Miami Average Price Home Sales - Are short sales driving the market down?

Everyone knows that sales prices in Miami have dropped drastically.  One may ask, "Is that for my property or just for short sales and foreclosures?" 

The graph below shows the average sales price of Miami residential property over the past year.  This only includes "regular sales".  The average home price in March was $474,000 for "regular sales".

When you add distressed sales - short sales and foreclosures - to the mix, the average price decreases drastically.  In March, the average price including all sales - regular sales and distressed sales was $298,000.  See below.

Why is this so drastic, you might ask?  Out of the 1,775 total closings in March 2010, more than half of these were short sales or foreclosures, which were predominately in lower price ranges. The average sales price of a foreclosure in March 2010 was $119,000  in Miami-Dade.  While these foreclosures are bringing town the average market values, they are not necessarily widespread.  As long as there are good recent higher comparable sales in your neighborhood, your property value should be compared with those recent sales.  From an appraiser's point of view, they look for recent sales 3 to 6 months back.  Anything further back is considered out of date.