Locations Affects Valeu in South Florida

Report affirms how location affects value in South Florida real estate

In South Florida’s location-specific housing market, some neighborhoods are enjoying 20 percent appreciation since last year, while others continue to plunge, down as much as 30 percent, according to a new report from real estate research firm Zillow.
Neighborhoods in negative territory—mostly low-income and inner-city locales—outnumber the region’s affluent ZIP Codes, which are on the upswing, so overall numbers still show a downward trend. The median home in South Florida had a value of $140,900 during the second quarter of this year, down 5.4 percent from last year, the report found. More than 45 percent of homes are underwater on mortgages, and 44 percent of homes sold for a loss in June.

“If you have areas where you have a lot of concentrated foreclosures, it impacts the prices of houses surrounding,” said Svenja Gudell, senior economist at Zillow. “In Miami, it’s tough to say, ‘We’ve hit the bottom,’ or ‘We haven’t hit the bottom.’ It’s really tough to forecast.”

Looking at the various ZIP Codes in the region paints a picture of how fragmented South Florida’s real estate market is.

The gainers: Areas with large concentrations of new luxury and waterfront condos, solid bedroom communities in well-established suburbs and the city of Miami Beach.

The losers: Foreclosure-riddled in the southernmost stretches of Miami-Dade County, and inner-city neighborhoods like Brownsville, Opa-locka and Little River. Values have dropped nearly 30 percent, for example, in 33033, which covers parts of Homestead, and similar declines have taken place in Northwest Fort Lauderdale (33311).

ZIP Codes in downtown Miami and Brickell showed some of the strongest gains in the region, as cash investors have scooped up condos and new developments have emerged from foreclosure. Home values in the 33130, which includes Brickell, were up 21.6 percent for the year to $166,400, while 33132 covering downtown Miami’s bayfront neighborhood rose 17.3 percent $232,100.

Single-family home prices in suburbs like Coral Gables, Weston and Pembroke Pines, were up at least 5 percent, as international buyers boosted sales and helped shrink inventory.

In Pinecrest (33156), where real estate agent Hazel Goldman concentrates her sales efforts, median values are up 6.5 percent to $429,200 and inventories are the lowest they’ve been in two years.

“We’re beginning to have two or three offers on each property,” said Goldman, a member of Master Brokers Forum. “Foreclosures in Pinecrest have been few and far between.”

But even as high-end areas like Bal Harbour and Key Biscayne swing toward price appreciation, the most-troubled sections of South Florida’s real estate market continue to lose value at alarming rates.

In ZIP Code 33313, which includes parts of Lauderhill, the median home value is just $40,200, down 22 percent since last year.

Less than a mile from the gleaming Miami condo towers that are currently appreciating, ZIP Code 33136 has seen values slip 23.7 percent, as the Overtown neighborhood there struggles with high unemployment and blight.


By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com





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