Florida’s real estate market is about to get messy! That sounds like something the voiceover for a move trailer would say but it is actually happening in real life. We all know that Florida has one of the biggest foreclosure levels in America — which means in the world as well –, but few would have expected the problem to still be getting worse almost 5 years into the crisis.
Archive for the ‘Florida’ Category
Florida Real Estate: It’s About to Get Messy
by Overseas Property Mall on Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 in Florida, Foreclosures, United States Property
Brazilian Buyers Breathing Life into South Florida Real Estate Market
by Overseas Property Mall on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 in Brazil Property, Florida
The strength of the Brazilian Real against the Dollar is giving Brazilians more buying power in the US property market than they have had for a generation. Because of this the growing Brazilian middle class is buying up Florida properties, mainly in Miami, according to a Folha de São Paulo study released Monday.
South Florida Property Market Facing Uncertain Times
by Overseas Property Mall on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 in Florida
The South Florida property market is in a State of Limbo. At the end of last year foreclosures fell to their lowest in three years, but not because less people lost the ability to pay their mortgage, but because the banks are under intense scrutiny over their foreclosure procedures, as a robo-signing scandal lead to more dodgy practices and irregularities being uncovered.
Drawing Parallels between Florida’s Property Bust in the 1920s and Dubai’s Boom & Burst
by Overseas Property Mall on Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 in Dubai Property, Florida
We all know about the US real estate bubble bursting in 2006, which was probably one of the largest contributory factors in the US financial crisis, along with the deregulation of lending practices. One of the hardest hit areas is Florida when its huge real estate bubble burst. This was not the first time that a Florida real estate bubble had burst, and in fact there are many parallels between the first Florida real estate boom and bust and the current bust.
Foreign Investors Capitalise on Bargain Basement Florida
by Overseas Property Mall on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010 in Florida
Whopping great wedges of Wonga are being slashed from the prices of US homes for sale as sellers find buyers worryingly evermore elusive (maybe that should read evermore worryingly, both describe the scene perfectly well).
According to US based real estate agent Zip Realty — a firm reported to be highly focussed on overseas buyers — foreign buyers from Asia, the Middle East, Russia and other parts of the (primarily emerging) — world are benefiting from their increasing disposable income in capitalising on great property deals at rock bottom prices from desperate sellers.
Fort Myers Foreclosures Jump 31% in February
by Overseas Property Mall on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 in Florida, United States Property
According to new data from Realty Trac, Fort Myers foreclosures increased by an alarming 31% between January and February, giving it the second highest foreclosure rate in the U.S, with 1 in 90 homes now in foreclosure.
Many people will be shocked by such a large increase when, in the US as a whole, and internationally things are starting to recover. None of those people however, will be analysts are followers of the US housing market data on a regular basis.
Because those people will know that there are millions of US households that meet the criteria for foreclosure, but have yet to be foreclosed upon by the bank in question.
Because those people will know that mortgage interest rates are starting to rise because of the Federal Reserve’s policy of buying Mortgage Backed Securities is coming to an end. This will ultimately put more pressure on anyone struggling to keep up with mortgage repayments and likely cause more increases in foreclosure figures in the months ahead.
South Florida Real Estate Proving to be a Hit for Foreign Buyers
by OP-Mall on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 in Florida, North American Property
South Florida property developer Joe Milton has put up $100 million of his company’s cash to set up a mortgage company to fund loans for foreign buyers, because foreign buyers are often locked out of the market if they don’t have cash. Although sixty percent of Milton’s buyers are foreign, the few loans that are being made to foreign nationals come with terms deemed unacceptable by most. However, more than half of these foreign buyers are paying everything in cash, with European and Canadian buyers most likely to reject the financing option.
Banks In South Florida Face New Crisis
by OP-Mall on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 in Commercial Property, Florida
Commercial real estate is suffering in Florida thanks to the credit crunch. This is putting an increasing strain on Florida banks as a growing number of commercial property owners are forced to default on their loan payments. Driven by declining rental income, empty storefronts and a general lack of available funds to keep their investments afloat in dire times many investors of commercial property are now costing banks millions putting them at risk of failing in return.
Place in the sun burns a hole in the pocket
by Overseas Property Mall on Monday, September 14th, 2009 in Bulgarian Property, Cyprus Property, Dubai Property, Florida, Holiday Property, Overseas Property Finance, Overseas Property Trends, Spanish Property
Forking out for sunshine holiday homes has burned property investors as house price plunged in the recession, according to a damning new report.
The idea of opening up to the masses what was once a luxury exclusively available only to the wealthy has proved to be an expensive mistake for hundreds of thousands of Brits who dreamed of a place in the sun, say property consultants Savills and HolidayRentals.co.uk in their study.
They say the holiday home investment model is ‘broken’ and actually doubt the market existed.
The market took off in 2000, when UK-owned properties abroad were valued at £10bn.
By 2007, estimates put the number of UK-owned overseas holiday properties at 500,000 with a value of about £58 billion with markets in Spain, Florida, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Dubai taking the bulk of the money. For Bulgaria and Dubai, property prices have fallen through the floor by up to 75% and the banks have stopped lending to foreign investors.
With plunging prices, little hope of locals buying homes on holiday developments and lack of rental income, few investors have any hope of recouping their losses by selling at the bottom of the market when most owe more than their properties are worth.
At the start of the boom, 80% of the UK’s second-home owners financed their overseas property from their own wealth.
The research shows that by the market’s peak in 2007, cash buyers had fallen to 20%, with 80% of buyers taking advantage of overseas mortgage markets.
To make matters worse, many holiday home purchases were funded by taking equity out of UK homes, leaving the investors facing debt problems on both sides of the Channel. Under EU laws, creditors in other EU countries can pursue their losses through UK courts.
A lack of regulation in the property sales industry is also blamed.
Buyers speculated with borrowed money, believing that capital rising property prices would allow them to sell at a profit while rental income covered mortgage payments. Unfortunately, the recession has killed off the model as holidaymakers stayed at home rather than spending out on airfares and apartment or villa rental.
The market, according to the report, was fuelled by low cost airfares, too much liquidity in the mortgage market and that investors took little or no heed of professional, independent advice before signing contracts – and in some cases have not even visited the country where they bought property.
“Even where developers guarantee a gross income yield for a period of two or three years, the net yield is often swallowed by high service charges. In many instances, a net income yield of less than 2% is not uncommon,” said the report.
“There is an average price premium of 37% for property that is served by low cost airlines. Medium distance destinations from the UK, such as the Canary Islands and Cyprus, show the strongest link between house prices and the accessibility of low cost airlines. While this has opened up many new opportunities for buyers, it leaves destinations served by single carriers particularly exposed to the withdrawal of that service.”
Top 5 Short Term Property Investments
by Overseas Property Mall on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 in Florida, Guides and Tips, Property Investment Strategies, Spanish Property, UK Property
Since the credit crunch I have become ever more cautious of recommending property investment with a view to short-term gain. I mean, I was lucky; while they aren’t growing by the percentages I forecast for this year; the destinations I recommended are still set to make the total short-term gains I was forecasting in 2007/08, by 2012/13. Places like: the Philippines, Brazil, Koh Phangan (Thailand), Tunisia, and more mostly in Latin America.
