Last time you’ll remember, I provided a recap of sales counts for single family homes in the three neighborhoods of the Island City, as well as in nine additional nearby neighborhoods of interest to you, my loyal readers. This time we will look at pricing, compared with both last year and two years ago.
In other words, it’s time to show you the money.
After all, things have quieted down a bit, the winter folk have fled to Rehoboth, Fire Island and Ptown, and we can assess what has happened in yet another season.
The chart included here shows all the details. And while I doubt all Hell will break loose when you look at the numbers, they are indeed a bit eye opening. Let me point out a few things to you.
The average increase across the 12 neighborhoods compared with last year was nine percent, versus an 11-percent year-over-year change in the first quarter of 2017. A slight slowing yes, but a slowing still. As I noted in the Yearbook and in several other places (including conversations with the chief economist of Florida Realtors), we cannot expect prices to increase at double digit annual rates forever (as much as Realtors (and those who already own property) might like them to.)
Second, more of the neighborhoods are having single-digit increases, or even slight declines, in pricing. Pricing momentum is definitely slowing.
Finally, just as I noted last time and in many other contexts over the years, you have got to be very specific when you discuss trends in South Florida real estate. County, city, even zip code, don’t tell you what you need to know. (Examples: Do you mean houses or condos? Waterfront or non-waterfront? Ocean access, or fixed bridges?)
Here we are concerned at the neighborhood level. And there is a wide variance among that nine-percent “average” increase. Some neighborhoods have gotten very “hot” (like Victoria Park, Middle River Terrace/Lake Ridge, and South Middle River), while others clearly lagged this season (Center and East Wilton, and Poinsettia Heights).
You’ve got to get at the detail. Even zip code won’t give it to you, not in a densely populated area like Broward County. Zip codes, after all, were designed for the convenience of the Post Office, not for economic analysis.
Still, a nine-percent “average” increase makes a lot of people around the area very happy. As for other neighborhoods, you can look to my blog at NewRealtyConcepts.com over the next few weeks to get more data. Or just text or email me and I’ll try to get you what you need.






