Most expensive rents in Florida? Would you believe Miramar?

Five Broward County cities rank as the priciest rental markets in Florida — and, no, Fort Lauderdale doesn’t top the list.

Miramar leads with a July average rent of $1,800 a month, up 3.2 percent from a year ago, according to RENTCafé, a nationwide apartment search website.

Adrian Rosenberg, a representative for the website, noted that Miramar rents have increased steadily in recent years and that more than half of Miramar’s apartment stock is made up of high-end buildings, which includes 1,500 new units delivered since 2013.

Despite the recent building boom of luxury apartments in Fort Lauderdale, Broward’s county seat comes in only at No. 2 at $1,751 a month. Davie is third at $1,739.

Coral Springs and Pembroke Pines are tied at No. 4 at $1,653 a month.

In another upset, Miami came in at only No. 6 ($1,587) because lower-priced neighborhoods drove down the average rent, Rosenberg said.

West Palm Beach was No. 7 at $1,344. No other Palm Beach County community made the top 15.

South Florida is the biggest metropolitan area in the state, so it’s not surprising that cities here dominate the list.

The only municipalities outside South Florida on the list are No. 10 Orlando ($1,269), No. 12 St. Petersburg ($1,212), No. 13 Tampa ($1,199), No. 14 Tallahassee ($1,141) and No. 15 Gainesville ($1,119).

The rents are based on apartment buildings with 50 or more units. Rental homes and condominiums are not included.

Manhattan is the most expensive place in the country for renters, according to the report. The average rent there for July was a whopping $4,054 a month.

South Florida homeowners eligible for refinancings

More than 2,600 South Florida homeowners remain eligible for a federal mortgage refinancing program, the Federal Housing Finance Agency says.

Statewide, 13,115 homeowners are eligible for the Home Affordable Refinance Program. Illinois has the most number of eligibles at 14,105.

FHFA has extended HARP through 2018, saying 3.4 million struggling homeowners have been able to refinance into more affordable mortgages since the program began in 2009, during the housing collapse. This is the fourth extension.

California has the most HARP refinancings at 449,725. Florida is second with 326,158.

To find out if you’re eligible, visit HARP.gov.

Buyers taking more time in Palm Beach County

Single-family home sellers in Palm Beach County have to be more patient these days in the search for buyers.

In the second quarter, the median time to contract was 47 days, up from 46 days in the second quarter of 2016, according to the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches. It’s the third consecutive quarter with an annual increase.

It’s a different story in Broward County, where the median time to contract in the April-through-June period was 38 days, down from 41 days a year earlier, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors.

It was the seventh quarter in a row in which Broward sellers enjoyed quicker contract times.

The severe shortage of available single-family properties is giving sellers the edge in Broward. The supply of homes in Palm Beach County isn’t nearly as constrained so buyers there are taking more time to decide, real estate agents say.

Powers@Sun-Sentinel.com, 561-243-6529 or Twitter @PaulOwers

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