Tag Archives: florida
Negative equity worse in some parts of US despite home values rising
Home prices are rising in the US but the rate of home owners who owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth is stalled and even worsening in some places for the first time since the recession, according to a new report. Negative equity is going up in 21 of the largest 50 housing markets, indicating many underwater homes are not rising in value, says the latest review from real estate data firm Zillow. More than a quarter of mortgaged homes are underwater in some markets in Florida and the Midwest. The national negative equity rate is 16.9% yet home values rose 5.9% nationally last year. The report also shows that the at the lower end of the market homes are far more likely to be worth less than the balance of their mortgage and the analysis suggests that is because low end homes are losing value. At the peak of the real estate crisis, more than 15 million home owners owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth, putting them in negative equity. Foreclosures, short sales and rapidly rising home values freed nearly half of those home owners, but now that trend has reversed in many metros. Indeed, three years into the recovery, home values overall continued to recover while owners of the lowest valued homes, those most likely to be stuck in negative equity, were left behind. ‘Higher negative equity rates have become the new normal. We've long been expecting the negative equity rate to fall more slowly as home value growth also slows, and unfortunately that's exactly what we're seeing,’ said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. ‘Compounding the problem is the fact that negative equity is decidedly not an equal opportunity predator, and looms larger over the bottom 10% of homes, where home owners are least prepared to withstand the assault,’ he added. In Atlanta some 49% of homes in the bottom third of home values are in negative equity, compared to 11% of mortgaged homes in the highest valued third. Among large metros, Virginia Beach at 28.3%, Jacksonville at 27%, Las Vegas at 24.4% and Atlanta at 26.1% had the highest rates of negative equity. Continue reading
Brazilians search the most for property in Miami, new research shows
Potential buyers from Brazil are leasing investment interest in the Miami real estate market which leads the United States in international property sales. It again led all foreign countries searching for South Florida real estate on the Miami Association of Realtors website in February 2015. The South American country, which topped all global consumers searching Miamire.com in the same period last year, has regularly ranked among Miami’s top foreign buyers. According to the association the distinction is significant considering Miami has the highest concentration of foreign born residents of any major US city and leads the nation in international real estate sales. In 2014, Brazilians registered 11% of all South Florida international real estate deals. Brazil had the third most property transactions in Miami and Broward Counties among all global consumers, trailing only Venezuela at 16% and Argentina at 12%. Brazilians spend the most on South Florida properties among foreign buyers, paying an average of $495,000. On average, Miami’s international buyers paid $444,000 per purchase, compared to $245,000 state wide. ‘Miami is an international city with world-class amenities, and that’s a big draw for Brazilians,’ said Christopher Zoller, 2015 residential president of the Miami Association of Realtors. ‘Typically, the Brazilians moving to South Florida are upper middle class families who want to enjoy their prosperity earned in Brazil as professionals and entrepreneurs,’ he added. A breakdown of the February figures shows that after Brazil the next most popular nationality searching for property was Colombians, followed by Venezuelans, then Canadians and then Indians. Searches from Argentina, the UK, Russia, the Philippines and Italy completed the top 10. When it comes to domestic searches, the most came from California, followed by Georgia, then Texas, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina. Nationally, Miami is consistently one of the top markets for foreign countries searching for property in the US In February Miami ranked as a top five market for 12 of 20 foreign nations searching for real estate on Realtor.com and Realtor.com International. Miami registered as a top market for real estate consumers in Canada, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, France, Italy, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and South Africa. Continue reading
Miami continues to see steady growth in its residential property market
Median residential sales in Miami, one of the US’s most dynamic real estate markets, continued rising last month and have now been increasing for more than three years. Indeed the latest figures from the Miami Association of Realtors shows that single family home sales registered double digit growth in February and set an all-time Miami annual record in 2014, up 14.2% compared to February 2014. Existing condominium sales posted the second best year in Miami history in 2014 despite an increase in new condo construction and rose 1.4% from February of last year. Combined, Miami-Dade County residential real estate sales increased 6.8% compared to the same time period in 2014. ‘Miami residential home sales continue to grow at a moderate rate. Seller confidence and buyer demand in the Miami real estate market is leading to more active listings and higher sale prices,’ said Christopher Zoller, the association’s residential president. The data also shows that family home prices increased again in February but remain at affordable 2004 levels despite more than three years of consistent year on year increases. Condo prices also increased in February 2015, marking 44 months of growth in the last 45 months. The median sale price for single family homes increased 7.9% to $245,000 in February 2015 from $227,000 in February 2014. The average sale price for single family homes increased 4% to $431,746 last month from $415,312 during the same time period last year. Compared to February 2014, the median sale price for condominiums increased 6.8% to $189,000 from $177,000 a year prior. The average sale for condominiums increased 8.4% to $365,856 from $337,382 in February 2014. Miami single family homes and condominiums continue to sell close to asking price, reflecting a strong consumer demand. The median number of days on the market for single family homes sold in February 2015 was just 46 days, a decrease of 2.1% compared to the same period in 2014. The average percent of original list price received was 94.6%, down a negligible 0.6% from a year earlier. The median number of days on the market for condominiums sold in February 2015 was 65 days, an increase of 14% compared to the same period in 2014. The average percent of original list price received was 93.3%, a 1.8% decrease. Cash sales in Miami increased relative to last month, but are down compared to the same time period last year. Access to mortgage loans for condominium buyers remains limited. The lack of Federal Housing Administration loans for a large number of existing Miami condominium buildings is preventing further market strengthening. In Miami-Dade County, 58.8% of total closed sales in February 2015 were all cash transactions, up from 57.2% from the previous month. Cash deals in Miami are down relative to February 2014 when 62.5% of transactions were all cash. Miami condominiums comprise a large… Continue reading
