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ORLANDO, Fla. – May 24, 2010 – Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 27 percent in April, which means that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison for 20 months, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Another positive sign: Last month's statewide existing-home median price of $140,100 was 1 percent higher than the statewide median price in April 2009.

Existing home sales rose 27 percent last month with a total of 16,781 homes sold statewide compared to 13,244 homes sold in April 2009, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide existing home sales last month increased nearly 3 percent over statewide sales activity in March. Meanwhile, April's statewide existing-home median price was 2.3 percent higher than March's statewide existing-home median price of $137,000. It marks the second month in a row that the statewide existing-home median price has increased over the previous month's median.

ORLANDO, Fla., June 22, 2010 – Sales of existing homes in Florida rose 18 percent in May, marking 21 months that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.

A total of 16,745 single-family existing homes sold statewide last month compared to 14,172 homes sold in May 2009, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide existing-home median price of $140,400 in May was slightly higher – by $300 – than April's statewide existing-home median price of $140,100. It marks the third month in a row that the statewide existing-home median price has increased over the previous month's median.

Across the state, a variety of housing opportunities continues to be available at attractive prices while mortgage interest rates remain historically low, said 2010 Florida Realtors President Wendell Davis, a broker with Watson Realty Corp. in Jacksonville.

Seventeen of Florida's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home and existing condo sales in May. A majority of the state's MSAs have reported increased sales for 23 consecutive months.

Florida's median sales price for existing homes last month was $140,400; a year ago, it was $143,800 for a decrease of 2 percent. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Thenational median sales price for existing single-family homes in April 2010 was $173,400, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). In California, the statewide median resales price was $306,230 in April; in Massachusetts, it was $295,000; in Maryland, it was $244,943; and in New York, it was $197,000.

According to NAR's latest industry outlook, factors such as a return of buyer confidence, stabilizing home prices and an improving economy are supporting the market in the federal homebuyer tax credit's wake. "The housing market has to get back on its own feet," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, "and now appears to be in a good position to return to sustainable levels even without government stimulus, provided the economy continues to add jobs."

In Florida's year-to-year comparison for condos, 6,779 units sold statewide last month compared to 4,845 units in May 2009 for an increase of 40 percent. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $98,700; in May 2009 it was $113,500 for a 13 percent decrease. The national median existing condo price was $171,000 in April, according to NAR.

Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.89 percent in May, close to the 4.86 percent averaged during May 2009, according to Freddie Mac. Florida Realtors' sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

Among the state's larger markets, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton MSA reported a total of 887 homes sold in May compared to 737 homes a year earlier for a 20 percent increase. The market's existing home median sales price last month was $235,200; a year earlier it was $232,900 for an increase of 1 percent. A total of 877 condos sold in the MSA in May compared to 676 units sold in May 2009 for an increase of 30 percent. The existing condo median price last month was $99,600; a year earlier, it was $107,500 for a decrease of 7 percent.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

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WASHINGTON – June 2, 2010 – Pending home sales have risen for three consecutive months, reflecting the impact of the homebuyer tax credit and favorable housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors^® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator, rose 6.0 percent to 110.9, based on contracts signed in April, from an upwardly revised 104.6 in March. It's 22.4 percent higher than April 2009 when it was 90.6. The April increase follows gains of 7.1 percent in March and 8.3 percent in February.

Existing home sales rose 27 percent last month with a total of 16,781 homes sold statewide compared to 13,244 homes sold in April 2009, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide existing home sales last month increased nearly 3 percent over statewide sales activity in March. Meanwhile, April's statewide existing-home median price was 2.3 percent higher than March's statewide existing-home median price of $137,000. It marks the second month in a row that the statewide existing-home median price has increased over the previous month's median

WASHINGTON – June 2, 2010 – Pending home sales have risen for three consecutive months, reflecting the impact of the homebuyer tax credit and favorable housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors^® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator, rose 6.0 percent to 110.9, based on contracts signed in April, from an upwardly revised 104.6 in March. It's 22.4 percent higher than April 2009 when it was 90.6. The April increase follows gains of 7.1 percent in March and 8.3 percent in February.

The PHSI is at its highest level since last October when the index reached 112.4 and first-time buyers were rushing to beat the initial deadline for the tax credit. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says this second round of surging sales from the tax credit extension looks as strong as the original tax credit. "There were concerns that only a small pool of buyers were left to take advantage of the tax credit extension," Yun says. "But evidently the tax stimulus, combined with improved consumer confidence and low mortgage interest rates, are contributing to surging sales. The housing market has to get back on its own feet and now appears to be in a good position to return to sustainable levels even without government stimulus, provided the economy continues to add jobs.

NAR expects a net of 1 million additional jobs in the second half of this year and about 2 million in 2011.

"The homebuyer tax credit brought close to 1 million additional buyers into the market, which is now helping the trade-up market and has significantly improved the inventory situation," Yun says. "This stabilized home prices more quickly and has preserved about $900 billion in home equity; in turn, that is keeping additional households from going underwater and risking foreclosure."

The PHSI in the Northeast jumped 29.5 percent to 97.9 in April and is 24.5 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index rose 4.1 percent to 104.2 and is 17.9 percent above April 2009. Pending home sales in the South slipped 0.6 percent to an index of 123.9, but is 31.3 percent higher than a year ago. In the West, the index rose 7.5 percent to 107.9 and is 12.0 percent higher than April 2009.

"A big concern surfacing recently is insufficient time to close the deal at the settlement table. Under normal circumstances, two months would be enough time from contract signing to settlement date," Yun says. "However, the recent housing cycle has brought long delays related to the short sales approval process by banks, and from ongoing appraisal issues. There could be a sizable number of homebuyers who responded to tax credit incentives, but may encounter problems meeting the settlement deadline by June 30."

Because of these market challenges, NAR has asked Congress to provide flexibility on the deadline for closing.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

TORONTO – June 1, 2010 – Nearly 800 Canadians jammed a hotel ballroom near the Toronto airport Sunday to hear the gospel of Florida real estate.

High-end Brazilian buyers prefer to be wooed more intimately – perhaps at a cocktail party or a small private dinner – but they are just as pumped.

Lured by rock-bottom prices, international buyers are now flocking to buy Florida properties. It’s especially true in countries where the currency is strong against the dollar.

“We’re telling Canadians this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – the perfect storm,” said Prudential Florida Realty. “The prices are just incredible and the Canadian dollar has been so strong.”

At least three of five buyers in the Greater Downtown Miami condo market are coming from abroad, estimates Jenny Huertas, international sales director for Condo Vultures, a real estate advisory and research firm.

The stampede from overseas is “kind of like a foreign subsidy helping us resolve our real estate problems,” said Peter Zalewski, a Condo Vultures principal. “This time the assistance isn’t coming from Washington. It’s coming from Caracas, London, Milan, Bogota.”

The buying frenzy was set off by developers lowering prices on new units to below what it costs to build in today’s market, Huertas said.

“There were many people on the sidelines watching for the floor. In the last three or four months there’s the perception that we’re there,” said developer Edgardo Defortuna, president and chief executive of Fortune International.

Cash customers

Most of the foreigners are cash buyers like Leroy Jean Francois, who has snapped up 47 properties since January for the two real estate firms he works for in France and Switzerland. The plan, he said, is to buy, fix up if necessary, rent out for the next five years, then sell – for a profit.

The Frenchman has already made a paper profit on a unit he closed on in January at Marquis Residences, a 67-story luxury tower in downtown Miami where prices for a one-bedroom apartment start at $375,000. His unit cost $317 per square foot – “a great price, incredible,” he said.

A recent plunge in the euro – it’s now worth $1.23, down from its high of more than $1.60 in 2008 – could cool things off a little. To buy a $1 million condo, it now takes around 814,000 euros compared to 625,000 euros under the old exchange rate.

Meantime, prices at Marquis Residences also have strengthened to around $400 per square foot.

But even the declining euro has barely given Francois pause.

“I think the euro will weaken more. But even if the exchange rate is $1 to 1 euro, South Florida real estate is still a great bargain for us,” said Francois, who is president of The Bridge, a real estate fund consultancy.

Average Joes

Luxury condos are once again popular among Latin America buyers who purchase them as investments but also as a home base. While their children attend school here, they attend to business interests or escape strife at home.

Cape Croal averages around the $150,000 price point. “It's basically the Wal-Mart. We’re for the average Joe.”

And these days average Joe Canadian can afford much more. For decades the U.S. dollar was worth more than the Canadian dollar and buying in the U.S. was always more expensive for Canadians. But in September 2007, the Canadian dollar reached parity with the greenback for the first time in 31 years. It fell back again, but now the Canadian loonie, which takes its name from the loon pictured on the one-dollar coin, is near parity at around 95 cents.


Most of his Canadian buyers are what Prudential Florida Realty calls “end-vestors,” meaning they plan on renting a unit out for now with an eye toward using it themselves down the road.

Since Home Finders is licensed as a brokerage only in Canada, it works with Florida brokers who complete the sales and pay the Canadian firm referral fees. By year’s end, Ellis said he expects to have facilitated 500 Florida closings.

Prices halved

Though Home Finders is now working with one Sunny Isles Beach property where condos are listed for up to $350,000, the Sun Vista Gardens in Tamarac is a more typical offering.

There, buyers can find a one-bedroom for under $75,000 and a two-bedroom for under $100,000. That same one-bedroom used to cost $190,000, according to Florida Home Finders’ website.

Prudential Florida Realty said there actually having a hard time coming up with enough Florida properties in the $150,000 range. Of course, he’s picky. He’s looking for good value, a good location and properties without legal complications. Most of the Canadians want condos, but Ellis said he has some requests for single-family homes.

Though buyers from Europe, Latin America – most from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela – and Canada predominate in the South Florida market, a smattering of Chinese investors and African buyers also are starting to make purchases.

“We recently sold a $7.5 million penthouse at Jade Ocean to a Nigerian buyer,” said Defortuna. “They were here and they loved it.”

China, too

At Fortune’s 237-unit Artech building, Defortuna said 11 condos were sold to Chinese investors. Units in the building are selling for almost half the original asking price.

“I think China is still a marginal market,” said Defortuna. “The Chinese are more focused on the West Coast and New York, but small pockets [of Chinese buyers] can make a big difference in a building.”

With international offices in Mexico and Argentina, Fortune can tap directly into those markets, and it frequently holds seminars on the legal and financial aspects of owning property in the United States. At one recent event in Buenos Aires there was space for just 200 people, so Fortune decided to charge a $60 fee. “We still had to close reservations,” said Defortuna.

One big concern of foreign buyers is what happens to their properties when they lock up after a vacation, said Defortuna. But Fortune International’s property management division will take care of things like paying utilities and condo fees – and even turn over a client’s car engine once a week so the battery doesn’t die.

A number of local brokerages have country specialists on staff who work with their counterparts abroad to bring in buyers.

Elite Global Reality, for example, has sales associates who specialize in the French, Italian and Chilean markets, said Thiago Costa, executive director and sales associates.

Costa, who is Brazilian, travels frequently to his homeland where local partners have set up meetings with potential buyers in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro or Belo Horizonte who are “willing and able to buy.”

He prefers to present one South Florida project at a time to 10 to 20 people at a cocktail party or even a dinner at the home of a potential buyer.

With Miami prices so low, the Brazilian currency (the real) strong, the Brazilian economy robust and real estate prices on the rise in cities like Sao Paulo, where a luxury property might cost $800 to $1,000 per square foot, Brazilians like what they see in South Florida.

‘Impossible to lose’

“They feel it’s almost impossible to lose money,” said Costa.

Africa Israel USA, the New York-based developer of the 292-unit Marquis Residences, also works with the brokerage community in target markets like Venezuela, the South of France, Mexico and Brazil. Working with brokers, it has put on events ranging from fashion shows to invitation-only cocktail parties and dinners, said Lori Odover, the managing director.

“It needs to be someone they know, that they have a one-on-one relationship with,” she said. So that means even an event at a synagogue or someone’s uncle’s pool party can be a selling opportunity.

Though most international buyers pay cash, there’s an international financing program at Marquis that has proven popular. Some 57 percent of Marquis’ foreign buyers have chosen it.

While the program’s 45 percent down payment for a five-year ARM seems steep, Bob Wuan, managing director of Americore Mortgage/Vacation Finance, said, “We find international buyers are more than willing to put 50 percent or more down. They want to put money in U.S. real estate as a currency hedge or an inflation hedge.”

Meanwhile, Prudential Florida Realty keeps telling Canadians what a great deal Florida is: “We believe Florida is in for quite a rebound. We just don’t know when.”

Copyright © 2010 The Miami Herald, Mimi Whitefield. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services