Year to date through September, Miami-Dade County has already broken its annual record for sales of $30 million-plus homes in yet another indicator of the amount of wealth pouring into the area, MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld said.  

By Sept. 30, 24 single-family homes and condominiums had sold for $30 million or more, topping last year’s record of 21 $30 million-plus sales. At this pace, Miami-Dade will see 32 of these supercharged home sales. 

“South Florida ultra luxury real estate is booming, and the numbers are impressive,” MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld Chairman of the Board Alfredo Pujol said. “But there are opportunities for buyers at many different price points, with options from Miami to St. Lucie starting around $400,000. In Miami, condo sales near the $400,000 median price point are up 15% year-over-year, showing that there’s plenty of activity beyond the luxury market, too.” 

Overall, a soft market 

Total home sales slipped 2% year over year in September to 1,733 transactions, while single-family sales fell 4.7% to 824 deals, and condominium sales rose 1% to 909.  

Elevated interest rates are the main reason for the lackluster year-over-year comparisons, MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld Chief Economist Gay Cororaton said. Mortgage rates rose almost 0.6 percentage points to 7.46% from Sept. 1 to Oct. 13. 

“We are continuing to see the negative impact of soaring mortgage rates on homebuyers, but upper-end buyers have remained active, with this trend likely to continue through next year as mortgage rates remain elevated,” Cororation said. 

Pending sales, a forward indicator of future market performance, point to increased softness in the market. Contracts for single-family homes fell 11.6% to 814, while those for condominiums were down 7.5% to 936. 

Total active listings at the end of September were down 10.1% year-over-year, from 18,057 to 16,242, representing the eighth month in a row of declines.