The median price of a single-family home in
Miami-Dade soared 25.7 percent in July to $230,000 from $183,000 a year
earlier, the Miami Association of Realtors said. Single-family home sales in
Miami-Dade jumped 27.3 percent in July to 1,227 closings from 964 a year
earlier. That marked the highest sales volume since 2005, when the median price
was $351,200.
What’s driving the market? Supply — there isn’t
much — and demand — a lot of buyers are racing against rising mortgage interest
rates. However as Lawrence
Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, warned Wednesday
that the impetus from rising rates will only go so far. “The initial rise in
interest rates provided strong incentive for closing deals. However, further
rate increases will diminish the pool of eligible buyers,” Yun said in a
statement.
The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage
is 4.74 percent, up more than a full percentage point from 3.61 percent in
early May, according to HSH.com, a Riverdale, N.J., mortgage-information firm. *Source
Miami Association of Realtors.
