Miami home sales down 4.2% despite condo surge: DataQuick

Miami home sales in November fell 4.2% from a year ago to 6,647 total despite a five-year high for condos, according to real estate data provider MDA DataQuick. Home sales in the area remain 30% below the average for November, and were down 12.3% from October. Condo resales made up nearly half of the market in November. There were 3,286 condos sold that month, a 7.4% increase from a year earlier. It’s the highest total for a November since 2005 when slightly more than 4,000 condos were sold. Every month saw regional sales increases above the year-before figures from February 2009 to October 2010. But most have been resales. New home sales are down 25% from a year ago and made up just 6.2% of all transactions. The median price paid for all new and resale homes in Miami was $140,000, down 9.7% from a year ago but up 3.7% from the previous month. The peak came in June 2007 when homes in Miami sold for $290,000. Prices have been cut by more than one-half since. Write to Jon Prior.