Mirta Mendez walks through debris at the Seabreeze trailer park along the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Irma slammed into the Lower Florida Keys. |

Hurricane Irma and its widespread disruptions pushed down Miami-Dade County home sales about 30 percent in September from a year before.

The literal roadblocks caused by the storm and the widespread power outages delayed many closings, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

Sales of existing homes dipped 30.1 percent to 1,488 transactions compared with September 2016, according to the association. Single-family home sales decreased 35.8 percent to 684 transactions, and existing condominium sales decreased 24.4 percent to 804 transactions.

Some of the sales that were pending when the storm made landfall in the Florida Keys on Sept. 10 were delayed because properties had to be reinspected afterward for storm damage. At the same time, inspectors had a hard time making their appointments because of closed airports and power outages, brokers and real estate attorneys said.

In some cases, new appraisals were needed, according to Christopher Zoller, chairman of the Miami Association of Realtors and a Coral Gables realtor.

“After Hurricane Irma, federal-backed lenders required new appraisals on Miami properties under contract, and many Miami real estate buyers and sellers experienced delays in getting crews, inspectors and appraisers out last month,” he said in a media release.

The association expects residential sales to recover to pre-Irma levels.

Mirta Mendez walks through debris at the Seabreeze trailer park along the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Irma slammed into the Lower Florida Keys. |

Hurricane Irma and its widespread disruptions pushed down Miami-Dade County home sales about 30 percent in September from a year before.

The literal roadblocks caused by the storm and the widespread power outages delayed many closings, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

Sales of existing homes dipped 30.1 percent to 1,488 transactions compared with September 2016, according to the association. Single-family home sales decreased 35.8 percent to 684 transactions, and existing condominium sales decreased 24.4 percent to 804 transactions.

Some of the sales that were pending when the storm made landfall in the Florida Keys on Sept. 10 were delayed because properties had to be reinspected afterward for storm damage. At the same time, inspectors had a hard time making their appointments because of closed airports and power outages, brokers and real estate attorneys said.

In some cases, new appraisals were needed, according to Christopher Zoller, chairman of the Miami Association of Realtors and a Coral Gables realtor.

“After Hurricane Irma, federal-backed lenders required new appraisals on Miami properties under contract, and many Miami real estate buyers and sellers experienced delays in getting crews, inspectors and appraisers out last month,” he said in a media release.

The association expects residential sales to recover to pre-Irma levels.