May was a record month for Miami’s housing market.
There were 1,344 single family home sales in the Miami area in May, the most sold for the month in Miami’s history and an almost 10% jump from the number of homes sold last May, according to data released Wednesday the Miami Association of Realtors.
Luxury sales of $1 million and above were up 23.5% in May year on year.
Other categories were also up in Miami’s housing market. Condo sales rose 5.7% compared to last May, total dollar volume surged 14.7% and single-family luxury homes sales also increased. The luxury market of single-family homes priced higher than $1 mllion, meanwhile, has risen for three straight months.
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Coral Gables Realtor Christopher Zoller, the 2017 Miami Realtor chairman of the board, attributes the record smashing sales to "pent up demand."
"Pent-up demand is fueling a historic Miami home buying season," he said in a news release. "Two months after posting its most single-family home sales ever [for the month of March]Miami-Dade County broke another record for the most May sales. Local job growth and impending interest rate hikes are fueling purchases."
In terms of sales volume, residential sales increased 7.7% year on year from 2,532 to 2,728.
Existing condominium sales jumped by more than 5% year on year, and seem poised for more growth, according to pending sales data cited in the report. The number of existing condominium contracts were up 6.8% year on year in May. For single-family homes this also increased 5.4%.
This boom is being fueled by an increase in mid-market and high-end transactions. Mid-market home sales (homes between $200,000-$600,000) jumped 27.9% compared to last May and comprise 71.9% of all single-family home sales.
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Sales volume for all Miami properties last month totaled $1.17 billion, not including the new construction market.
Home prices have increased in every category. Single-family homes jumped 10% year on year (the 66th consecutive month prices rose), condo prices went up 4.8% and have increased 70 of the last 72 months.
Cash transactions still represent a large proportion of sales. In Miami, 39.4% of closed sales were cash transactions, lower than last year’s 47.2%, but still double the national average of 22%. Over half, or 53.8% of condo closings were made in cash in May. This reflects the area’s diverse and international buyer base, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.