South Florida Market Update: May 2026

South Florida real estate has spent the last twelve months recalibrating. After a few years of record-low inventory and frenzied bidding wars, 2025 brought more balance to the market. But as May 2026 data shows, that balance is shifting again — and it is shifting in favor of sellers. Inventory is down significantly across all three major counties, days on market are tightening, and closed sales are up. The market is not at a boil. But it is quietly heating.

Here is a county-by-county breakdown of what May 2026 looks like on the ground.

Broward's single-family market is moving in a positive direction across nearly every metric. Closed sales are up year-over-year, days to contract dropped from 38 to 35, and sellers are recovering more of their asking price than they were a year ago. The story that stands out most is inventory: active listings dropped by more than 22% compared to May 2025, pulling the months supply down from 5.9 to 4.5 months. That is a meaningful shift toward a tighter market.

The median sale price for single-family homes in Broward landed at $630,000, up modestly from $625,000 last May. Prices are not spiking, but they are holding — and with inventory continuing to shrink, the pressure on pricing will only increase as we move into the second half of 2026. The condo and townhouse segment tells a similar story with inventory off nearly 17%, though price growth in that segment remains flat at $275,000 median, year-over-year.

Miami-Dade is showing the strongest single-family sales momentum of the three counties. Closed sales jumped 10.5% year-over-year, and the cash buyer share rose significantly — nearly 32% of single-family transactions in May 2026 were paid in cash, up from 23% a year ago. That is a telling signal about the profile of buyer active in this market right now. These are not buyers stretched on financing. They are confident, capitalized, and moving.

Single-family median pricing held steady at $680,000, up just slightly from $675,000 in May 2025. The condo market in Miami-Dade tells a more nuanced story — median pricing for condos actually softened slightly to $415,000 from $425,000, reflecting the elevated supply that has been building in the Miami condo corridor over the past 18 months. Condo inventory, while down from last year, remains elevated at nearly 13 months of supply, giving buyers meaningful leverage in that segment specifically.

Single-family inventory dropped 19% year-over-year and months supply fell from 6.6 to 5.2 months — tightening but not yet into seller's market territory. What that means in practice: well-priced single-family homes are moving, and buyers should not expect the negotiating room they had in 2025.

Palm Beach County posted the strongest across-the-board numbers of any county in May 2026. Single-family closed sales jumped 7.7% year-over-year. Median sale price rose to $675,000 from $640,000 — a 5.5% gain that is more meaningful than the flat-to-marginal price movement seen in Broward and Miami-Dade. Cash buyers were particularly active, up nearly 17% year-over-year, with 668 of 1,437 single-family transactions settling without financing. That is a 46% cash rate — the highest of the three counties.

Inventory is the sharpest story here. Active single-family listings dropped 22.6% from May 2025, and months supply collapsed from 5.8 to 4.1 months — the tightest reading across all three counties. At 4.1 months, Palm Beach is approaching seller's market conditions. Buyers are feeling it. Days to contract came in at 40, down from 42 a year ago, and sellers are recovering 95 cents on the dollar of their original asking price.

The condo and townhouse market in Palm Beach County is also showing life, with median pricing up 4.5% to $345,000 and inventory down nearly 20% year-over-year. The county's condo segment is in meaningfully better shape than Miami-Dade's, where excess supply continues to weigh on pricing.

How the Three Counties Compare

When you put all three counties side by side, a clear picture emerges. Palm Beach is leading the corridor on price appreciation and inventory tightness. Miami-Dade is leading on sales volume and cash buyer activity in the single-family segment. Broward is the most balanced of the three — steady pricing, improving velocity, and shrinking supply without the volatility showing up in the other two markets.

What This Means Right Now

Across all three counties, the same macro trend is playing out: inventory is falling, sales are rising, and the market is moving faster than it was a year ago. For buyers, this is a meaningful data point. The window of relative buyer advantage that existed through much of 2025 is closing. Inventory compression at this pace — 20 to 23% year-over-year — tends to translate into price pressure within two to three quarters.

For sellers, the conditions are as favorable as they have been in two years. Prices are stable to rising, buyers are qualified and active, and the cash buyer presence across the corridor remains unusually strong. In Palm Beach County especially, approaching half of all single-family closings are happening without a loan involved. That is not a soft market signal.

The one segment worth watching carefully is the Miami-Dade condo market, where supply remains elevated and prices have softened slightly. Buyers looking at condos in the Miami corridor have the most negotiating room right now of any product type across the three counties. That window may narrow as overall inventory continues to compress, but for the moment, it is a real opportunity.

If you have questions about what any of this means for a specific property, neighborhood, or situation — that is exactly what we are here for.

Let's Find Your Place in Paradise.

Whether you are buying, selling, or just trying to understand where the market stands — Joe Lanser and the Lanser-Caicedo Group are your people on the ground across Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties.