I am an optimist and expect us to have a bright and active future marketing and selling Miami Beach single family homes to both to international and domestic buyers looking to own a piece of paradise.  Following up from our last sales update regarding the overall trend in terms of prices and pending sales trends for Miami Beach (South Beach area) for January, 2010:

Some local Miami Beach perspective on this latest sales trends for zip codes 33139 and 33140:

55% of the homes sold in January in Miami-Dade County were priced under $500,000 and these homes that sold were actively on  the market for an average of 30 days.

Price trends at the lower end of the market have been positive, with the latest closed sales showing flat pricing, and in some cases a slight appreciation in neighborhood values.  However, in the higher price ranges (over $500,000), we are still seeing weakness in demand and no decline in supply of new inventory. 

Below is the supply of houses listed for sale in Miami-Dade County in October, according to the MLS:

• - Under $500,000: eight-month supply of homes
• - $300,000 to $1 million: 21-month supply
• - Over $1 million: four-year supply

Miami Beach’s luxury housing market falls into mainly in the over $500K category, however, the supply is much more restricted due to the fact that these are islands communities.  Also, since there is no new construction taking place, I continue to expect Miami Beach's housing inventory to slowly work it's way down to a healthy six to nine month supply for the luxury segment of the market.

Miami Beach Housing Inventory:

• - $300,000 to $500,000: less than six month supply
• - $500,000 to $1 million: 15 month supply
• - Over $1 million : 24 months supply

As I speak to an ever-increasing number of motivated sellers as part of my daily/weekly round of listing appointments, I continue to emphasize to everyone that there is NO room in the local housing market for overpriced listings. The strongest demand continues to be for turnkey (completely remodeled & finished) waterfront and non-waterfront homes that are priced RIGHT!  The issue today is not so much the current inventory levels of unsold homes, it's the expected supply of NEW Miami Beach unsold homes that are expected to come on the market in the next few years.  I personally know of quite a few sellers that have kept their homes off of the active market waiting and hoping for the market to "turn around". 

To view latest Miami Beach sales data, click here.

* Data Sources: MLS & Miami-Dade Public Records