Today's Local Real Estate News

The Miami Herald reports some stunning data on the looming foreclosure crisis:

“The number of U.S. homes facing foreclosure surged 58 percent in the first six months of the year, with Florida ranking second after California among states with the highest numbers of troubled borrowers, data firm RealtyTrac said.”

“One of every 81 homes in Florida were sent foreclosure notices in the first half of this year, RealtyTrac said.”

“In Florida, the number of foreclosures is up 77 percent compared to the same six months last year, RealtyTrac said.”

“In South Florida, foreclosures have tripled in Miami-Dade County and Broward County in the first six months of the year, according to data from the counties.”

“Between January and the end of June, lenders started legal proceeding to regain title to 10,519 properties in Miami-Dade, according to the Miami-Dade County Clerk's office. By mid-June, close to 8,000 properties in Broward had entered foreclosure.”

The Sun-Sentinel covered the continued property insurance issues:

“Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said Monday he expects the state to reject recent requests by property insurance companies to raise prices.”

“Despite a mandate to lower insurance costs, many insurers are instead asking for rate increases, including The Hartford, Metropolitan Property and Casualty, Cincinnati Insurance Cos., Auto Insurers and Amex Assurance Co.”

The Palm Beach Post piled on with news of another insurance asking for increases:

“USAA, Florida's fourth-largest insurer of homeowners, has filed a request for a statewide average rate increase of 53.9 percent, another indication that the plan to bring rate relief to hard-pressed policyholders by lawmakers and Gov. Charlie Crist is not working.”

“USAA, which filed the request Friday, becomes the 36th insurer to seek a rate increase in its so-called ‘true-up’ filing. The true-ups were supposed to reflect the final tally of rate cuts resulting from changes in the property insurance law in January, once costs of reinsurance - insurance for insurance companies - were factored in.”

Meanwhile, reduced tourism in the Carribean is being blamed on the housing bubble. From The Morning Call:

“Americans who flocked to the islands in record numbers until recently are finding new destinations or staying home, leading to declines of more than 10 percent this year in islands including Jamaica, St. Lucia and Grenada.”


“’The trickle-down effect is huge,’ said Richard Kahn, a spokesman for the Caribbean Tourism Organization. ''In the long run, this could mean the loss of jobs throughout the Caribbean.’”

“Some analysts argue U.S. tourism will rebound quickly, attributing the recent decline in part to a sluggish U.S. housing market that has cut into Americans' spending.”

But, don’t worry; the housing bubble may be saved. The National Association of Realtors® announced yesterday positive news about foreign investment in U.S. housing:

“Only a couple of years ago, the National Association of Realtors expanded its useful annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers to include the intended use of homes by homebuyers as homesteads, second homes or vacation homes or investments. Now they're taking the examination of second home or investment home purchases further with the first study of the international homebuyer.”

“The 2007 NAR Profile of International Home Buying Activity found that an astonishing number of customers for American property are foreigners. Nearly one in five Realtors has sold a home to an international client in the past year. The NAR classifies an international client as ‘a foreign citizen living abroad who has legally entered the United States to purchase a home.’”


“International clients are one of the uncounted factors in the phenomenal housing boom of 2000 - 2005. In Florida, NAR researchers found that 7.3 percent of home sales were to foreign purchasers, and that 65 percent had brokered at least one home sale to an international client and nearly half (48 percent) said that one in four of their transactions were to foreign clients.”