Price of Miami coastal homes on the rise

The median price of a residence in coastal areas of Miami jumped 27.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 to $210,000 from a year earlier, according to a report by Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

The volume of sales rose 14 percent to 5,206 in the latest quarter from a year earlier, even though the inventory of available properties for sale plunged 17.6 percent, the real estate firm said.

Elliman said distressed sales, including short sales and sales of bank-owned properties, made up 40.2 percent of transactions in the latest period, the lowest level in three years.

Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel Inc., a real estate appraisal and consulting firm, who prepared the study, said foreign demand for Miami real estate remains robust. “Miami has gone from the poster child for distressed sales to a global safehaven where people want to invest,’’ Miller said.

The Elliman Report covers the coastal communities of Miami-Dade county, which generally posted more gains than the southern and western suburbs.