Tag Archives: florida
Family homes sales reached new all-time high in Miami in 2015
Sales of family homes in Miami, one of the most popular US markets with overseas and domestic buyers, set an all-time annual record in 2015. And sales for all existing properties posted the third most transactions in history, according to the latest data from the Miami Association of Realtors. ‘Miami’s strong local jobs market, population increase, historically low mortgage interest rates and South Florida’s continued growth as a world class global region all played key roles in the strong sales. We see many of these factors carrying over to 2016,’ said Mark Sadek, the association’s board chairman. The monthly report also shows that existing single family homes finished 2015 with a median sales price of $265,000, up 8.2% from $245,000 the previous year. The Miami median price for existing condominiums in 2015 was $200,000, an increase of 5.3% from $190,000 in 2014. The median number of days on the market for Miami single family homes fell 4.4% to 43 days in 2015 from 45 days in 2014 and the median number of days on the market for condominiums sold in 2015 was 60 days, a 5.3% increase from 57 days in 2014. In 2015 some 51.8% of sales were to cash buyers which is more than double the national average, but down from 57.2% in 2014. However, Miami’s high percentage of cash sales reflects South Florida’s ability to attract a diverse number of international home buyers, who tend to purchase properties in cash. Condominiums comprise a large portion of Miami’s cash purchases as 65.4 compared to 36.4% of single family home sales. The data also shows that inventory of single family homes decreased 3.5% in 2015 while condominium inventory increased 10.2%. Inventory for Miami single family homes stood at a 5.2 month supply, a 6.8% decrease from 5.6 months in the previous year while for condominiums at the end of 2015 it was 9.5 months, a 13.2% increase from 8.4 months in 2014. Total active listings at the end of 2015 increased 5.4% year on year, from 17,695 to 18,645. Active listings remain about 60% below 2008 levels when sales bottomed. New listings of single family homes increased 0.6% compared to 2014 and for condominiums they increased by 0.6%. Continue reading
US home foreclosures continuing to fall, latest data shows
Foreclosures in the United States are continuing to decline with the latest data showing they fell 30% in December year on year, the sixth consecutive month with an annual decrease in foreclosure starts. However, the figures from real estate data firm RealtyTrac also shows that bank repossessions (REOs) in December increased 65% from a year ago, the 10thconsecutive month with an annual increase in REOs. ‘In 2015 we saw a return to normal, healthy foreclosure activity in many markets even as banks continued to clean up some of the last vestiges of distress left over from the last housing crisis,’ said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. ‘The increase in bank repossessions that we saw for the year was evidence of this clean up phase, which largely involves completing foreclosure on highly distressed, low value properties,’ he explained. ‘Meanwhile, local economic problems became a larger driver of foreclosure activity in 2015 Examples of this are Atlantic City, New Jersey, which posted the nation’s highest metro foreclosure rate for the year, along with several heavy oil-producing markets in Texas and Oklahoma where foreclosure activity increased in 2015, counter to the national trend,’ he added. Counter to the national trend, 24 states and the District of Columbia posted an increase in foreclosure activity in 2015 compared to 2014, including Massachusetts up 55%, Missouri up 50%, Oklahoma up 36%, New York up 24% and Texas up 16%. Among the nation’s 20 largest metro areas, six posted year on year increases in foreclosure activity in 2015. In Boson they were up 44%, up 38% in St. Louis, up 25% in Dallas, up 22% in Detroit, up 9% in New York and up less than 1% in Houston. A total of 569,835 properties started the foreclosure process in 2015, down 11% from 2014 and down 73% from the peak of more than 2.1 million foreclosure starts in 2009 to a 10 year low. Bucking the national trend, foreclosure starts increased in 2015 in 16 states, including Oklahoma up 92%, Massachusetts up 67%, Missouri up 28%, Virginia up 23%, Nevada up 14% and Arkansas up 14%. A total of 449,900 properties were repossessed by lenders in 2015, up 38% from 2014 but still 57% below the peak of nearly 1.1 million bank repossessions (REOs) in 2010. The median price of a bank owned home in 2015 was 41% below the median price of all homes, the biggest bank owned discount nationwide since 2006. ‘That may be surprising to some, but demonstrates that in a healthy real estate market foreclosures are no longer mainstream, but instead are back to being a market niche of properties with problems that many buyers do not want to tackle,’ said Blomquist. Bank repossessions (REOs) increased from a year ago in 41 states and the District of Columbia. Some of the biggest increases were in New Jersey which was up 226%, New York up 194%, Texas up 115%, North Carolina up 108%, and Oregon up 96%. Foreclosures in… Continue reading
Consumer group blasts new second home property tax as dangerous and flawed
The new 3% surcharge on second homes in the UK is dangerously flawed and it could harm the very homeowner that the government wants to help, it is claimed. According to the Home Owners Alliance, a consumer group for home owners, said that while the surcharge is welcome in principle, the way it is going to work is not helpful due to a number of situations which have not been taken into account. In its response to the proposed change due to take effect from 01 April, the HOA says it is so overly complex and flawed that it will lead to massive unintended consequences. ‘It is great the government is trying to use stamp duty to help home owners, but they have made a real hash of it. The ridiculously complex way they are planning to introduce the scheme will end up harming many of the very home owners it is meant to help, and lead to widespread confusion among home buyers,’ said Paula Higgins, HOA chief executive. ‘We are already being contacted by distressed home owners who have worked out they will be caught by it, and not be able to buy the home they want to. Rather than push ahead with a well-intentioned but dangerously flawed scheme, it should go back to the drawing board and put it right,’ she added. In its consultation response, the HOA has suggested many remedies to iron out some of the worst problems with the proposals, but points out that almost none of the problems would exist if the government used the more simple system. ‘It is really simple, no one should pay the stamp duty surcharge if they are going to buy a home to live in, and home owners need confidence that will be the case. However, if you are buying a residential property for any other purpose, you should pay the surcharge,’ said Higgins. The HOA consulted widely with members and other stakeholders, and identified various problems. It pointed out that many ordinary buyers who are not buying a holiday home or one to let out will be hit by the 3% stamp duty surcharge at the last minute, forcing them to give up purchasing their new home. For example, a first time buyer will be charged the stamp duty surcharge if they jointly purchase their home with someone who already owns a property and they could pay more stamp duty than an existing home owner with a major property portfolio. Separating couples could be hit by the surcharge when one of them sets up a new family home and people moving to new build homes where the timetable is dictated by the developer will generally have to pay the stamp duty surcharge, only to reclaim it from the government later. This will particularly hit hard stretched pensioner downshifters moving into newly built retirement homes, says the document. Also, home owners who move for work and rent out their homes… Continue reading
