South Florida real estate sales cool

South Florida's Broward County residential real estate market shifted in favor of buyers last month, as huge inventory gains slowed sales significantly, according to statistics provided by the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale.

Association researchers reported 8,838 single-family homes available in April, up 280 percent from April 2005 when 2,327 homes were on the market. The condominium-townhouse inventory soared 361 percent during the last year, with 11,490 units on the market last month compared with 2,492 units a year ago.

Single-family home sales totaled 746 in April, down 31.7 percent from April 2005 when 1,093 homes were sold. Condominium-townhouse sales fell by 30 percent during the same period, from 1,321 units a year ago to 923 last month.

The median sales price for single-family homes rose to $354,300 in April, up 4 percent from the year-ago price of $340,000. For the condominium-townhouse segment, the median sales price gained 18 percent from a year ago, rising from $178,000 to $210,000.

"With the market changing in favor of buyers," said Dori Longhini, president of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale, "this is as important time as any for sellers to draw upon the expertise of a real estate professional who can help them select or market their home and get a fair price for it."

The Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale Inc. is one of the largest Realtor associations in Florida, representing more than 12,000 real estate agents in Broward County.

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