Times are changing in the South Florida housing market and some buyers are learning the hard way.
According to MLS real estate stats charting home sales through April, there are nine cities in Miami-Dade and Broward counties where the average home sold for more than the asking price.
That means the buyer's market will soon be no more, Melanie Hyer of Keller Williams Realty said.
"It's still a buyer's market, but the market is stabilizing," she said. "More buyers are coming into the market so there is more demand."
In Broward, homes in Coconut Creek and Lauderdale Lakes sell above the listed price and the same market phenomenon is prevalent in Miami Gardens, Opa Locka, along Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Lakes, Hialeah Gardens, Medley, and down south in Homestead.
That has left some buyers in a lurch like Jesse Stolow.
Stolow found a condo that needed a little work. The asking price was $150,000 but he offered $180,000 to make sure he sealed the deal.
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"All of a sudden we got a letter that we were outbid," Stolow said. "I am back to square one. I have to go and see what's out there."
The advice to buyers thinking they will have their pick of homes on the cheap: get off the sidelines now and prepare to offer more than the asking price, Hyer said.
"There are bidding wars," she said. "It's becoming an even playing field between the buyers and the sellers."
