Good & Not So Good Real Estate News

Palm Island home sold for $16,400,000

There is good news and bad news in real estate today. Here is the good news; on Miami Beach, there are 2 adjacent islands, namely Palm Island, and Hibiscus Island. Recently 2 ultra-luxury homes on those islands sold for $16,400,000 and $9,000,000 respectively. That is great news, because it demonstrates that people are still willing to spend big bucks for Miami luxury homes, regardless of all of the news reports about the dismal real estate market. Now for the not so good news. A report on CNN stated that foreclosures nationwide were up again in October ( 2% from September), and were up an amazing 94% in October as compared to October of 2006. Last month 50,000 (people/families) were forced out of their homes due to foreclosures. I guess all of this goes right along with the adage, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Today's Real Estate Report

Home prices are falling all over the country. According to the NAR, prices continued to fall during the 3rd quarter of this year, accompanied by declining sales. The biggest declines in home sales are in those areas where the most significant speculative investment took place, including Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. Hardest hit is the Melbourne and Palm Bay area, where the steepest decline in prices was recorded. Median home prices fell in this part of Florida 12.4%. Sacramento California comes in 2nd, with median home prices plunging 10.4%. In stark contrast is the Northeastern part of the United states, where the median home price rose 3.2% during the quarter ending September 30.

Miami Beach Real Estate - North Bay Road

For a cool $18,900,000, anyone can buy this gorgeous home on Miami Beach.

North Bay Road has some of the most luxurious estates in Miami and all of Florida.

Many celebrities, including the Bee Gees, Jennifer Lopez, and Hulk Hogan have owned homes on North Bay Road. For anyone interested in in this home, call 786-344-8776 for more information.

15% Recent Home Buyers Have Negative Equity

This is the fourth consecutive quarter that home values have declined nationwide, 5.7% year-over-year, according to a third quarter 2007 home value report released by Zillow earlier this week. That is the largest year-over-year decline in more than a decade. In addition, as of the end of the third quarter, 15.6% of homeowners nationwide who purchased a property in the past 12 months, and 17.5% of buyers who bought two years ago have present home values that are less than the original mortgage amount. In contrast, 1.8% of those who purchased a home five years ago have seen their equity slide into the negative.

Signs Of What's To Come?

Realtors, sellers, and just about everyone else, wish that this real estate crisis had never happened, but it did, and more reports came out today. Last month, applications for building permits dropped to a 14 year low. Furthermore, construction of single family homes shrunk to its lowest level since 1991. That's 16 years. That's not all though. Freddie Mac reported a 2 billion dollar loss amid a worsening real estate mortgage crises, partially created by unscrupulous and greedy lenders looking to make a quick buck. It all sounds so bad, but then again the darkest hour comes right before dawn, and it does seem that people are still spending dollars in Miami. Miami Beach's Lincoln Road Mall was packed with out of towners this past week, and more people are coming for the warm weather and sunny climate. Will that translate into more real estate sales this winter? We shall soon see.

International Spending on the Increase

According to a report on CNBC, international spending is expected to increase in the USA, by 12% in the coming year, due to the shrinking dollar. Europeans are coming here in droves just to shop, because everything is so cheap. One euro buys $1.50, so it's bargain basement time for the Europeans visiting the USA this holiday season, and in the coming year. This is going to hopefully also boost home sales, especially in the Miami area, because Europeans love to come to Miami for vacation, and they are famous for buying up homes and condos during the tourist season. For sellers of real estate, this may well be a good time to bring asking prices down, and in line with present market conditions.

A Result of Subprime Mortgages

A report by CNN Money said that "According to the Center for Responsible Lending, 7.2 million households have subprime mortgages, and more than 14 percent of those are in default. It projects that one of every five of those loans issued in 2005 and 2006 will end in foreclosure, with 2.2 million families losing their homes".

Exclusive Fisher Island In Hot Water

I received a very interesting email this morning, informing me that this weekend hundreds of people are going to protest discriminatory and abusive treatment of the workers that clean, maintain, and protect Fisher Island, a neighboring Miami Beach community and one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the U.S.A.

From Jimbo’s to Fisher Island
Nov 17th: Activist Armada of Small Boats to Take “Private” Beach of Exclusive Fisher Island Public

Visual: A dozen decorated small boats will ferry more than a hundred activists close to shore of Fisher Island. Activists will then swim to island with purple flags and beach umbrellas.

MIAMI, FL—An armada of decorated boats will carry hundreds on Saturday November 17, to the sheltered and until now thought to be off-limits beaches of Fisher Island, named the nation’s most expensive zip code by Forbes and labeled “Fantasy Island” by the New York Times, to protest discriminatory and abusive treatment of the workers that clean, maintain, and protect the island.

Participants will meet at Jimbo’s, the iconic smoked fish and boat dock on Virginia Key at noon. The first wave of boats will leave Jimbo’s at 1:00 p.m.

In a letter to Joseph Kay, president of Fisher Island Holdings, LLC, the company that runs the island, SEIU notified the island of the guaranteed public access to the Fisher Island beach according to the Florida Constitution and Covenant 12 of the Second Substituted Declaration of Restrictive Covenants Governing Development of Fisher Island. The covenant also states that the public shall have access to this beach by means of a “public easement pathway” leading “from the ferry boat landing” to the beach. SEIU asked the island to allow the boats to dock at the Fisher Island Marina and to provide a public pathway to the beach. If not allowed to dock, participants plan on SWIMMING FROM THE BOATS TO SHORE.

WHAT: Boat launch to take “private” Fisher Island beach public
WHO: More than a hundred community activists
WHEN: Saturday, November 17, 12:30 p.m. First wave of boats will leave at 1 p.m.
WHERE: Jimbo’s on Virginia Key to Fisher Island Directions to Jimbo’s: Take the Rickenbacker Causeway to Virginia Key. Take the first left after the light at Mast Academy, and follow the signs.
UPDATE:below view the video of the protest:

Landlord Foreclosures - Let The Renter Beware

Something very interesting with regards to real estate, but unbeknownst to most renters of homes or apartments, is that renters must be very aware of exactly what they are getting themselves into when they sign a lease contract.

Due to the high rate of foreclosures these days, many apartment buildings, as well as homes are being foreclosed, and the owners of those properties abdicate responsibility to the building or its tenants upon foreclosure. So what happens if you are a renter, and you signed a long-term lease, and subsequently the owner undergoes foreclosure?

You may end up losing your security deposit, and your last month's rent, and you may be forced to evacuate the apartment with very little notice, unless you are careful to take the right steps. Therefore let the renter beware, and research the status of the space he/she/they are about to occupy. Is the landlord solvent? Are the mortgage payments up to date? Have the property taxes been paid? These questions can be answered more easily than a renter may think.

For example, most states have property records available for view right on the Internet. From there, the renter can often find all sorts of good stuff, like the mortgage amount owed on the property, the tax records, and the date the property was purchased. Many properties were purchased in the past few years with the help of unscrupulous mortgage brokers and lenders, by investors who couldn't really afford their purchases, but were able to close the deals by giving sub-prime mortgages to the lender.

As the adjustable interest rate on those mortgages climbed, many owners found, and are finding themselves unable to pay their mortgage loans, and of course the result is foreclosure. The innocent and uninformed renter can be left with no place to live, and a loss of the equivalent of two month's rent. Therefore, a renter should research all of the readily available information before signing a lease agreement.

Gorgeous Four Seasons Condo For Sale

Former Chicago Bulls NBA basketball player, Boris Gorenc, whose teammates were Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, has put his condo on the market for sale. It's a gorgeous 2 bedroom apartment high up on the 48th floor of one of the finest buildings anywhere, The Four Seasons in Miami. Here is a link to the information on the condo. Boris is a friend of mine, so if you're interested you know what to do. Here is a link to a virtual tour of the apartment.

Major Price Drop Forecast in 2008 Housing Market

RISMEDIA, Nov. 8, 2007-The U. S. housing market, already stressed by mortgage challenges, will experience falling home prices at a record rate in 2008, according to the new annual Housing Predictor national forecast.

Home prices are forecast to drop in the overwhelming majority of markets in all 50 states. Housing Predictor independently tracks more than 250 local housing markets in all states and regularly reports changes in each market place to keep visitors up to date on local market conditions.

Some markets, especially in highly populated states, which experienced all time record high appreciation during the real estate boom will see prices plummet at double digit levels in 2008. While others will see less depreciation. The loss in average home values is expected to be the worst since the 1930’s, according to Housing Predictor analysts.

The deflation being experienced in most of the nation’s housing markets is a result of low mortgage interest rates, overly creative financing provided by mortgage companies and massive mortgage fraud on the part of both mortgage brokers and some home buyers. The series of issues has stalled home sales in the majority of the country after prices in many areas reached all-time highs and has resulted in sales activity of less than a third of the number of sales in 2006.

All real estate markets are local in nature with their own regional economic and political influences, which drive the local market place. Some areas in the Pacific north-west and in southern states will experience less deflation in 2008.

Housing markets that cater to second home and vacation buyers may have already bottomed out in areas of Florida and Idaho. However, Florida also has one of the highest rates of foreclosures in the nation, due in part to over building in the Miami condo market. Miami has seen more new condominium projects constructed in the past few years than ever before in the city’s history, and many other projects have been canceled or put on hold until market conditions improve. For more information, visit http://www.housingpredictor.com.