Is Miami-Dade’s condo market back on track? Check the new housing trends

After several years of turmoil, Miami-Dade’s condo market is showing signs of rebounding.

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Existing condo sales were up by 11% last month compared to the previous July, according to a report from the Miami Association of Realtors. The trend was particularly strong for condos between $400,000 and $500,000, which saw sales rise by 12% year-over-year.

Total home sales in Miami-Dade were up 8% last month compared to the previous July, according to the association’s report, and single-family homes sales were up 5% year-over-year.

While the condo market may be showing signs of getting back on track, it’s still a strong buyer’s market, with 12 months of condo inventory available in Miami-Dade. A buyer’s market gives buyers more power to negotiate for a good deal because the market is oversupplied with condos.

But for the last six months, inventory has been decreasing. That trend continued last month, with inventory down nearly 12% compared to the previous July. The last six months have been the first period during which condo inventory has decreased since sweeping condo laws were passed in 2023.

After the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, state laws introduced new rules for condo buildings. The laws, which mandated financial reserves for repairs and more regular inspections, led to skyrocketing costs for many condo owners.

New costs associated with condo ownership made it difficult for owners to sell their units, and eventually led to plummeting condo prices across South Florida. These laws hit condo owners in older buildings especially hard.

Although more affordably priced units are leading the way in the condo market, on the single-family end, higher-end home sales are driving the market.

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Total $1 million-and-up home sales rose by 15% in Miami-Dade last month compared to the previous July. In Broward, sales of $1 million-and-up homes were up 34% year-over-year.

That aligns with current demographic trends in Miami-Dade, as well as what local luxury real estate brokers are saying. Miami-Dade has been gaining wealthy residents and losing low-income and middle-class residents, according to a Florida International University analysis of tax returns.

A recent report from the Miami Association of Realtors showed the average salary of those moving to Miami-Dade from out of state for work was $140,000 last year, well above the county’s average income. The same report also showed that the county gained $3.6 billion in wages last year as new jobs moved to the area.

And local brokers say the luxury real estate market is benefiting from the money moving in.

Mendel Fellig, a real estate agent with Compass who sells luxury homes in Miami Beach, said he’s seen many wealthy out-of-state buyers looking to buy homes in Miami-Dade. He said he’s met with several clients relocating from California, which he credits to the proposed billionaire wealth tax, as well as the massive amounts of wealth Silicon Valley tech executives have gained in the artificial intelligence boom.

Miami-Dade made headlines earlier this year as several of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest men bought homes in Miami and Miami Beach. Among the homebuyers dropping millions on Miami-Dade real estate were Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as well as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

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