Florida was awarded $418 million of federal stimulus spending on Friday to help homeowners who are unemployed or who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
Treasury officials disclosed the funding for Florida and four other states hit hardest by unemployment and the housing foreclosure crisis.
Homeowners in South Florida are eagerly awaiting details of this program, which was announced by President Obama last month.
The awards come from a $1.5-billion Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets.
Florida will get $418 million, California $700 million, Michigan $155 million, Arizona $125 million and Nevada $103 million.
The Florida Housing Finance Corporation, which will handle the program in the Sunshine State, must submit a plan to Treasury by April 16 to say how it intends to help the unemployed and “underwater” homeowners. The plan must be approved by federal officials.
That’s when consumers will get a better idea of who will qualify, what form the aid will take and how to apply for it.
Treasury officials also released guidelines telling state agencies how they might use their allotments. Options include:
--Modifying mortgages or giving lenders an incentive to forgive a portion of loans to make payments affordable.
--Paying down part of a mortgage to make it possible to modify the rest of it.
--Making it easier to complete “short sales,” in which homes are sold for less than the mortgage.
--Allowing owners to give up their deeds to avoid foreclosure.
--Aiding unemployed borrowers to help them avoid foreclosure.
--Giving incentives to lenders to reduce or modify second liens on mortgages.
The program must be limited to those who owe no more than $729,750. State agencies may choose to target low- and moderate-income borrowers.
More specific information will come from the Florida Housing Finance Corp., a state-funded agency, which promises to provide updates for consumers on its website: FloridaHousing.org.
Source: http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/dcblog/2010/03/florida_gets_418_million_for_d_1.html
The Criscitos has been selling South Florida luxury and commercial real estate for over a decade and has sold over $1 billion dollars of property. They work as a multi-lingual team speaking english, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. They carved out a niche as a leading boutique real estate company with two distinct divisions -residential and commercial- both personally overseeing by Marcela and Anthony Criscito.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
South Florida pending home sales on the rise
Pending home sales in South Florida increased in February amid a glut of cheap homes and condos. National sales slipped due to weather woes.
Pending home sales in Miami-Dade and Broward counties were up in February, as low prices and a tax credit for first-time home buyers appeared to drive sales.
In Miami-Dade, the number of people who agreed to purchase a home in February was up 9 percent versus January at 9,164 homes and condos. Compared to year-ago levels, the number of pending home sales was up 61 percent, the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches reported Thursday.
In Broward County, pending home sales increased 4.7 percent versus January to 7,791 homes. Compared to last year, pending sales in Broward were up 62 percent.
Pending sales are recorded when a contract has been signed but the transaction has yet to close.
Most pending sales close in one or two months, making the data a good barometer of future sales.
One factor that may be driving the figure is the growing number of condominiums and townhomes priced under $250,000.
According to Condo Vultures, a Bal Harbour-based consultancy, 53 percent of all townhomes and condos for resale in Miami-Dade are priced under $250,000. For Broward that figure is 65 percent; and in Palm Beach County the number is 51 percent.
``Residential real estate prices have tumbled significantly since the peak of the market in the fourth quarter of 2005,'' Peter Zalewski, a principal at Condo Vultures, said in a press release.
``The challenge for many buyers is the under-$250,000 properties are increasingly located west of Interstate 95 in the suburban areas of South Florida.
``Prices east of Interstate 95 in the coastal areas have continuously crept up as buyers have associated the proximity of water with quality,'' he said.
National figures for pending home sales, which run one month behind the local data, fell sharply in January, a sign that demand for housing is sinking this winter as stormy weather slams Eastern states.
Record snowstorms in January and February had many Americans shoveling sidewalks and driveways instead of combing through listings for open houses. Partly as a result, an index that tracks sales agreement showed a 7.6 percent drop from December to a seasonally adjusted January reading of 90.4, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
It was the lowest reading since last April and a disappointment to economists, who had expected it would rise to 97.6.
The weakness, however, was not confined to the wintry Northeast. The biggest month-to-month drop was in the West, where sales fell 13 percent. Sales fell almost 9 percent in the Northeast and Midwest and 2 percent in the South.
The weather isn't the only culprit, wrote Jennifer Lee, an economist with BMO Capital Markets. ``The impact of government incentives . . . appears to be running out of steam, which is, frankly, a scary thought,'' she wrote.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/05/1513489/pending-home-sales-on-the-rise.html
BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@MiamiHerald.com
Pending home sales in Miami-Dade and Broward counties were up in February, as low prices and a tax credit for first-time home buyers appeared to drive sales.
In Miami-Dade, the number of people who agreed to purchase a home in February was up 9 percent versus January at 9,164 homes and condos. Compared to year-ago levels, the number of pending home sales was up 61 percent, the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches reported Thursday.
In Broward County, pending home sales increased 4.7 percent versus January to 7,791 homes. Compared to last year, pending sales in Broward were up 62 percent.
Pending sales are recorded when a contract has been signed but the transaction has yet to close.
Most pending sales close in one or two months, making the data a good barometer of future sales.
One factor that may be driving the figure is the growing number of condominiums and townhomes priced under $250,000.
According to Condo Vultures, a Bal Harbour-based consultancy, 53 percent of all townhomes and condos for resale in Miami-Dade are priced under $250,000. For Broward that figure is 65 percent; and in Palm Beach County the number is 51 percent.
``Residential real estate prices have tumbled significantly since the peak of the market in the fourth quarter of 2005,'' Peter Zalewski, a principal at Condo Vultures, said in a press release.
``The challenge for many buyers is the under-$250,000 properties are increasingly located west of Interstate 95 in the suburban areas of South Florida.
``Prices east of Interstate 95 in the coastal areas have continuously crept up as buyers have associated the proximity of water with quality,'' he said.
National figures for pending home sales, which run one month behind the local data, fell sharply in January, a sign that demand for housing is sinking this winter as stormy weather slams Eastern states.
Record snowstorms in January and February had many Americans shoveling sidewalks and driveways instead of combing through listings for open houses. Partly as a result, an index that tracks sales agreement showed a 7.6 percent drop from December to a seasonally adjusted January reading of 90.4, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
It was the lowest reading since last April and a disappointment to economists, who had expected it would rise to 97.6.
The weakness, however, was not confined to the wintry Northeast. The biggest month-to-month drop was in the West, where sales fell 13 percent. Sales fell almost 9 percent in the Northeast and Midwest and 2 percent in the South.
The weather isn't the only culprit, wrote Jennifer Lee, an economist with BMO Capital Markets. ``The impact of government incentives . . . appears to be running out of steam, which is, frankly, a scary thought,'' she wrote.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/05/1513489/pending-home-sales-on-the-rise.html
BY JIM WYSS
jwyss@MiamiHerald.com
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Florida's population pops back up
Last year Florida's population declined by 57,000 residents, the first such drop in residency in the state since the troops went back up north after World War II. Pundits predicted that Florida’s powerful growth engine had, like many of its citizens, gone into retirement. Time Magazine dubbed Florida, “the sunset state.”
But, after living through a season of sub-zero temperatures, approximately 40% of that number, about 23,000 people, realized that there is a very good reason that Florida is nicknamed, “the sunshine state,” and they filed back in.
Florida’s previous annual average population growth averaged about 300,000 people per year since the late 1940s. During the housing boom from 2003-2006, numbers of those moving in surged to almost 400,000 per year. Compared to these historic migrational highs, the 23,000 new arrivals are a drop in the population bucket. Nonetheless, that relatively small influx shows that Florida still retains its allure for those seeking residence in a year-round climate of comfort.
The Bureau of Economic and Business Research suggests that gains in Florida’s population are not likely to reach their former, high averages until 2014 -2015. This may be an indicator that the decline in Florida’s economy is slowing. However, the slower growth rate also indicates that Florida’s economic growth can no longer rely solely on the impetus provided by an influx of new residents.
According to Sean Smith, Director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness (IEC), this surprising pop in population is likely to produce a multiplier effect. Historically, areas that have attracted rapid growth will attract businesses and job seekers.
However, no matter how attractive its climate, Florida is not likely to experience larger leaps in population growth until two significant events occur: first, the state must find a way to generate more jobs; second, the nation’s real estate malaise must improve to the point where retirees in the other 49 states can sell their homes so they can move to Florida. According to the IEC, and to Warren Buffet’s recent statements, that is not expected to occur until next year.
Despite this year’s rate of marginal growth, Florida’s population is expected to reach 25 million people by 2035, which is an increase of 25% over its current figure of approximately 20 million residents.
During the last decade, according to the U. S. Census Bureau ,Florida’s Flagler County, gained the distinction of being the fastest growing county in the county based on percentage of population growth. Unfortunately, along with that growth rate, the county is now faced with the dubious honor of having an unemployment rate of 16.9%, far higher than the 11.7% for the rest of Florida. Nonetheless, Flagler’s growth rate is predicted at 109% over the next 30 years, surpassed only by Sumter County’s population expectation of 111% growth.
Perhaps more startling than the predictions of population growth are these thoughts about condominiums from the consulting company, Metrostudy. This firm tells the Palm Beach Post that the population growth that sweeps into Florida by the middle of this decade will not only fill the current glut of vacant condos in South Florida, but will create in a new wave of condo building before 2020.
Source: http://www.huliq.com/1/91818/floridas-population-pops-back
Written by Marc Jablon. Marc is a real estate analyst based in Florida and is with Realty Associates.
marcjablon@yahoo.com / 561-213-6139
www.MarcJablonHomes.com
But, after living through a season of sub-zero temperatures, approximately 40% of that number, about 23,000 people, realized that there is a very good reason that Florida is nicknamed, “the sunshine state,” and they filed back in.
Florida’s previous annual average population growth averaged about 300,000 people per year since the late 1940s. During the housing boom from 2003-2006, numbers of those moving in surged to almost 400,000 per year. Compared to these historic migrational highs, the 23,000 new arrivals are a drop in the population bucket. Nonetheless, that relatively small influx shows that Florida still retains its allure for those seeking residence in a year-round climate of comfort.
The Bureau of Economic and Business Research suggests that gains in Florida’s population are not likely to reach their former, high averages until 2014 -2015. This may be an indicator that the decline in Florida’s economy is slowing. However, the slower growth rate also indicates that Florida’s economic growth can no longer rely solely on the impetus provided by an influx of new residents.
According to Sean Smith, Director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness (IEC), this surprising pop in population is likely to produce a multiplier effect. Historically, areas that have attracted rapid growth will attract businesses and job seekers.
However, no matter how attractive its climate, Florida is not likely to experience larger leaps in population growth until two significant events occur: first, the state must find a way to generate more jobs; second, the nation’s real estate malaise must improve to the point where retirees in the other 49 states can sell their homes so they can move to Florida. According to the IEC, and to Warren Buffet’s recent statements, that is not expected to occur until next year.
Despite this year’s rate of marginal growth, Florida’s population is expected to reach 25 million people by 2035, which is an increase of 25% over its current figure of approximately 20 million residents.
During the last decade, according to the U. S. Census Bureau ,Florida’s Flagler County, gained the distinction of being the fastest growing county in the county based on percentage of population growth. Unfortunately, along with that growth rate, the county is now faced with the dubious honor of having an unemployment rate of 16.9%, far higher than the 11.7% for the rest of Florida. Nonetheless, Flagler’s growth rate is predicted at 109% over the next 30 years, surpassed only by Sumter County’s population expectation of 111% growth.
Perhaps more startling than the predictions of population growth are these thoughts about condominiums from the consulting company, Metrostudy. This firm tells the Palm Beach Post that the population growth that sweeps into Florida by the middle of this decade will not only fill the current glut of vacant condos in South Florida, but will create in a new wave of condo building before 2020.
Source: http://www.huliq.com/1/91818/floridas-population-pops-back
Written by Marc Jablon. Marc is a real estate analyst based in Florida and is with Realty Associates.
marcjablon@yahoo.com / 561-213-6139
www.MarcJablonHomes.com
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Miami-Dade ruling shows banks may be fined for delays in condo foreclosure sales
Can Florida banks be held financially accountable for purposely delaying condo bank foreclosure sales? A new South Florida circuit court ruling says yes.
Amid a growing clamor for Florida banks to bear more of the financial burden caused by widespread condo foreclosures, the Miami-Dade Circuit Court case settled last week shows an example of associations turning more often to courts for relief from revenue losses tied to the state's condo crisis. And it could pave the way for other South Florida condo associations faced with stalled foreclosures caused by lenders.
The King Cole Condominium Association in Miami Beach filed a motion against Deutch Bank National Trust Company, alleging it purposely stalled the foreclosure sale of a particular unit.
The unit owner has been behind in association payments for about three years, court documents show, and the unit was in foreclosure limbo for two of those years, in large part because of bank problems or inaction.
Why would a financial institution want to slow condo foreclosure sales?
To avoid paying its share of association fees as required by law, say critics such as David Cohen, the president of the King Cole, a community of 285 condos.
"It's not exclusively the bank delays that caused our situation," Cohen said. "Sometimes it is court delays, and sometimes the delays are caused by unit owners. But this ruling could help us with delays caused purposely by banks."
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge William Thomas sanctioned Deutch Bank for not sending a representative to a foreclosure sale as required by an earlier court judgment, a move that automatically cancels a sale date, and for not publishing a public notice in a local newspaper in time for another foreclosure sale date, again causing the sale cancellation.
Although Deutch did not offer explanations in court for the delays, its attorney argued that Florida courts are not allowed to force banks to pay condo association fees. Another recent ruling by the 3rd District Court of Appeals in Florida held that a bank could not be ordered to pay monthly maintenance fees before obtaining title to a unit.
Thomas' ruling, however, sanctioned Deutch for improper conduct related to the foreclosure case. The bank was ordered to pay about $7,300 in sanctions to the association and $2,000 to cover its legal fees.
"Thomas' order is not a precedent," meaning that other judges don't have to follow it, said community association attorney Jed Frankel, who represented the King Cole association. "But sanctions like those imposed in this case can be a useful tool to judges facing similar purposeful delays by banks."
Legal experts say such rulings often serve as guidelines for cases that follow.
As a part of the condo crisis, some banks delay foreclosures to avoid having to pay their shares of association assessments as required by law, Frankel said.
Florida limits a bank's responsibility to a mandated cap, the amount that a bank owes an association when it takes title of a condo via foreclosure.
For condo associations, the cap is six months of past-due assessments or 1 percent of the mortgage amount, whichever amount is less.
For a condo unit with regular monthly assessments of $200, a bank could owe as much as $1,200 of past-due assessments to be due within 30 days of the bank taking title of the unit.
For homeowner associations, the cap is 12 months of past-due assessments or 1 percent of the mortgage amount, whichever is less.
Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/condos/fl-bank-sanction-vasquez-0303-20100302,0,3399447.column
Daniel Vasquez can be reached at condocolumn@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4219 or 561-243-6686. His condo column appears every Wednesday in the Business section and at SunSentinel.com/condos. Check out Daniel's Condos & HOAs blog for news, information and tips related to life in community associations at sunsentinel.com/condoblog You also can read his consumer column every Monday in Your Money and at SunSentinel.com/vasquez
Amid a growing clamor for Florida banks to bear more of the financial burden caused by widespread condo foreclosures, the Miami-Dade Circuit Court case settled last week shows an example of associations turning more often to courts for relief from revenue losses tied to the state's condo crisis. And it could pave the way for other South Florida condo associations faced with stalled foreclosures caused by lenders.
The King Cole Condominium Association in Miami Beach filed a motion against Deutch Bank National Trust Company, alleging it purposely stalled the foreclosure sale of a particular unit.
The unit owner has been behind in association payments for about three years, court documents show, and the unit was in foreclosure limbo for two of those years, in large part because of bank problems or inaction.
Why would a financial institution want to slow condo foreclosure sales?
To avoid paying its share of association fees as required by law, say critics such as David Cohen, the president of the King Cole, a community of 285 condos.
"It's not exclusively the bank delays that caused our situation," Cohen said. "Sometimes it is court delays, and sometimes the delays are caused by unit owners. But this ruling could help us with delays caused purposely by banks."
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge William Thomas sanctioned Deutch Bank for not sending a representative to a foreclosure sale as required by an earlier court judgment, a move that automatically cancels a sale date, and for not publishing a public notice in a local newspaper in time for another foreclosure sale date, again causing the sale cancellation.
Although Deutch did not offer explanations in court for the delays, its attorney argued that Florida courts are not allowed to force banks to pay condo association fees. Another recent ruling by the 3rd District Court of Appeals in Florida held that a bank could not be ordered to pay monthly maintenance fees before obtaining title to a unit.
Thomas' ruling, however, sanctioned Deutch for improper conduct related to the foreclosure case. The bank was ordered to pay about $7,300 in sanctions to the association and $2,000 to cover its legal fees.
"Thomas' order is not a precedent," meaning that other judges don't have to follow it, said community association attorney Jed Frankel, who represented the King Cole association. "But sanctions like those imposed in this case can be a useful tool to judges facing similar purposeful delays by banks."
Legal experts say such rulings often serve as guidelines for cases that follow.
As a part of the condo crisis, some banks delay foreclosures to avoid having to pay their shares of association assessments as required by law, Frankel said.
Florida limits a bank's responsibility to a mandated cap, the amount that a bank owes an association when it takes title of a condo via foreclosure.
For condo associations, the cap is six months of past-due assessments or 1 percent of the mortgage amount, whichever amount is less.
For a condo unit with regular monthly assessments of $200, a bank could owe as much as $1,200 of past-due assessments to be due within 30 days of the bank taking title of the unit.
For homeowner associations, the cap is 12 months of past-due assessments or 1 percent of the mortgage amount, whichever is less.
Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/condos/fl-bank-sanction-vasquez-0303-20100302,0,3399447.column
Daniel Vasquez can be reached at condocolumn@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4219 or 561-243-6686. His condo column appears every Wednesday in the Business section and at SunSentinel.com/condos. Check out Daniel's Condos & HOAs blog for news, information and tips related to life in community associations at sunsentinel.com/condoblog You also can read his consumer column every Monday in Your Money and at SunSentinel.com/vasquez
Monday, March 1, 2010
Fannie Mae Asks U.S. Treasury for $15 Billion More in Aid
Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance giant, reported a 2009 annual loss of $74.4 billion as the U.S. commercial and residential mortgage market continues to lag the rest of the economy in emerging from crisis.
The Washington, D.C.-based company was put under federal conservatorship with its sister company Freddie Mac in 2008 after the firm suffered deep losses due to crisis in the real estate market.
Last Friday, Fannie Mae asked the U.S. Treasury for $15.3 billion in additional funding.
Fannie Mae disclosed total non-performing loans, or loans that are in default, of $216.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2009, up from $119 billion at the end of 2008. The losses suffered in the latest quarter were mostly caused by such loans in default.
"We expect to have a net worth deficit in future periods, and therefore will be required to obtain additional funding from Treasury," Fannie Mae told Reuters.
In a statement, the company reiterated its mission in sustainable home-ownership for Americans. "We continue to work closely with our industry partners and the government to reach every borrower we can and to address rising foreclosures," Fannie Mae CEO Mike Williams said in a statement. "Our overriding objective is keeping people in their homes whenever possible."
Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/30504/
The Washington, D.C.-based company was put under federal conservatorship with its sister company Freddie Mac in 2008 after the firm suffered deep losses due to crisis in the real estate market.
Last Friday, Fannie Mae asked the U.S. Treasury for $15.3 billion in additional funding.
Fannie Mae disclosed total non-performing loans, or loans that are in default, of $216.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2009, up from $119 billion at the end of 2008. The losses suffered in the latest quarter were mostly caused by such loans in default.
"We expect to have a net worth deficit in future periods, and therefore will be required to obtain additional funding from Treasury," Fannie Mae told Reuters.
In a statement, the company reiterated its mission in sustainable home-ownership for Americans. "We continue to work closely with our industry partners and the government to reach every borrower we can and to address rising foreclosures," Fannie Mae CEO Mike Williams said in a statement. "Our overriding objective is keeping people in their homes whenever possible."
Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/30504/
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