Pretty Steep Drop in Single Family Home Values

The Case-Shiller Value Analysis for February was published today (remember that this analysis "seasons" its data to give ample time for county records to be updated).  The month-over-month decline in value (at -2.02%) is the sharpest since April of 2009.  This could very well be explained by an increase in foreclosure sales backlogged by the 'robo-signing' revelation made late last year.  Foreclosure and short sale transactions in the Multiple Listing Service were about 6% higher than normal in January and February.  I'll be waiting with bated breath (as I'm sure the readers of this humble blog will be) to see if values stabilize next month.

Condos
Interesting article in today's Miami Herald about the condo market in the area and the strategy a major developer is following:
 Miami’s top condominium developer is planning to emerge from the region’s worst housing bust by picking up where it left off before the economy tanked, and building a shiny new condo tower.   The Related Group, which built more than 15,000 South Florida condos during the housing boom, then found itself fighting off insolvency when the recession hit, is seeking city approval for a new 35-story condo building in Brickell.   Related is set to go before Miami’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board on Wednesday to pitch its new project, to be built at 30 SE Sixth St.   Related’s subsidiary, TRG Brickell Station, originally received approval to use that site for a project called “Brickell Station,” in 2006. That condo tower, stalled because of the downturn, was planned to be nearly 600 feet tall, with 232 residences stacked on top of a parking garage.   The new plan scraps the 10-level parking garage, dropping the building’s height to 350 feet, and offers a new name: “My Brickell.” The expected dates for groundbreaking and completion are not listed in the application, and Related executives did not respond to requests for comment.   “To see Related and others move forward to build towers doesn’t surprise me, because it’s an arduous process,” said Peter Zalewski, a principal at CondoVultures, a Bal Harbour-based consultancy. “If you assume that construction takes 18 to 24 months, you start to look at roughly a 2014 delivery. I don’t know that that’s going to make sense two years from now, but if Related were able to build a tower without parking, they’d be able to reduce their costs tremendously.”   Zalewski added that of 22,000 new condos built in downtown Miami since 2003, about 3,200, or 14 percent, remain unsold.

 Lauderdale firm buys troubled mortgages: 


More insight into how this mortgage-mess will be resolved.  In the Sun-Sentinel this morning:


Fort Lauderdale-based private equity firm US Debt Ventures has purchased a pool of troubled mortgages with a face value of $500 million from an unidentified major bank, the firm announced Monday.   The firm bought a pool of about 7,000 first, second and third liens on mortgages across the nation. US Debt Ventures did not disclose how much it paid for the pool of loans, or which bank it purchased from. The seller was described in a release as “one of the five largest financial institutions.”   The company has plans for more bulk deals in 2011 and 2012, said Jamie Zambrana, director of acquisitions and analytics.

Florida Supreme Court May Reshape Foreclosure Proceses (watch this one!)




GREENACRES, Fla. – April 18, 2011 – A South Florida homeowner who alleges the mortgage foreclosure action against him was tainted by fraudulent paperwork will have his case reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court, in a closely watched action that could reshape state law.

The 4th District Court of Appeal had asked the state’s high court to decide the case as matter of “great public importance.” The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in an order issued Friday.

Legal experts say the case, Roman Pino vs. The Bank of New York Mellon, could result in changes in foreclosure cases where there is evidence of fraud in the way documents were handled by lenders, mortgage servicers and law firms.

“Many, many mortgage foreclosures appear tainted with suspect documents,” the appeals court in West Palm Beach wrote.

If the case is decided in favor of Pino, a resident of Greenacres in Palm Beach County, the ruling could affect thousands of foreclosures across Florida where there are allegations of document fraud.


Copyright © 2011 Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Peter Franceschina. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Florida is Best-Positioned State for Growth
Some great economic news was released today based on a study performed by Wells Fargo.  According to the study, Florida is the best-positioned state in the nation for business growth and new jobs.

In raking states by regional competitiveness — intrinsic factors that lead employers to create jobs in that state versus others nearby — Florida scored first in the Wells Fargo study released Wednesday morning.

Florida gets a boost in the rankings by tourism and hospitality industries, a natural for a state that attracts more than any other on the East Coast.

But Wells Fargo also gives Florida credit for a growing “life-sciences” industry, citing both a hefty retired population needing medical care and the research dollars that come with facilities like the planned Scripps Research facility in Palm Beach County. “The influx of new medical research facilities will help reinvigorate [research and development] growth in Florida, helping further diversify the state’s economy,’’ the report said.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/13/2165173/despite-battered-economy-florida.html#ixzz1JWfRrRqt