Thriving
real estate markets
Fort Lauderdale earns report's No. 2 ranking |
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By
PATRICIA HORN
Business Writer
A nationwide realty company has ranked Fort
Lauderdale as its second hottest real estate market in the country. It ranked Boca Raton
as 10th hottest.
Florida took four out of the top 10 spots, with Venice coming in fifth and Palm
Coast, seventh, according to a report by Coldwell Banker, one of the nation's top three
real estate companies.
Also on Thursday, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of
previously owned homes rose 3.3 percent in August to the highest level in nearly four
years.
In South Florida, sales of existing homes dipped, but median sales prices continued
to grow, reflecting demand in some areas but not others.
Coldwell Banker based its top market list on the increase in the median sales price
for single-family homes sold by its agents in 2,400 markets. It compared the median price
in the first |
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Four Florida regions, including Fort Lauderdale and Boca
Raton, are among the top 10 markets with the largest increase in median sales price for
the first half of 1997, according to real estate giant Coldwell Banker. |
MARKET
-
1. Burlingame, Calif.
(Bay Area)
2. Fort Lauderdale
3. Traverse City, Mich
4. Wichita, Kan.
5. Venice, Fla.
6. Ann Arbor, Mich.
7. Palm Coast, Fla.
8. Chicago, lilt
(Lakeview Area)
9. San Jose, Calif.
10. Boca Raton |
1996 Median
Sale Price
$385,000
-
$85,000
$82,500
$86,000
$82,500
$95,500
$52,500
$130,000
-
$220,000
$118,000 |
1996 - 2001Median
Sale Price
$560,000
-
$115,000
$111,000
$113,000
$102,250
$118,000
$64,500
$159,500
-
$268,000
$144,000 |
Percentage
Increase
45%
-
35%
35%
31%
24%
24%
23%
22%
-
22%
22% |
half of 1996 with the median price in the
first half of 1997.
To qualify as a hot market, Coldwell offices also had to have seen a rise
in the numbers of units sold, total sales volume and the average sales price.
By its measure, the greater Fort Lauderdale area median price jumped from
$85,000 in 1996 to $115,000 in 1997, a 35 percent rise. The median is the midpoint in
price range, with half the homes selling for more and half for less.
The Fort Lauderdale area includes Pompano Beach south to Harbor Beach and
west to Wilton Manors and Oakland Park.
The Boca Raton market includes Deerfield Beach north to Delray |
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Beach and west to West Boca.
In the Boca Raton area, the median sales price of homes sold by Coldwell
Banker real estate agents rose nearly 22 percent, from $118,000 to $144,000.
But don't count on that steep leap in value even if you live in Fort Lauderdale or Boca
Raton. The numbers show that the two cities have hot markets, but they're not that hot,
say local real estate professionals. What's pushing up the price is a resurgence this year
in higher-end home sales in certain neighborhoods near the waterfront and a move by
Coldwell Banker to cater to that market, said Coldwell Banker and other real estate
experts. |
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