Inman

South Florida home sales fall 29%

Residential real estate sales and prices in South Florida’s Broward County dropped considerably in August from their year-ago level, as for-sale inventory continued to grow, according to statistics provided by the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale.

Single-family home sales last month totaled 805, down 29 percent from 1,139 sales a year ago but up 3 percent from the 778 sold in July.

The total number of single-family and condo-townhouse listings on the market in August grew to 23,977, up 1.6 percent from the previous month’s 23,589 and up 250 percent from 6,848 in August 2005.

The huge increase in inventory has been a major factor in the region’s sales slowdown and is keeping a lid on home prices, according to statistics.

The median sales price remained steady from the previous month at $375,000, but was down 3.8 percent from $390,000 in August 2005, the association reported.

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.