Randy Harden - Selling South Florida

The chart anchors all three indices to the first quarter of 2000, so the numbers show appreciation since then. Real estate got out of hand across the country, with appreciation peaking nationally at 166 percent in 2007. But in Broward, values soared 272 percent. Miami-Dade did even better, up 283 percent.

It’s easy to see how quickly values collapsed, but the chart also points out something that tends to be overlooked amid the wreckage of real estate. Home values are still ahead of where they were in 2003.

But perhaps more surprising, local property has actually held its value better than the average home in the United States. According to the FHFA, the average U.S. home is worth about 40 percent more than it was at the start of 2000. In Broward, the average home is worth 49 percent more. In Miami-Dade, it’s 56 percent more valuable.

The number of residential listings in Broward County fell by 35 percent in 2011, according to data from the Miami Association of Realtors. There are a total of 12,997 current residential listings in the county, down from 19,899 in 2010. In December, total inventory fell 2.4 percent compared to November. “The residential housing market has reflected health and balance over the last year,” said Ernesto Vega, president-elect of the Broward County Board of Governors of the Miami Association of Realtors. “Broward County home sales and prices continue to rise and are expected to further strengthen in 2012.” Nationally, total housing inventory fell 9.2 percent at the end of December.

All of us at Wieder Realty would like to thank our friends, clients, and associates for a stupendous 2011. We were able to buy, sell and rent more than 300 transaction sides in 2011 and we could not have done it without the support of a wonderful group of individuals.

We wish everyone a very happy new year and we hope that 2012 is even better than 2011 in every way possible.

Best wishes and Happy New Year!

-Randy Harden

Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales continued its positive upswing in November, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 11 percent last month with a total of 12,993 homes sold statewide compared to 11,664 homes sold in November 2010, according to Florida Realtors.

Here is updated inventory graph of the past 18 months of real estate active and pending. As you can see the autumn has shown a leveling out of properties to find some kind of normalcy.

Sales in my local market (greater Fort Lauderdale) have seen an uptick since the Thanksgiving holiday as northern buyers begin to purchase property to enjoy the Florida winter.