S. Fla. housing market continues decline

South Florida's housing market continued to deflate in November, with home prices down slightly in Broward and Miami-Dade amid weak demand from buyers.

For anyone trying to sell a house, Monday's report from the Florida Association of Realtors brought little good news. Sales of single-family homes were down 59 percent in Miami-Dade and 34 percent in Broward over a year ago, while condo sales dropped almost as much: down 59 percent in Miami-Dade and 23 percent in Broward.

But for someone looking to buy a house in South Florida, the closely watched numbers brought encouragement: Single-family home prices are dropping, down 4 percent over a year ago in both markets. The condo sector offered a mixed report: Prices dropped 17 percent in Broward, according to the Realtor sales reports, but were up 3 percent in Miami-Dade.

''We are definitely in a declining market,'' said Jeff Kaufman, a senior vice president at SunTrust Mortgage in Sunrise. Starting this week, his loan officers will require larger down payments from some buyers to guard against declining home values.

Market watchers say South Florida's real estate market won't revive until buyers cut prices more in order to boost demand and start reducing the large inventory of unsold homes.