Admin

South Florida Market Update--Flashes of Good News!

By
Real Estate Agent with EWM International Realtors, Inc.

 

  • Home equity in the first quarter rose to $6.7 trillion, the highest level since 2008, as homeowners taking advantage of record-low borrowing costs to refinance their loans brought cash to the table to pay down principal. The 7.3 percent gain was the biggest jump in more than 60 years, according to an analysis by Bloomberg of Federal Reserve data.

 

  • As of April 2012, 1.5 million homes are in shadow inventory, which is a 14.8 percent decrease from last year in April when the number of homes hiding in the shadows was 1.8 million, CoreLogic reported Thursday. The current level of shadow inventory is at the lowest since October 2008 and represents a supply of four months compared to a supply of 6 months a year ago

 

  • In Broward County, the median sales price of single-family homes rose 17 percent in April to $205,000, and condominiums jumped 17.4 percent to $84,300, compared to prices in April 2011. And in Miami-Dade, home prices continued a five-month ascent — up 30 percent for condos, to $150,000, and 8.2 percent for single-family homes, to $183,000, compared to a year ago, according to figures released Tuesday by the Miami Association of Realtors.

 

  • Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Miami are among the top 50 markets for expected returns on rental properties, according to a survey from HomeVestors of America and Local Market Monitor. Fort Lauderdale ranked 12th on the list, followed by West Palm Beach at 19 and Miami at 28. “We think this is the best opportunity for investors to accumulate rentals in the last 30 years,” said HomeVestors Co-President David Hicks. 

 

  • Broward County's property values are finally on the increase, the first glimmer of good news about the countywide tax roll since 2007. The negative streak was broken by an increase in countywide property values of about 1.2%, according to Broward Property Appraiser Lori Parrish's office "I think we're starting to see the real estate market's recovering." (Jack Seiler, Mayor of Fort Lauderdale!)

 

Mark Loewenberg
KW of the Palm Beaches - Palm Beach Gardens, FL
KW 561-214-0370

wahoo, the time has arrived finally, let's hope the momentum continues for all of us and buyers and sellers too!

Jun 15, 2012 09:45 AM