South Florida home sales up as prices stabilize

BY INA PAIVA CORDLE
icordle@MiamiHerald.com
Yadir Enriquez has been trying to buy a house for a year, but each time he made an offer, other buyers beat him to the deal.
This time, his contract was accepted: He'll pay $220,000 for a four-bedroom Kendall home that sold three years ago for $350,000, then fell into foreclosure. Still, he figures he's spending $50,000 more than he would have a year ago.
Enriquez and his family are joining the tide of South Florida home buyers rushing to close a deal, as home sales soar and prices begin to stabilize.
Existing home sales jumped 45 percent in Miami-Dade and 24 percent in Broward in December, compared to the same month of 2008, according to housing data released Monday by Florida Realtors, the industry's association. Median prices fell just 5 percent in Miami-Dade and 2 percent in Broward in the year-to-year comparison.
``We're definitely seeing more interest and more activity,'' said Frank Kowalski, president of Metro Dade Realty in Miami. ``The home-buyer credit has done a lot to stimulate that.''
Realtors say more buyers are perusing property, and some believe prices have stopped their freefall. In some pockets in The Roads section of Miami, Coral Gables, Plantation, Coral Springs and Weston, Realtors say they are even starting to inch up. Enriquez's purchase means he, his wife, toddler and baby will double their current living space. ``I'm happy, because compared to the condo that I have, it is much better,'' said Enriquez, 32, a CVS store manager.
It's more proof that when the price is right, consumers buy.
``For 16 months now, we have seen that we have had existing homes sales increase compared to the same month the previous year,'' said Marla Martin, spokeswoman for Florida Realtors. ``That's a good thing. It means people are buying and finding prices attractive.''
Compared to November, single-family home sales in December rose 37 percent in Miami-Dade and 10 percent in Broward.
Still, median home prices continued to fall, dropping 10 percent in Miami-Dade and 17 percent in Broward compared to November. The figures include only those homes sold by real estate agents.
Condominium sales skyrocketed in December, compared to the same month of 2008 -- up 68 percent in Miami-Dade to 766 and 59 percent in Broward to 949. At the same time, median prices fell: down 16 percent in Miami-Dade and down 17 percent in Broward.
The pace of condo sales in December compared to November showed more modest gains: up 26 percent in Miami-Dade and up 5 percent in Broward, while median prices fell just 1 percent in Miami-Dade and 28 percent in Broward.
Nationwide, the picture is different. Home sales fell in December, after a surge from September through November, as first-time buyers rushed to complete sales before the original November deadline for the home-buyer tax credit. However, prices rose from December 2008 and annual sales improved in 2009, according to figures released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.
NAR's latest industry outlook predicts the housing recovery will gain momentum in the second half of 2010.
``It will be at least early spring before we see notable gains in sales activity as home buyers respond to the recently extended and expanded tax credit,'' said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
Qualified buyers who have signed a contract to buy a primary residence by April 30 have until June 30 to close the purchase to be eligible for the federal tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers.
Market observers hope that will help South Florida's real estate market, which has suffered from weak sales and receding prices for about three years. Short sales and foreclosures have pushed down prices as owners, banks and other sellers have scrambled to unload property.
During the last quarter of 2009, foreclosures and short sales represented 60 percent of all sales in Miami-Dade and 50 percent in Broward, said David Dabby, president of the Dabby Group in Coral Gables.
``In a normal market, it is less than 10 percent; that's an unprecedented problem. The highest it has ever been before for residential homes, in the last 50 years, is 15 percent,'' Dabby said. ``That is the crux of the whole problem: there is such an unprecedented supply of foreclosures that have to be disposed of before the market can return to normal.''
Still, Realtors are hopeful the market is regaining a modicum of health.
``Buyers still are trying to low-ball offers, but the sellers are less agreeable to that in today's market, because they see that the prices in their neighborhoods are starting to stabilize, and we're putting the deals together at higher prices,'' said Jan Herard, broker associate for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Broward County. ``In neighborhoods with good schools, the prices are going up.''

Mortgage rates hit rock bottom

Mortgage interest rates have dropped to an all-time low, which experts say could cheer the depressed South Florida housing market.The average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.71, Freddie Mac, the federally run mortgage finance company, reported Thursday. That's the lowest recorded since Freddie Mac first started weekly mortgage rate surveys in 1971. Rates dropped 0.07 percent since last week.For prospective homebuyers, "The sharp drop in home prices, tax credits and now record low mortgage rates put a lot of affordability in your quarter," said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com in North Palm Beach.But low rates won't cure all of the housing market's ills. The rates won't resolve the extremely low prices home sellers are getting, as they put their homes on a market crowded with foreclosures and short sales. And they can't counteract the impact of high unemployment, which economists say is a primary reason people are losing their homes.Low rates may also be out of reach for borrowers who are deeply underwater – meaning they owe more on the mortgage than the home is worth. Only those who are slightly underwater can qualify to refinance a home loan and take advantage of lower rates. About half of South Florida's homeowners are underwater to some degree, according to statistics from First American Core Logic, a real estate analysis firm.Still, the ray of hope provided by low mortgage rates is the possibility they'll hasten the market's recovery, which is still at least a year away, according to Moody's Economy.com."If mortgage rates remain this low for an extended period of time it could speed up the degree to which we work off excess [housing] inventory," said economist Chris Lafakis who tracks Florida's economy at Moody's Economy.com.The Moody's Economy.com forecast calls for Florida home prices statewide to fall throughout 2010, for a total decline next year of 21 percent, before stabilizing in 2011. Some areas will be hit even harder. For Miami, Moody's foresees a price decline next year of 28 percent and stability to come six months afterward, in mid-2011.The bright spot in the housing picture is that homes with these low price tags are selling. In Fort Lauderdale, the number of units sold has been higher than last year for nine straight months, said Richard Barkette, chief executive officer of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale. The Realtor Association of Palm Beach said that the number of condos sold in November was 21 percent higher than the year before and single family home sales were up 44 percent from November, 2008.
By Harriet Johnson Brackey South Florida Sun-Sentinel
6:37 p.m. EST, December 3, 2009

Homebuyers Pay Closer to Listing Price in August, but Are Still Negotiating Thousands in Discounts

RISMEDIA, October 9, 2009—Home buyers in much of the U.S. are still paying thousands of dollars below the home’s asking price, but had slightly less negotiating power in August 2009 than they did in July, according to the August Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Buyers paid a median $6,525, or 3% less than the last listing price on homes bought in August, down from $7,018, or 3.3%, less for homes bought in July. Negotiating power peaked in January 2009, when buyers were paying 4.5% less than last listing price, a median of $10,096. Meanwhile, sellers continue to cut prices on unsold homes. One quarter (24.7%) of all homes listed for sale on Zillow had at least one listing price reduction as of Oct. 1, 2009. The median U.S. price reduction was 6.6% off the original listing price.Read more: http://rismedia.com/2009-10-08/u-s-homebuyers-pay-closer-to-listing-price-in-august-but-are-still-negotiating-thousands-in-discounts/#ixzz0TRSM3oQI
For more information, visit www.Zillow.com

South Florida home prices drop, fueling buying frenzy

August home sales saw another uptick amid price declines. But when it comes to buying foreclosures, buyers have to come armed with patience and cash.



Housing sales saw another boost in August versus a year ago as low interest rates and rock-bottom prices lured in bargain hunters. But deep-pocketed investors and all-cash buyers are making the feeding frenzy around the cheapest of homes extremely competitive.
Anyely Martir, 39, says she has bid on 16 to 20 foreclosures in Broward County over the past three months. Each time, she has offered $10,000 to $12,000 above the asking price, and each time she has been outbid.
``Write in the paper that everyone should quit buying houses for a month and give me a chance,'' she said.
The stiff competition for lower-end property helped boost sales last month amid continued signs that prices are bottoming out, analysts said.
Sales of single-family homes in Miami-Dade were up 22 percent in August versus a year ago as the median price slid 29 percent to $194,800, the Florida Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Condo sales also rose by 17 percent as median condo prices dropped 31 percent to $144,700.
A similar pattern emerged in Broward, where single-family home sales were up 35 percent, while the median price dropped 20 percent from a year ago to $217,000. Condo sales rose 61 percent, with the median price falling 36 percent to $85,100.
Despite the year-over-year gains, home sales dipped 11 percent in Miami and 10 percent in Broward versus July in a seasonal back-to-school slump. Nationally, sales also dropped 2.7 percent month-to-month, surprising analysts and spooking Wall Street.
BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@MiamiHerald.com

South Florida home prices, consumer confidence edge u

South Florida home prices and consumer confidence have inched up, but clouds still loom.


BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@miamiherald.com

Florida's consumer confidence and home prices both inched up for the first time in months, amid signs that the real estate market is stabilizing and hopes that the worst of the recession may be behind us.
Home prices in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area rose by 0.5 percent from May to June, their first month-to-month increase since December 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which doesn't include condo sales. Compared to last June, however, prices were still down by 23 percent.
In addition, Florida's Consumer Confidence Index, which measures the way households feel about the economy and their personal finances, rose from 67 to 70 between July and August, according to the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida.
``There has been an improvement, but it's relatively low,'' said Chris McCarty, the survey director.
For more than a year, the index has been bouncing between the high 60s and low 70s and will likely stay in the doldrums, he said.
``I think we are stuck here until we see a clear indication of recovery,'' McCarty said.
The survey is important because consumers account for about two-thirds of all spending, and their confidence levels are often an accurate predictor of retail sales. Unlike unemployment and sales figures, which can lag behind a month or more, the consumer confidence data was collected in August and is considered a more nearly accurate snapshot of current conditions.
Nationally, there are signs that the real estate market may be bottoming out.
Home prices rose for the second consecutive month in June, posting a 1.4 percent increase, following a 0.5 percent rise in May. While values suffered compared to a year ago, they also rose by 2.9 percent between the first and second quarter -- the first quarterly increase in three years.
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale market was among 18 of 20 major metropolitan areas seeing a month-to-month recovery.

HOME SALES UP
The figures come less than a week after the Florida Association of Realtors released a report showing existing home sales in Miami-Dade and Broward counties were up double-digit percentages compared to a year ago.
Those figures, however, also showed median single-family home prices in Miami-Dade and Broward were down by more than 40 percent from a year ago, although since the beginning of the year prices appeared to be bouncing along a rough bottom.

Be Careful of Foreclosure Rescue Scams

If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments, you have many options available to you. You should contact your lender directly to discuss it with them. They may be able to work out a Loan Modification or Refinance with you. If you have a loan owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, they are participating in the Making Home Affordable program. Also, lenders that received TARP (bailout) money from the Government are also required to participate. In some cases, you may be best served by doing a short sale, with the help of your local Realtor, at no cost to you. But in NO case should you pay anyone for assistance. Please click on the following for more information on these programs or call me if I may be of any help.


http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/homes/rea16.shtm

Moratoriums from banks, government to expire, setting off new wave of default actions

WASHINGTON - -- Just as the nation's housing market has begun showing signs of stabilizing, another wave of foreclosures is poised to strike, possibly as early as this summer, inflicting new punishment on families, communities and the still-troubled national economy.Amid rising unemployment and falling home prices, mortgage loan defaults have surged to record levels this year. Until recently, many banks have put off launching foreclosure action on many troubled properties, in part because they had signed up for the home-stability plan from President Barack Obama's administration, which required them to consider the alternative of modifying loans to make it easier for borrowers to make payments.But with many government and self-imposed foreclosure moratoriums expiring, the biggest lenders indicate they are likely to move more aggressively to clear a backlog of troubled mortgages.Home sales have been steadying nationally, thanks largely to an abundance of cheap foreclosed properties, government incentives and record low mortgage rates. Housing construction starts have flattened out, helping to bring supply into balance with demand. The rate of housing price declines has slowed as well, even turning up again in some communities. But rising foreclosures will depress home values, pushing more homeowners underwater. Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com estimates that 15.4 million homeowners, about one in five of those with first mortgages, owe more on their homes than they are worth.Also, consumer confidence is already exceedingly low -- and another jolt to the housing market could further crimp spending, which has been pummeled by the deep recession and persistent weakness in the job market. The latest unemployment rate, for June, rose to 9.5 percent, and many analysts predict that it will keep rising until the middle of next year.The rapid pace of layoffs is of particular concern. Employers shed nearly a half-million payrolls in June. Homeowners who have lost jobs have little chance of getting their mortgages modified. That puts many homeowners on a collision course with banks that are preparing to take a more aggressive stance on loan modifications."Absolutely," said Chase spokesman Tom Kelly when asked about an impending spike in foreclosures.Since April 6, Chase said, it had approved modifying 138,000 loans under the Obama program. But an undisclosed number of other Chase borrowers didn't meet modification eligibility, and many of those homeowners face possible foreclosure.Separate from that group, Kelly said, Chase is proceeding to deal with an additional 80,000 default borrowers whose foreclosure process had been voluntarily halted by the lender starting late last year.Bank of America, the nation's largest servicer of home mortgages, also did not release the volume of likely foreclosures. The bank said it had extended offers to modify loans to more than 45,000 borrowers under the Obama plan. Bank of America spokesman Dan Frahm said the company was projecting a "slow increase" in the number of monthly foreclosures, potentially reaching 30 percent above previous normal levels.Just how big the foreclosure wave will be is unclear. Much will depend on how quickly lenders can push the process along. It generally takes three months to a year from the time a borrower receives a notice of default to a foreclosure sale, in which case the lender usually takes title of the property.Government and company reports show that the number of completed foreclosures nationwide slowed sharply late last year and into early this year, largely because of various moratoriums in effect during the first quarter.Recent reports hint at the next wave of foreclosures.In the first quarter, 1.8 million homeowners nationwide fell behind on their loans by 60 to 90 days, a 15 percent increase from the prior quarter, according to Economy.com. The research firm said that loan defaults rose sharply as well, to 844,000 in the first three months of this year.The Obama administration is racing to avert as many foreclosures as possible. So far, more than 240,000 distressed borrowers have been approved on a trial basis under the Home Affordable Modification Program, in which their loans are being reworked so monthly payments are targeted at 31 percent of their gross income, said Seth Wheeler, a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner."We're very unlikely to implement another moratorium," Wheeler said but noted that the Treasury will monitor how many foreclosed homes are dumped into the market, suggesting officials could take other steps to prevent a flood of lender-owned properties. Source: Chicago Tribune