Fort Lauderdale has emerged as a bright spot in Florida's otherwise lackluster real-estate landscape, and an industry analyst said he sees signs that sales momentum is building across the state.
Second-quarter statistics by Florida Realtors showed sales and prices of single-family homes climbing in Fort Lauderdale. While 10 of the state's 19 markets enjoyed higher sales volumes, the Broward County city was the only market to register gains in both sales and price.
Fort Lauderdale's existing-home sales climbed from 3,387 in the second quarter of 2010 to 3,540 for the same period this year -- a 5 percent gain.
Sales statewide were up barely 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the median price in Fort Lauderdale inched up from $186,500 to $188,500 for a 1 percent gain, compared with a statewide drop of 5 percent to $134,600.
The heavily battered Fort Myers-Cape Coral home market notched a 19 percent gain in median prices -- jumping from $98,000 to $117,100 last quarter -- but sales volume fell. Aside from Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers was the only market to register a year-to-year price gain in single-family homes.
The rising prices in Lee County suggested that its residential market, hit hard by foreclosures, may be bottoming out. Yet sales there softened, falling 5 percent from 4,434 to 4,183 quarter-to-quarter.
Home sales increased sharply in Miami-Dade (up 31 percent) and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (up 18 percent), but prices continued to slump, down 9 percent and 13 percent respectively.
CONDOMINIUMS: The Realtors' condominium report was more cause for optimism in Fort Lauderdale. The market's condo sales were up 9 percent and the median price climbed 7 percent to $76,000.
Statewide, condo sales gained 14 percent, but median prices slipped another 2 percent to $94,700.
Fort Myers-Cape Coral condos also improved in both categories, with sales and prices each up 8 percent.
Two other regions showed condo gains in both categories: Pensacola (up a whopping 43 percent in sales and 10 percent in price) and Daytona Beach (up 9 percent and 3 percent respectively).
After Fort Walton Beach ($219,200), Pensacola boasts the state's highest median condo price at $188,600.
ANALYSIS: Overall, Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Floridas Institute for Economic Competitiveness, said the second-quarter housing data show "momentum in sales of both single-family homes and condominiums continues to build."
Snaith noted that median home prices improved 8.9 percent from the first to second quarter this year. Condominium price gains were even more impressive -- up 17.3 percent from the previous quarter.
The fate of the housing market in Florida is tightly bound to that of the labor market. They are like economic conjoined twins -- improvement in one will invariably help the other," Snaith explained.
"As single-family home and condo prices stabilize, the wealth effect of this will make owners more willing to spend, which in turn could boost hiring.
This may sound like a classic chicken and the egg scenario, but as far as Floridas economy is concerned, it doesnt matter which comes first," Snaith said.
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Reach Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
