Doral shoots to the top in one real estate ranking

Miami Herald

Florida’s priciest housing market is… Doral?

That’s the conclusion of a recent study by Coldwell Banker, one of the state’s top real estate chains. The No. 1 standing seems to defy the well-known dynamics of South Florida real estate, where coastal markets fare best and suburban locales, including Doral, typically offer more affordable homes.

“That doesn’t sound right at all,’’ said Ron Shuffield, head of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell, another leading brokerage firm in South Florida.

For its study, Coldwell Banker took the average listing price for all houses for sale with at least two bathrooms and four bedrooms. The Doral market took the top rank in Florida, with an average asking price of $532,754.

For the rankings, Coldwell Banker only considered listings by its agents and by brokerages under parent company Realogy Holdings, which also owns Century 21 and Sotheby’s. To be included, a market had to have at least 10 four-bedroom homes on the market during the first half of 2013. Some of South Florida’s priciest markets didn’t seem to make the list. Coral Gables, Key Biscayne and Miami Beach were not ranked in Coldwell Banker’s report. A spokeswoman said the markets probably didn’t have enough listings to be considered.

Nationally, the most expensive market in the Coldwell Banker list was Malibu, Calif., with a $2.2 million average listing price. The most affordable was Cleveland, where the average four-bedroom house carried a $64,000 asking price.

DOUGLAS HANKS