South Florida housing values continue to climb, S&P/Case-Shiller index says

April 30, 2013 01:00PM                                

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Indices February 2013

According to Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index, South Florida’s housing stock appreciated 10.8 percent in February from the year before, the Sun-Sentinel reported, marking 14 consecutive months of increases.
As in half of 20 metro areas surveyed, South Florida showed double-digit increases in home prices over the last year. The Phoenix area saw the biggest jump, with a 23 percent gain year-over-year.
“Despite some recent mixed economic reports for March, housing continues to be one of the brighter spots in the economy,” said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a statement.
Broward County’s median price for existing homes in March was $242,500, a 26 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors. In Palm Beach County, the median price last month hit $249,894, 28 percent higher than a year ago, the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches reported.
The median price of a single-family home in Miami-Dade County soared 25.1 percent to $225,000 in March from $179,850 a year earlier, the Miami Association of Realtors said.
The median price of a Miami-Dade condo jumped 19.3 percent year over year, to $167,000 from $140,000. [Sun-Sentinel]
–Emily Schmall