NEWS
August 11, 2009 St Petersburg Times
Hillsborough County home sales: Great Day for Up
The teeter totter housing market - sales rise when prices crater - continues in Hillsborough County.
According to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, sales rose in July to 1,736, a 23 percent increase over the 1,336 sales in July 2008.
The average sales price declined 21 percent over that same year, from $225,692 to $178,259. But prices have been improving since April, when they bottomed at $157,089.
As for inventory, another name for the supply of homes for sale, it's dropped to 14,187, lowest since May 2006.
Investor interest in the market appears strong. All cash deals accounted for 31 percent of sales in July.
Florida’s existing home, condo sales rise in June 2009
Existing-home sales up again, says NAR
ORLANDO, Fla. – July 23, 2009 – Florida’s existing home sales rose in June – the 10th consecutive month that sales activity showed gains in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). Statewide sales in June also increased over the previous month’s sales level in both the existing home and existing condominium markets. And, for the second month in a row, the statewide median sales price for existing homes was higher than the previous month’s statewide median.
Existing home sales rose 28 percent last month with a total of 15,850 homes sold statewide compared to 12,339 homes sold in June 2008, according to FAR. Statewide existing home sales in June increased 13.8 percent over May’s statewide activity.
Florida Realtors also reported a 39 percent rise in statewide sales of existing condos in June; existing condo sales last month rose 8.3 percent over the total units sold in May.
Sixteen of Florida's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing-home sales in June and 14 MSAs also showed gains in condo sales. A majority of the state’s MSAs have reported increased sales for the past year (12 consecutive months).
Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $148,000; a year ago, it was $205,300 for a 28 percent decrease. However, the statewide existing home median price in June increased 2.49 percent over May’s median price; it also was higher than the statewide median price reported each month since the start of 2009. According to housing industry analysts with the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.
The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in May 2009 was $172,900, down 16.1 percent from a year earlier, according to NAR. In Massachusetts, the statewide median resales price was $284,000 in May; in California, it was $267,570; in Maryland, it was $265,724; and in New York, it was $189,000.
NAR’s latest housing industry outlook notes the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers is boosting the sector. “Strong activity by entry level buyers is helping to absorb inventory and allow some existing owners to make a trade,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “However, the increase in sales is less than expected because poor appraisals are stalling transactions. The big question is how much the appraisal issue will impact the ability of contracts to go to closing.”
In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 5,241 units sold statewide compared to 3,771 units in June 2008 for a 39 percent increase. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $112,900; in June 2008 it was $180,400 for a 37 percent decrease. The national median existing condo price was $173,800 in May 2009, according to NAR.
Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.42 percent last month, down significantly from the average rate of 6.32 percent in June 2008, according to Freddie Mac. FAR’s sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
Among the state’s smaller markets, the Punta Gorda MSA reported a total of 216 homes sold in June compared to 196 homes a year ago for a 10 percent increase. The existing home median sales price was $145,600; a year ago, it was $141,000 for a 3 percent increase. The market’s existing condo median price last month was $140,000; a year earlier, it was $160,000 for a 13 percent decrease.
© 2009 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
Posted by James Thorner at 12:50:07 PM on August 11, 2009
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Florida judges seek ways to ease congestion in courts caused by flood of foreclosures
By MICHAEL C. BENDER
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 14, 2009
TALLAHASSEE — With Florida accounting for one of every six foreclosures in the country and legislators showing little interest in addressing the crisis, a handful of judges are exploring ways to keep borrowers and lenders out of an increasingly congested court system.
"It's very frustrating to recognize that consistently over the last three years we've sustained budget cutbacks and staff reductions in the court system and this tsunami has hit with foreclosures," said Burton Conner, a judge in the judicial circuit that includes St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties.
The court's Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Cases is planning to recommend changes to foreclosure procedures and asking homeowners to share their experiences with borrowers, mortgage holders and attorneys involved in the process.
Complete the court's survey
That circuit has begun requiring borrowers and lenders to meet before their first court appearances, leading to many cases being settled. Meanwhile, Palm Beach County's circuit court last week launched a pilot program to help homeowners understand options that could keep them in their houses.
But action from Tallahassee has been limited, even with nearly 11 percent of all mortgages in Florida in foreclosure - the highest rate in the country, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Foreclosures in Florida dropped from April to May but were still up 50 percent from the same time last year, according to numbers RealtyTrac released Thursday.
During the spring session that ended last month, state lawmakers introduced 15 bills to address foreclosure issues. But 10 bills never received a hearing, including several that would have required mediation between lenders and borrowers. The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that one of every three homeowners facing foreclosure in Florida could stay in their homes with mediation.
Instead, lawmakers approved just two foreclosure-related bills: one to comply with new minimum federal regulations for lenders, and another to increase court costs for foreclosure cases from $300 to as much as $1,900.
The state "should have done more," said state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, a Democrat running for governor.
Sink pointed to the state Financial Regulation Office's failure to regulate mortgage lenders, a problem that allowed thousands of people with criminal records into the industry. The office's chief resigned in August after the problems were first reported by The Miami Herald, but a replacement still has not been hired.
Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican also running for governor, called the foreclosure crisis a "very tough issue" that his office has tried to address by cracking down on fraud. But he said options for helping homeowners are limited.
"It is not something you can pump money out to avoid foreclosures," he said. "We don't have the resources to do that. There is no bailout in the state of Florida."
Gov. Charlie Crist noted the rise in foreclosures in his State of the State speeches in 2008 and this year. But he has never included any specific foreclosure-related bills among his legislative priorities.
"We want to do all we can to help people," Crist said when asked about the state's responsibility to address foreclosures. "It's a tough time right now."
Crist pushed banks to halt foreclosures during the holidays last year and ultimately settled on a voluntary moratorium. Crist's press office could not verify whether any banks participated.
Crist also named a foreclosure task force in February 2008, including elected officials and people from the banking and real estate industries. But the panel put out a report with just one recommendation to the legislature: to increase protections for people with subprime loans.
Lawmakers did not adopt it.
"There is just not an inclination to give the light of day to any of these foreclosure remedies," said Rep. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, whose "Foreclosure Bill of Rights" would have delayed payments for many homeowners.
McCollum, who created a Mortgage Fraud Task Force in 2007, said homeowners facing foreclosure need to be more pro-active with their lenders. "In many cases the lender can and will work this out," he said.
Several states, including Ohio and New Jersey, have implemented aggressive programs to require mediation between bankers and lenders. In Florida, two Leon County circuit judges made a proposal in December to the state's 20 chief judges to create similar mediation programs.
Three of the state's 20 judicial circuits have enlisted the nonprofit Collins Center for Public Policy to offer mediation.
The first such program arose in the Treasure Coast's 19th Circuit, where borrowers and lenders are required to meet before their first court appearance. In the past month, 22 of the first 31 mediated foreclosure cases in the circuit were settled with renegotiated loans.
In Palm Beach County, Chief Circuit Judge Kathleen Kroll signed an order to require banks to consider revising a loan at the homeowner's request. The court receives an average of 500 new foreclosures each week.
Last week, the courts in Palm Beach County began a service to make attorneys and law school interns available to walk homeowners through the paperwork. On Thursday, the first day the information sessions were available, 26 of 142 eligible homeowners attended.
"We want to at least have some contact with these people so they're not deer in headlights," said Palm Beach County court general counsel Amy Borman. "We want to help."
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