Florida markets are contradicting national trends of slowing home sales, with growth rates up to 6.6% year-over-year in some counties in May, according to Forbes.
Home sales are up in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, bucking a national trend that indicates a market slowdown is on the horizon. Across the U.S., total home sales dipped 1.1% in May compared to the same period a year ago, but the three Florida counties experienced bumps between 3.9% and 6.6% last month compared to May 2018, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.
In Miami-Dade, there was a total of 2,796 home sales in May, a 6.6 % increase compared to the same month last year. Broward had 3,376 total home sales, representing a year-over-year increase of 5.9 %, and the 3,323 total home sales in Palm Beach represented an increase of 3.9 %.
The Association's chairman José María Serrano said wealthy northeasterners are driving the sales growth. “Miami’s lifestyle coupled with a growing economy, new tax laws and low mortgage rates continue fueling the market," Serrano said. "Miami has now posted more single-family and condo sales in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year.”