The much watched barometer of housing prices, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Schiller Index (measures the price changes of the same house over time), reported this week that the home price index for Miami-Dade, Broward & Palm Beach counties rose 8.6% in November 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. South Florida was among a few select areas throughout the county with such a robust price increase (the other areas are Tampa, Denver, Dallas, California & the Pacific Northwest).
While strong, this 2014 increase is considerably below the 2013 double digit increase, when institutional & other cash investors dominated the market, leading to a dearth of available inventory. With fewer of these investors in 2014, the market experienced a more moderate price increase. Housing analysts point out that slower price increases are more sustainable & beneficial, long-term, for the housing sector. It was also noted that the market's continued low housing availability and strict loan underwriting guidelines, which allow only the most credit worthy to purchase, are putting pressure on prices of existing homes available for sale.
The median price in Broward County, FL for existing homes for all of 2014 was $275,000, 6% higher than in 2013, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Board of Realtors.
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