The condo market in Miami has suffered a remarkable drop in the volume of sales in June compared to the year before. Additionally, after 2 consecutive years of rising prices, this year showed the first sale price decrease of -1.4%, leaving a median price of $252,000 in June 2020.

On the contrary, it is not a surprise that single-family homes have been showing a rising demand, which has pushed the median price up by 2.6% ($322,000) in June year over year. There is a clear preference for a larger living area and private yards and pool, after the pandemic.

Buyers find it less attractive now to have shared amenities, such as pools, elevators and gyms, which were traditionally advantages of buying a condo. This has created that home seekers are taking longer to decide if they want to purchase a condo, compared to the faster decision making when buying a single-family home. They are hesitant about how the situation is going to evolve in Miami.

Condo sales have dropped -31% year over year in June, followed by a drop of -53% and a decrease in the median price by -2.4% in May, due to COVID-19. On the other hand, pending sales have dropped by only -4% in June, which compared to April which had a fall of -46%, might show that the interest for condo deals is picking up.

Also, the fact that prices for condos are down might be a motivating factor for buyers to start investing in condominiums again. Buying a condo in Miami now is more or less the same price than renting an apartment, which will make buyers jump to the condo market.

Regarding the condo supply, it has been down regardless of the pandemic, and numbers are positive, as it appears that in June the condo supply fell by -6.7% which is close to the pre-pandemic number in February of -5%. There was a remarkably good recovery, as in April the supply dropped by -22.6% and for new condos, it fell -47%, compared to -1.9% in June.

Single-family homes are not a direct competitor to single-family homes – or not always-. There is still a market for buyers looking for more affordable properties and those planning to live alone won’t think of buying a house over a condo.