Miami Real Estate Attorney Blog

Home prices in South Florida have reached their lowest level since the housing bubble burst in 2006. The cause for the continued price decline can be attributed to the continuing high number of foreclosures, the glut of unsold homes and the reluctance or inability of many to buy.

Real estate prices in Miami dropped by 6.1 percent year over year in the first quarter. This decline has continued over the past few months. The Miami housing market has virtually mirrored the national price index. Nationally, pricing has dropped by 5.1 percent, year over year in the first quarter, and has dropped for the 8th straight month. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Miami is one of 12 cities nationally that recorded a new low in single-family home prices in the first quarter of 2011.

Unfortunately, these figures confirm a double dip in home prices across much of the country. This is certainly true because from the fourth quarter to the first quarter we saw a 3 percent increase in prices. But from the third to the fourth quarter we saw a 1.5 percent drop. As such, we are seeing home prices continuing on their downward spiral with no relief in sight.

Today's current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated. There are many factors contributing to Florida's nation leading delinquency rates. They include a weak job market, weak economic recovery, and a major drop in home prices. Consequently, Florida's housing market remains unsettled in large part due to the continued foreclosure crises.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

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Florida had the nation's highest inventory of homes currently in foreclosure. As a result, sale prices are lower than normal. Given that sales prices are lower than normal, South Florida single-family homes and condos continued to move at an increasing rate compared to last year.

According to housing data released by Florida Realtors, home sales in South Florida increased 2 percent state wide in the month of April. Condos sales have been even stronger. In South Florida alone, condo sales rose 17 percent compared to April of last year.

Specifically, single-family homes in Miami, West Palm Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale increased by 40 percent, 21 percent, and 2 percent respectively from April 2010. Surprisingly, condo sales boomed in Miami, going up a "whopping" 94 percent from a year ago. In West Palm Beach, condo sales increased 30 percent from last year, while Ft. Lauderdale saw a minimal increase, but an increase nonetheless, at 8 percent.

On the other hand, about 14.4 percent of Florida homes with a mortgage were in some stage of foreclosure in the first quarter, compared with the national rate of 4.5 percent. Additionally, at least 4.6 percent of Florida mortgages were at least 90 days past due. The percentage of Florida loans that entered the foreclosure process in the first quarter was 1.8 percent, second only to Nevada's 2.3 percent.

If you're in the market to buy a new home or condo, now is a great time to do so. With sale prices continuing to drop, potential buyers need to take advantage of the current market conditions.

Today's current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated. There are many factors contributing to Florida's nation leading delinquency rates. They include a weak job market, weak economic recovery, and a major drop in home prices. Consequently, Florida's housing market remains unsettled in large part due to the continued foreclosure crises.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

Yet another sign that the economy is recovering at a moderate pace, late payments on mortgages have fallen again for the fifth straight quarter. But the number of homeowners making late payments - or no payments - continues to remain extremely high when compared with the pre-real estate crisis norm.

According to news reports, the percentage of borrowers who were on average 60 days or more past due on their mortgage payments, fell to 6.19% for the three months ending on March 31. This is down from last year's figure of 6.77%. And despite having the highest delinquency rates out of any state, Florida also saw a fall from a year ago going from 14.65% to 14.37 %. Some states, however, weren't so lucky. Maine, for instance, saw its delinquency rate climb from 4.64% to 5.04 %.

Optimism remains low for any significant decrease in delinquency rates due to the lengthy foreclosure process, here in Florida. Foreclosing on a home is taking on average more than two years from the initial stage.

Another big reason why we wont see a decrease is because property owners will continue to be discouraged from making payments on properties that continue to decline in value. Therefore, unless we see an increase in housing prices for properties mortgaged in pre-housing bust, then we likely won't see delinquency rates getting back to normal for possibly as long as another 4 to 8 years.

Indeed, about 9% of all borrowers are behind on their mortgages, and 4.6% of homes are in foreclosure.

Today's current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated. There are many factors contributing to Florida's nation leading delinquency rates. They include a weak job market, weak economic recovery, and a major drop in home prices. Consequently, Florida's housing market remains unsettled in large part due to the continued foreclosure crises.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

For the first time in 13 years, homeowners are saving more than they're spending on high mortgage interest. Today, mortgage interest consumes 5.27% of the nation's after tax-income.

Historically low interest rates, defaults and refinancings have shaved more than $100 billion off the nation's annual mortgage bill - an amount comparable to all the unemployment benefits for one year or this year's Social Security payroll tax cut.

To compare this drastic drop, this after tax-income percentage rate is comparable to those present in the 1980s and '90s. In other words, consumers are distancing themselves from high risk, "cash out" loans and replacing the traditional 30-year mortgage to 15-year loans.

In short, homeowners are shaking off high mortgage payments by taking advantage of historically low interest rates. Indeed, homeowners have trimmed interest payments by 11% from the peak of 2008.

The nation has slashed total mortgage debt from nearly $11trillion during the peak in 2008 to $10.3 trillion in the first three months of 2011. This trend shows no sign of slowing. About 9% of all borrowers are behind on their mortgages, and 4.6% of homes are in foreclosure.

Today's current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated. There are many factors contributing to Florida's nation leading delinquency rates. They include a weak job market, weak economic recovery, and a major drop in home prices. Consequently, Florida's housing market remains unsettled in large part due to the continued foreclosure crises.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

According to Bloomberg news, more than 28% of all U.S. homeowners with mortgages owed more than their properties were worth in the first quarter as real estate values continued to fall.

Part of the reason for the rise in "underwater" homes is the continued steady decrease in real estate values. Home prices fell 3% in the first quarter. Moreover, many are predicting that home prices will drop as much as 9% this year as foreclosures spread and unemployment continues to remain high.

Additionally, homeowners with negative equity increased from 22% a year earlier as home prices decreased 8.2% over the past 12 months. About 27% of homes with mortgages were "underwater."

Today's current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated. There are many factors contributing to Florida's nation leading delinquency rates. They include a weak job market, weak economic recovery, and a major drop in home prices. Consequently, Florida's housing market remains unsettled in large part due to the continued foreclosure crises.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.