South Florida home sales, prices fall

South Florida's Broward County residential real estate sales fell 25 percent in July as record inventory cut into single-family home prices, according to statistics provided by the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale.

Single-family homes sales totaled 778 in July, down from 1,038 a year ago.

The total number of single family and condominium-townhouse residences on the market in July rose to 23,589, up 3.4 percent from 22,821 in June and up nearly 344 percent from 6,033 in July 2005.

The huge increase in inventory has been a major factor in the region's sales slowdown and now has sent home prices lower, according to statistics.

July's single-family median price of $375,000 was down $5,000 from June and reflected a 3 percent drop from $384,900 one year ago, the association reported. For condominium-townhouse units, the median price of $211,000 was down 1 percent from $212,500 in June but up from the year-ago price of $200,000.

However, the association said improving consumer confidence and a brighter job market outlook could indicate the economy is stabilizing.

"When consumer confidence and the employment outlook are high, the real estate market tends to follow," said Dori Longhini, president of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale, in a statement. "The shift in sales prices may suggest that sellers are taking a more realistic view of the market and that could help kick-start a turnaround."

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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