Ten-X has released its Second Quarter 2016 Economic and Single-Family Housing Market Outlook Report for Miami, which reveals that although home sales continue to improve, the area’s homeownership rate has fallen to its lowest level since bottoming out in mid-2014.
Rising prices and stagnant wages may be affecting affordability, according to the report.
Homeownership in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach metro, which has lagged behind the national average since 2009, measured 57.5 percent during the quarter, 0.8 percent lower than a year ago, compared with the national homeownership rate of 63.6 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Ten-X Research.
“The Miami housing market continues to climb back from the devastation it suffered during the Great Recession, although both sales volume and pricing are still far below the peaks they reached during the housing boom,” Ten-X Executive Vice President Rick Sharga said in the news release. “The long-term outlook for the market is strong, as population growth and employment trends are both positive. But there are some hurdles in the near term, as price appreciation has outpaced wage growth, and volatility in international markets may be slowing down purchases by foreign buyers.”
Miami existing home sales continued to make gradual upward progress during the quarter, rising 3.2 percent from a year ago to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 61,800 and marking a cyclical high, even as home sales remained well below their 2005 peak and sales growth lagged slightly behind the national growth pace of 4.4 percent.
The inventory of homes for sale in Miami increased 16.3 percent compared with a year ago, while the average time a home for sale sat on the market climbed to a seasonally adjusted 83 days.
Home price appreciation continued its upward momentum in the second quarter, pushing the median existing home price in Miami to $244,196, an 8.1 percent year-over-year increase. Although the increase marked a cyclical high, prices remained well below Miami's 2007 peak, suggesting room for further growth.