was purchased by Amazon in 2021.

As a result, more and more people are moving into a location where there is no more empty land upon which to build. So this is not a "bubble." Barring cataclysmic natural disasters, asteroid impacts and/or total collapse of Western economies, it is all but impossible to envision housing prices ever retreating in Southeast Florida, particularly Broward County.

Back to Numbers

Year End 2022 stats show strength throughout Florida.

In Single Family, the Median Price increased 15.7% from $348,000 in 2021 to $402,500 in 2022, while the Average Sale Price went from $505,129 in 2021 to $562,442 in 2022, a gain of 11.3%.

Closed Sales, however, were down 18% from 350,516 in 2021 to 287,352 in 2022. This is undoubtedly another factor contributing to the rise in property values. In addition to, and possibly due to, the Median Percentage of List Price Received for the entire state of Florida was 100%.

In the South Florida reporting metro (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties) the Median Price for a Single Family Home increased 17% from $265,000 in 2021 to $310,000 in 2022. Average Sale Price was up 13.9% from $446,100 in 2021 to $508,001 in 2022. Again, Closed Sales declined significantly, from 63,499 in 2021 to 51,232 in 2022, down 19.3%, while the Median Percentage of List Price Received went up from 96.7% to 98.5%.

Broward County, a more desirable location than Miami-Dade or Palm Beach, reported better stats than statewide or the South Florida reporting area. Median Price for Single Family homes rose 17% from $470,000 in 2021 to $550,000 in 2022. Average Sale Price increased 14.2% from $668,533 in 2021 to $763,768 in 2022.

Closed Sales declined 22.2% from 18,565 to 14,438, year over year, and Median Percentage of List Price Received remained at 100% for 2022.

As we cited previously, the Average Sale Price for a Single Family Residence in the city of Fort Lauderdale showed an increase of 14.3%, with Closed Sales registering a steep decline of 30% year over year. Drilling a little deeper we can see more affluent neighborhoods outperformed the County average. Zip Code 33301 (the Las Olas Isles) showed an increase of 42.9% in Median Price, and 40% in Average Sales Price. Zip Code 33304, which includes Fort Lauderdale Beach, the southern tip of Coral Ridge and the up and coming neighborhood of Poinsettia Heights, increased 30.3% in Median and 33.6% in Average Sale Price.

Check the Broward County City by City statistics, and the Broward County by Zip Code report to see more.

There is some interesting stuff:

Hillsboro Beach reported No Closed Sales, though last year their Median Price increased 46.4% to $18,295,000 based on a total of 6 Closed Sales, with Average Sale Price rising 14.4% to $15,800,000.

Lighthouse Point registered 178 Closed Sales, down 36.7% from 2021, with Median Price going up 26.4% to $1,388,888, and Average Sale Price increasing 25.4% to $1,823,269.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (or as we like to call it – Stoplights-by-the-Sea) reported 47 Closed Sales (down 17.5% from 2021), Median Price rising 57.7% to $1,222,500, Average Sale Price increasing 45.6% to $1,465,202.

Average Sale Price in the Town of Southwest Ranches shot up 47.4% to $2,240,290 on a total of 98 Closed Sales (down 37.6% from 2021). Median Price rose 30.2% to $1,482,500.

Condominiums and Townhomes

The Market for Condos and Townhomes showed similar resilience.

Statewide numbers report the Median Price for Condominium and Townhome properties rose 21.6% from $262,000 in 2021 to $306,500 in 2022. Average Sale Price increased from $382,963 to $445,305 year over year, representing a rise of 16.3%. Closed Sales were down 21.7% (from 160,177 in 2021 to 125,494 in 2022). Median Percentage of List Price Received went up to 99.9% from it's 2021 levels of 98.1%.

In the South Florida Metro Reporting Area (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties) the Median Price of a Condo and Townhome increased 17% from $265,000 in 2021 to $310,00 in 2022. Average Sale Price was up 13.9% from $446,110 to $508,001 year over year. Closed Sales were down from 63,499 in 2021 to 51,232 in 2022, a decline of 19.3%. Median Percentage of Listing Price Received notched up from 96.7% to 98.5%.

In Broward County Median Price of a Condo and/or Townhome rose 14.9% from $271,500 to $250,000 year over year. Average Sale Price increased 20.9% from $296,632 in 2021 to $358,647 in 2022. Closed Sales went down from 21,858 in 2021 to 18,135 in 2022, a 17% decrease. Median Percentage of Listing Price Received rose from 2021's 96.9% to 99.1% in 2022.

Drilling down on the Condo numbers reveals some interesting stats.

In the city of Fort Lauderdale, Closed Sales declined 26.7% to 2,410, but the Average Sale Price shot up 39.1% to $784,049.

Further analysis reveals this increase is due largely to strong demand for the Beach.

Zip Code 33308, which includes the Galt Ocean Mile, showed a rise in the Average Sale Price of 31.8%.

Zip Code 33315 (encompassing South Lauderdale Beach, Harbor Beach and 17th Street Causeway) reported an increase of 37.8% in Average Sale Price.

And Zip Code 33304, which includes North Fort Lauderdale Beach, registered at increase in Average Sale Price of 71%.

2022 Year End Real Estate Market Reports

Click on buttons to download a pdf of statistical reports.

Ft Lauderdale Real Estate News 5/11/2023

Real Estate "Experts" Finally Catch Up To What I've Been Telling People For Years

What The Heck Is Net Domestic Migration?

It's always nice when the Real Estate "Experts" finally catch up with me. The latest statistics from Realtor.com prove what I've been telling people for years - that the dramatic rise in South Florida Home Prices has been caused by a tremendous increase in DEMAND.

This is borne out by their analysis of Net Domestic Migration. Which is a fancy way of saying: Who's Moving Where.

Main contributors to this are the Pandemic and Taxes.

Once the Covid-19 Pandemic hit and many - especially those in Finance in the Northeast - started working remotely, they began to wonder why they were paying $2 Million for an 800 square foot co-op in a sub-arctic urban shithole when the same money could buy them a luxurious waterfront home in a tropical paradise.

Here's the view $2 Million buys you
in New York City

Tough choice. Nobody who lives here
ever dreams of being THERE

In addition, California raised their State Income Tax to 16% to pay for cleaning streets where the homeless people go to the bathroom.

And where are all these people moving when they finally wise up?

Change of Inbound Moves 2019-22

States Sorted by Net Domestic Migration

Property Taxes by State

Run Cursor over map to see where each State ranks.
Lowest to Highest

Total Tax Burden by State

Run Cursor over map to see where each State ranks.
Lowest to Highest

Before You List Your House For Sale

Ten Pro Tips to Increase My Home Value

Thinking about Listing your home for sale? Before you do, here are some helpful tips you might consider to maximize your home's value.

We're talking mainly about Single Family Homes here, but many of these tips will still apply to Condos and Townhouses.

Much depends on the architectural design of your home. Some of these tips may simply not be possible, given the size and layout of your property. In addition, we hesitate to suggest knocking down walls, adding square footage, or anything else requiring construction, which could be expensive, and may not increase your value sufficiently.

Those are business decisions which should be considered on a case by case basis.

1. The Final Frontier

Would you like to buy a dark, cramped little house? Neither would anybody else. A lot of ...

Continue Reading

Ft Lauderdale Real Estate News 1/31/2023

Highest Increase in Home Values in U.S.

Florida ranked Number One in home price appreciation last year, according to recent statistics released by real estate website Zillow showing the rise in property values from January to January.

According to their analysis, the average price for a home in Florida rose $56,000 through 2022, from $345,305 in January of last year to $405,939 in 2023.

That represents an increase of 17.27%, meaning home values rose more in Florida than in any other state in the nation.

Even more interesting, perhaps, is Zillow's year-over-year Home Value Index for December 2022, which shows appreciation on properties in South Florida (the "Miami" reporting area, which includes Broward and Palm Beach counties) rose more than any other major market in the United States.

Click on chart below if you wish to see larger image

Ft Lauderdale Real Estate News 6/3/2022

Fort Lauderdale Homes Up A Whopping 36%

Florida Realtors 2021 Year-End Statistics

The Average Sales Price for a Single Family Home in Fort Lauderdale rose a staggering 36.2% in 2021. In addition, the Median discount from Listing Price was Zero, meaning the vast majority of homes either sold for full asking or more than the Listed Price.

These startling figures are according to the latest year-end statistics released by the Florida Association of Realtors. Though seemingly incredible on face value these are accurate numbers. Statistics released by the Florida Realtors are generated by compiling sales reported through the MLS of local realtor associations across...

Continue reading, click on button below

Ft Lauderdale Real Estate News 5/19/2020

Ft. Lauderdale Home Values Rise 19% in 2020

Florida Realtors 2020 Year-End Statistics

Home values in Fort Lauderdale rose 19% in 2020.

To be precise: the Median Price of a Single Family Home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida increased to $500,000, which represents a rise of 19.0% from the previous year, according to statistics compiled and released by the Florida Association of Realtors.

What makes statistics reported by the Florida Realtors particularly valid versus other market reports...

Continue reading, click on button below

Consistent High Appreciation

What Makes Fort Lauderdale Real Estate The Smart Investment

One of the most highly respected sources of real estate statistics, the CoreLogic Home Price Index, was recently released for September, 2016.

Once again, analyzing these numbers illustrates why buying property in Fort Lauderdale is such a smart investment.

According to this report home values in the Sunshine State appreciated 7.5% in the 12 month period which concluded in September, 2016. That number tops the national average of 6.3% and ranks Florida the 6th best state in the country in home appreciation.

Delving a little deeper into these stats, however, it is particularly intriguing to look at the forecasts for the upcoming year. CoreLogic projects property values in Florida will increase 7% over the next annum. That ranks 3rd best in the U.S. behind California and Nevada, and illustrates the true strength of the Sunshine State's real estate market.

Over the past few months the Pacific Northwest has been very hot. In this Setember 2016 HPI the highest home price appreciation was found in Washington state (10.3%), Oregon (10.1%), Colorado (8.6%), Utah (7.8%) and Idaho (7.7%).

Florida ranked 6th at 7.5%.

Well, every dog has their day. Anytime you see Utah leading the nation in anything other than great salt lakes you have to know there's a story in there somewhere. In large part I think this is because home prices nationwide have recovered unevenly. The whole country took a hit when the nationwide real estate market collapsed. It took a while to stabilize. The more desirable locations like Florida and California snapped back first, then the recovery spread across the rest of the nation, through the Northeast, Midwest and the West.

Still, while other states cycled in and out of the Top Five, the Top 10 in home price appreciation, Florida has remained near the top of the rankings. Maybe it wasn't Number One in the nation, but as these reports were released, month after month, year after year, the Sunshine State was always in the Top Five.

A couple years ago the Midwest was hot. Wisconsin ranked near the top of the nation high in home price appreciation. Before that it was the Southwest; the highest increases in property values were found in Arizona. Before that it was the Northeast - New York and New Jersey. Like hotshot gunfighters riding into town, looking to make themselves a name, these states came and went. Meantime, month after month, year after year, Florida remained high on the list.

The real insight in this latest report can be found not only considering at the appreciation over the past year, but looking at the CoreLogic forecast for the upcoming annum.

Washington reported a home price increase of 10.3%, but CoreLogic projects only 5.8% growth over the course of the upcoming year. Oregon homes went up 10.1%, yet the forecast for the next annum is only 6.1%. Colorado showed an 8.6% increase; projection for the next 12 months is 5.7%. Utah and Idaho reported increases of 7.8% and 7.7% respectively for the year ending in September 2016, but over the next annum home values in those states are only projected to rise 5.1% and 4.9%.

According to this CoreLogic HPI home prices in Florida rose 7.5% in the 12 months which concluded in September, 2106, but are projected to increase 7% over the next year. That ranks 3rd in the United States.

What does this tell you? First, it is relatively obvious these other markets are experiencing a temporary uptick in high appreciation as the housing recovery cycles through their geographic region. Secondly, that Florida's real estate market offers a much more consistent, reliable appreciation. This is what has always made the state, and South Florida especially, such an attractive location for investors, and frankly anyone who wants to make money in real estate.

Florida is an appreciation driven market, which has always operated on a boom and bust cycle. In a normal year home prices will typically appreciate 7-8%. Perhaps once a decade the market spikes and you'll see property values increasing 10-12%, sometimes even more, but those times are usually followed by periods of consolidation when the market cools.

In Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, specifically, home prices are projected to keep rising at a significant rate. It is all but inevitable. Not only because Fort Lauderdale is a tropical paradise with no state income tax and a relatively low cost of living where you can swim in the ocean all year round and you must remember to turn on your car heater every so often, not because you need it, but just to keep it from rusting through. It's a simple matter of supply and demand.

There is an old adage which is usually recited about beach front property: "They're not making any more of it."

That has never been truer than it is in Fort Lauderdale, the primo location in the state of Florida. There is only so much land. Broward County is not large, approximately 27 miles north and south, perhaps 45 miles east to west. However, around 60% of this geographic area is comprised of wetlands which cannot be developed without cutting off their own water supply. They can no longer build any anything else beyond the Sawgrass Expressway and US-27, which are somewhere between 10 and 15 miles from the coast. The entire county is 1,320 square miles with 115 square miles of waterways, but when you boil it all down this leaves only 471 square miles of developable dry land.

At this point this developable land is now 99.99% developed. There are no more swaths of scrub forest east of US-27 and the Sawgrass which can be bull-dozed into housing projects. Occasionally you see quotes from developers bemoaning the fact there's no more chunks of empty land. This is like a whaling boat Captain complaining it's getting harder to find Sperm Whales. You know, pal, if you weren't there SHOOTING THEM WITH HARPOONS, might be a few more of them around.

Still, drive the Sawgrass Expressway through northern Broward you see housing developments and commercial properties along the east side of the road, and along the west side of the highway it is literally The Everglades - whip grass, wading birds and alligators.

The lack of land, however, is not stopping the influx of people moving on down. Florida recently surpassed New York as the third most populous state in the nation. This trend will undoubtedly continue as Baby Boomers across the U.S. retire and seek a warmer climate. You never have to shovel sunshine off your driveway. Broward County is simply the most desirable part of the state. In 1960 they took the Census, there were 60,000 residents. Ten years later in 1970 there were 600,000. Currently the population is around 1.75 million and projected to climb to almost 2.3 million by the year 2020.

That's over a half million more residents - an additional 31% - moving into the same 471 square miles of developable dry land.

Talk about a No Brainer, this would seem to be a simple matter of connecting the dots, what this should mean for property values in Fort Lauderdale and throughout Broward County. 1) We don't have much land. 2) The population is growing.

Add these factors up significant appreciation in property values seems relatively inevitable. In addition, whatever rate of appreciation you might wish to forecast for the overall county-wide average, it will undoubtedly be greater in prime real estate such as waterfont homes, oceanfront condos, houses and townhomes in the better nieghborhoods along the coast.

To read a detailed analysis of the prospects for appreciation in Fort Lauderdale property values, click on button below.

12 Things You Must Know

How to Buy Foreclosures

A lot of attention, in many cases too much attention, in today's market is focused upon Foreclosures, also known as REOs (Real Estate Owned). Many people believe in the old adage: "One man's trash is another man's treasure." There are, however, several other old sayings you would be wise to live by. "When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is." The other is: "Buyer beware."

True, you can find some good deals in REOs, and they might make more sense for certain investors, however we would not limit yourself to shopping Foreclosures. Buyers should not overlook regular old-fashioned sales. If a homeowner needs to sell his house they cannot List it appreciably higher than the Foreclosure or Short Sale next door, on his block, in his neighborhood.

To compete successfully in the Foreclosure market you must understand the way things work, follow methods which are at this point established. Here's a few things you should know, be prepared for:

1.) Remember Foreclosures by definition represent a home someone has walked away from. This is not an overnight process. It took months, probably over a year to get these people out. They occupied the premises for months and months not paying anything, waiting for the axe to fall. Very few care about or can afford to maintain these properties and many, in anger and resentment, pulled appliances and fixtures, perhaps even damaged the home before they left. After that the property might've sat vacant for months before the Bank managed to list it for sale. If you are not in construction, if you're not much of a Do-It-Yourselfer, if you don't have a reliable and inexpensive source for remodeling...

Read The Rest of This Article

Read a detailed analysis of the prospects for appreciation in Fort Lauderdale property values, click on button below.

Some Charts you might find interesting

Freddie Mac Home Price Index

South Florida (Dotted Green) versus United States (Blue)

Total Tax Burden by State

Run Cursor over map to see where each State ranks.

Real Estate Taxes

Run Cursor over map to see where each State ranks.