2021 was a bumper year for the Florida property market and Miami, in particular. However, it ended the year on a bang with a string of sales records to cap a remarkable 12 months, including the most all-time home sales, most single-family home sales and highest total dollar volume.
Home sales
In terms of dollar value home sales, we up by more than 100% on the previous year powered by 49% more sales. In total, there were 39,394 home sales, 49.5% more than the 26,345 transactions in 2020 and 31% more than the previous record set in 2013. However, the number of sales was dwarfed by their volume, which totalled $30.3bn, representing a 103% rise against 2020’s figure.
Best December ever for Miami property
As the housing boom continued, some experts predicted things to level off, but if a record December is anything to go by, there is no sign of that happening any time soon. Home sales in Miami-Dade County rose by 14.8% more than the previous December. Single-family home transactions in Miami were down 1.2%, but Miami’s existing condo sales increased by 28.4%, marking the 15th consecutive month in which sales have shown double-digit year on year growth.
Nine of the ten most valuable home sales happened in 2021, with June providing the best single month for home sales in Miami’s history.
December still ranks sixth in the list, which tracks home sales dating back to 1993.
Life of luxury
Single-family luxury sales rose by almost 20% year on year, with condominium luxury sales leaping 100% over the year. As things stand, there is only three months’ worth of supply in luxury single-family homes and 7.5 months’ supply of luxury condos.
Demand is coming from overseas as rising vaccination rates and unstable political situations see foreign buyers looking to South Florida as a safe haven. Rules allowing vaccinated foreigners to resume travel to the US on November 8th have sparked international investment. South Florida, and Miami, in particular, is a significant destination for foreign buyers. It is a world-class city, with a diverse culture, booming economy and great real estate prices compared to other global cities.
Housing continues to out-perform the economy
These figures demonstrate how housing continues to surpass the rest of the economy. The pandemic was tough on other industries, but property proved to be the economy’s saviour. Every two homes sold in the US creates one job. Miami’s healthy economy and thriving property market have proved to be self-sustaining, with people coming into the area drawn by the lifestyle, weather and economic opportunities. While lockdown restrictions took their toll elsewhere, Miami with the rest of Florida remained relatively open.
People stuck in Northern cities looked to south Florida enviously as they sought out opportunities to enjoy a better climate, more freedom and wide-open spaces. These, and other reasons, continue to make Miami a major property star.
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