Home prices in South Florida jumped in the fourth quarter as international buyers and investors nabbed affordable inventory.

In Broward County, where Fort Lauderdale is the county seat, existing single-family home and condo sales increased 6% to 6,572 sales in 4Q 2011 from 6,225 in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

In Miami-Dade County, sales of existing, single-family homes and condos increased in 4Q 2011 to 5,839 sales from 4,722 in the comparable year-ago period.

The median sales price for single-family homes in Broward County in the fourth quarter hit $188,900, which is 5% higher than the fourth quarter of 2010. The median price of condos increased 11% to $77,300 in the same county.

In Miami-Dade County, the median sales price for a single-family home hit $176,200 in the fourth quarter, a 1% drop from 4Q 2010. The median sales price for condos also grew 19%, hitting $124,100.

Investors are picking up many of the properties, reducing the total housing inventory in Broward County by 33% from a year ago and 1.2% from the third quarter.

In Miami-Dade County, total housing inventory declined more than 40% from a year earlier and 6% from the third quarter. The county has a housing inventory level of six months.

The author of this article is: Kerri Panchuk

See the original post at: http://www.housingwire.com/article/miami-fort-lauderdale-home-prices-rise-4q

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