Moving too fast?

Homes in Broward hit the market and closed in less than three months in May.

Home sellers traditionally worry about drawn-out closings, but that’s not a concern in Broward County these days.

In fact, sales are happening too fast for some sellers who don’t have their nextmove in mind.

The typical single-family home in Broward hits the market and closes in less than three months, according toMay figures fromthe Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors.

The median time to sell — 81 days — is the lowest in the past year and down from 90 days in May 2016.

The fast sales are happening primarily with low- and midpriced homes because there aren’t enough listings to meet demand, local real estate agents say.

Higher-priced homes usually take longer to sell because there are more properties and fewer buyers.

“In the $300,000 price point, man, you could have multiple offers within a couple of days and be closed within 45 days,” said Dean Ehrlich, an agent with Re/Max ParkCreek in northwest Broward. “If you speak to buyers, their biggest complaint is that there is not an adequate supply of quality homes.”

At the end ofMay, Broward had only a four-month supply of singleproperties for sale, meaning that’s how long it would take to sell all the homes if no more became available.

That’s well below the sixmonth supply that observers say is the ideal balance between buyers and sellers.

Sales are slower but still brisk in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, figures show.

In Palm Beach County, the median time to sale in May was 95 days, according to theGreaterFort Lauderdale Realtors. MiamiDade’s median sale time was 98 days, the Miami Association of Realtors said.

A fast sale sounds like the perfect scenario for any seller, but it can be a problem, said Stephen B. McWilliam, broker at Florida State Realty Group in Fort Lauderdale.

“It can happen too quickly if the seller doesn’t have a place to go,” he said.

Market observers say the shortage of listings is exacerbated by sellers who are reluctant to put their homes on the market because they won’t be able to buy another place fast enough.

McWilliam said he had two recent listings in Coral Springs that went under contract within about a week. In both cases, the sellers asked for more time to close.

Some buyers will agree to a lease-back, allowing sellers to rent their homes for a month or two after closing. Buyers who want to make their offers even more attractive may allow sellers to stay rent-free after the closing, saidAdam Gurewicz, of Re/Max Advisors in Fort Lauderdale.

powers@sunsentinel.com