Home Values Dip

South Florida followed suit with what you're hearing about home values in the rest of the country. Prices on single family homes in our market dropped 1.56% in September according to the latest report of the Case Shiller Index.  Softening of reported value for "high-tier" properties (more-expensive) drove the overall decline.

More Short Sales than Foreclosure Sales in September

I'm currently working with three short sale transactions (and about to add a fourth).  Clearly they are challenging for all parties involved but are a major factor in this market and with hard work and patience, can end in a successful sale.  I've been tracking the short sale & foreclosure market since January 2009.  Much has been made of the constriction of foreclosures in light of  'robo-sign' practices of processors and the number of transactions has been in flux, but I was surprised to find that the number of short sales actually exceeded foreclosure sales in September for the first time.

Single Family Home Value Down a Tad

Case Shiller value index for August was released this morning.  Value in South Florida dropped slightly led by decline in the higher-tier (more "expensive") homes.

Save $40,000!!

For some perspective on today's mortgage rate news; a home buyer borrowing $180,000 at today's rate would save $40,000 in interest over the life of the loan, compared with the same loan at 5% (the rate just six months ago).  Monthly payments would be about $100 cheaper too.

There would be no iphone without Broward County

While the "whole world" was waiting breathlessly for the announcement of the latest iphone; an engineering firm in SUNRISE, FL was churning out components for the new device.  http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2011/09/13/slideshow-when-iphone-5s-coming.html?s=print

"Lower Value" Homes Still Dropping
As we observe an overall increase in value of single family homes in South Florida, it is interesting to note, in an analysis of the tiered pricing study provided by the Index, that lower-priced homes are not contributing to the increase.  The index defines a 'low priced' home in our market as under $144,203.  As the attached chart shows, homes in that tier continue to decline while the middle and upper tiers rebound.

Clearly sellers of homes in that range should not 'test the market' but price their properties to secure a buyer as quickly as possible.

South Florida Home Values Up Too

Case Shiller Index results for July were released this morning.  South Florida follows the national trend with single family home values increasing  1.21% in that month.  July's number brings us to just about the break-even point for the year (i.e. no change in value for the year) which is an accomplishment after the disappointing numbers, we experienced earlier this year, suggested a drop in value in 2011.

Home Values Up Again

Single family home values rose again in June for the second month this year according to the Case Shiller Value Analysis.  Values in South Florida increased .62% in June after a 1.18% percent rise in May.  Based on the index, values decreased 2.54% in the first half of the year. 

Our Attorney General is on the Wrong Side of this Matter
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/editorials/bondi-picks-the-wrong-side-1688749.html

May was a Good Month for Home Value

The Case Shiller Value Analysis released this morning reported that May was a good month for home value.  Twenty of the US metropolitan areas included in the study registered increases with South Florida in the pack at UP 1.18%.

High-Priced Homes Drove Value Increase in May
The Case Shiller Value Analysis presents single family home values in tiers based on a price break calculation they identify as Low, Medium and High.  I've charted the last couple of years on the attached chart for South Florida (Miami & Ft Lauderdale).  This shows that the 1.18% aggregate increase in values was driven by strong value increases in higher priced homes (those over $249,104) while lower priced homes actually declined just a bit.

Pompano Beach Condo Sale Confirms Values are Increasing

I am pleased to announce the sale of our listing, unit 1206 in the Waterbury Condo for $213,000.  This remodeled 2 bedroom/2 bath unit at 1180 square feet ($180.50/square foot) is the highest sale in the building in two years.  The condo was impeccably maintained and the kitchen had been remodeled in the last three years. The limited number of homes available to the buyers drove this sale.

If you’re a seller waiting for a more favorable time to list and sell your property, NOW IS THE TIME.  The buyer pool is still smaller than we would like to see it and it is the limited number of choices that resulted in the sale I’m reporting here.  As the market stabilizes sellers who have been holding off will jump into the market and the inventory will increase.  List now while your property is the only game in town.  Call me today to initiate a plan to get your property sold.

The Bottom of the Real Estate Market

In a great article on the South Florida economy in this morning’s Miami Herald, Octavio Hernandez, President of US Century Bank was quoted: “In the last two months, we have seen a lot of activity” from distressed-asset buyers, “I think people have realized prices have pretty much dropped as far as they’re going to”.   This suggests that ‘vulture investors’ have concluded that now is the time to enter the market before values begin their slow climb.  Obviously this is a great indication for buyers to get serious about investing in real estate but sellers too should take this opportunity to list now to take advantage of the reduced inventory and buyer urgency to make their move.   

South Florida Housing Value History

Each April I capture an annualized value measurement based on the Case Shiller Value Index for Miami/Fort Lauderdale.  As you can see, 2010-2011 is not measuring up as well as the previous year.  The bumpy bottom of the market is taking a bit of a downward turn this year; further evidence to the complete unpredictability of the market.  Another thing this chart presents is the unprecedented nature of the recent market boom/bust (just in case we needed to see it depicted another way).

Home Values Down Again...but just a 'Little'
The Case Shiller value index for April was published today.  National results were a bit less dire than the last month reported with a few cities experiencing an increase in value.  In South Florida the monthly decline was just under one-quarter of one percent; better than the .81% decline in February.

Values are still disappointing in 2011 compared to last year which will be documented in my next post...the one you've been waiting for folks; the annual 'appreciation' measurement I take each April.  How's that for a teaser?

Case Shiller Value Index-Better than Last Month

So here's the rest of the story after you've listened to the news reports on the Case Shiller Home Value Index figures released this morning.  The media are reporting a downward trend in values throughout the country but the results in South Florida are a bit more encouraging.  While we experienced a decline in the month of March (the most recent month reported by the Index) the rate of decline was FAR less alarming than last month (0.84% in March vs. 2.02% in February).  I'm still inclined to view February's drop as an anomaly (let's hope anyway) so based on our first quarter performance values may decline anywhere from 5.5% to 16.5% in 2011.  If we split the difference that's around 11%.  Now statistics NEVER lie somehow it feels like we're not going to have another decline of over 10% this year.  Prices in the more desirable areas (near the ocean & in great school districts) seem to be stabilizing, especially where the inventory of homes for sale is tight.  I'm anxious to see what the next few months' performance is like to turn around the disappointing numbers from the first quarter.

Foreclosure News
The news reports today tout significantly lower foreclosures in April than the same period a year ago.  It's difficult to determine if this suggests improvement in the market or other factors.  The following tidbit from the Miami Herald might provide some insight:
   In Florida, it now takes an average of 619 days—about 20 months—for the foreclosure process to run its course. That’s up from 470 days last year, and 169 days in 2007.

In case you ever wondered if anyone responsible for the lending debacle of last decade would be called to account.....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/us-sues-deutsche-bank-alleging-mortgage-fraud/2011/05/03/AFfym4iF_print.html

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.