The Great Debate – Should you Live in Miami-Dade or Broward?
Categories: Real Estate News, South Florida Market Stats
hiBeing a long-time resident of Miami Lakes & having been born at Mercy Hospital in Coconut Grove, I understand why people migrate to Miami. However living so close to the border of Miami-Dade & Broward (literally walking distance), I have for a long time now worked & played in Broward County. Both counties have great attributes, after all South Florida in itself is a tropical paradise which I am lucky enough to call home. I love both counties & it will really depend on which suits your lifestyle the best. Below is a statistical view on the real estate market in both areas.
Current market conditions in Miami-Dade are as follows:
As you can see Miami-Dade’s market is currently a Buyer’s Market. There has been a steady increase of inventory & the median home/condo sales price is $310,000 in Miami-Dade. With inventory continuing to increase & sales sagging, I do expect the market to continue to be sluggish.
Current market conditions for Broward are as follows:
My biggest surprise in comparing the two counties was noticing that Broward county’s inventory has been higher than that of Miami-Dade’s for some time, however in September of 2007, the inventory levels are almost the same. However, Broward sales are also slightly stronger than that of Miami-Dade’s. Another point of interest is that the median price of a home/condo in Broward is $260,000, significantly lower than Miami-Dade. It seems overall you may make the better investment by selecting Broward county. Note that both areas have a sluggish market & the real estate market in all of South Florida will continue to have challenges in the following year.
The good news is for Buyers in both Miami-Dade & Broward: If 2008 is not the year you buy in, you could be missing out on the same opportunities that Sellers had in 2003-04. The deals are yours for the taking!
It is not all bad news for Sellers, however now more than ever, working with an experienced Realtor that can advise you on the statistics for your individual neighborhood & help you determine the best price for your home, will be essential. Now is the time to really trust a professional to give you the facts & a comprehensive marketing campaign for your property.
Delilah – very interesting approach, that of comparing Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Although the median price of a home in Broward is lower than Miami-Dade, it does not necessarily mean you will be making a better investment by buying in Broward.
I totally agree with you that working with an experienced Realtor is crucial in this market, but let’s not forget that real estate is very local in nature and genral numbers in huge counties like Broward and Miami-Dade may not be fair for some smaller communities within those counties.
Ines – It is really hard to compare two such large areas & I agree with you that the numbers can really change when we start to analyze the individual communities.
However, overall from an investment standpoint, it is interesting to note that Broward is closing slightly more transactions yet Miami-Dade is larger. I think the important part will be to review the numbers again in six months. These are certainly great times for Buyers.
Think of doing marketing reports for the areas that you are proficient in to show your value to customers looking for a good Realtor.
I’m curious to see how these numbers change in 6 months.