Dade housing reforms are bearing fruit

New homes are rising and hundreds of others are being fixed up, but it's only a small dent in Miami-Dade's affordable-housing needs.

Home prices, sales continue to fall in South Florida

Sales of existing homes and median prices in Palm Beach and Broward counties continued to fall in November, compared with November 2005 , the peak of South Florida's five-year housing boom.

It's a Great Time to Buy a Home

Low rates and extraordinary inventory have created perfect conditions for home buyers.

Why use a REALTOR?

Many consumers consider selling their home directly but eventually turn to REALTORS. Smart home sellers realize they need the expertise in pricing their home, making connections with REALTORS working with buyers, arranging and staffing open houses, and coordinating with other professionals in the sales process.

Market analysts foresee mixed bag in '07

Every year at this time, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel polls real estate industry professionals who are experts in different segments of the local real estate market. We ask them to predict what the market will do in the coming year. Here are their responses:

Florida growth slowing

A U.S. census report released Friday shows that the boom for the Sunshine State has slowed, with Florida growing only 1.8 percent in 2006 after back-to-back years of adding more than 2 percent to the population.

U.S. home sales up 3.4%, raising hopes worst is over

National new-home sales post better-than-expected gains in November, perhaps reflecting a recovery in the drooping housing market.

How buyers could save the housing market

With real estate on the skids, which matters more to potential buyers: Declining mortgage rates or falling home prices?

Miami Median Home Price

Miami

2006 Median Home Price: $329,000
2007 Median Home Price: $300,0001-yr

Change: -8.8%

How to sell in a homebuyer's market

A real estate marketing pro shares her tips for selling in tougher conditions.

Best moment this decade to buy a home

It's ho-ho-house-hunting season, the time when homebuyers can drive the best bargains. And this month is likely to be better than any recent December.

The safest ways to buy foreclosures

Low interest rates and fast appreciation lure bargain hunters to homes facing foreclosure. You may pay less than market value, but not much less -- and the research can be daunting.

Where does your city rank?

Foreclosures nationwide were up 43% from a year ago in the third quarter of 2006. Here are the rankings for the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas.

Facing foreclosure? 9 options

Real estate markets are slowing. Interest rates are ticking up. And the phones are ringing at ByDesign, a Los Angeles-based credit counselor, as homeowners start to panic about not being able to make their mortgage payments.

10 cities where housing prices will slump the most

Economists and analysts are trying to predict which areas will be hardest hit by a real estate decline … and how far prices will tumble. Here are some of the sobering predictions.

Experts take grim view on residential real estate

This view comes from the trenches: More than 70 percent of real estate professionals in a University of Florida survey last week said it was a bad time to build condos; 46 percent said the same thing about single-family housing.

For sale: Houses for as little as $10

Formerly middle-class homes in decaying neighborhoods are going cheap in foreclosure auctions, but the cost of renovations is likely to exceed the purchase prices.

Mortgage fraud is rampant in Florida

Florida tops the nation in mortgage fraud, particularly with borrowers fudging information on their loan applications.

Number of foreclosures, late payments rise

Foreclosures and late payments are creeping upward in Florida, reports the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Homeowners demand action on soaring insurance rates

Florida homeowners fed up with soaring property insurance rates are signing petitions, brainstorming solutions and pressing lawmakers.

TAKE PART IN THIS!

Home, the mother of all tax shelters

You've heard me talk about how owning a home is the world's greatest tax shelter. You can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes. And almost always, you can keep the gains when you sell your home.

Homeowners catch break as Citizens postpones insurance rate hike

Citizens delayed its vote on a 56 percent insurance rate increase. But another assessment is coming.

Study warns that Florida must curb growth or be overwhelmed by sprawl, gridlock

Waves of future development threaten to leave Florida choked in gridlock and covered from coast to coast by a sea of rooftops, according to growth projections unveiled Wednesday.

Home insurance top for Florida’s new governor

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Dec. 4, 2006 – Gov.-elect Charlie Crist expressed confidence Friday that lawmakers would be productive in a special session to address the state’s homeowners insurance problem.

He said he favors some of the goals in a bill prepared by Gov. Jeb Bush’s office, including giving homeowners the choice of accepting higher deductibles or not including windstorm in their coverage, which could be pitfalls if a catastrophic hurricane hit Florida.

“I support choices, I like freedom of choice and if a consumer wants to make that choice, they ought to be empowered to do so. Whether I would opt to do it myself is another question,” Crist said. “People will have a higher deductible on their auto insurance for a cost-saving measure, so why not give them the same choice here.”

He added that he would also like to see homeowners get credits for making their homes safer, much like safe drivers save on auto insurance.

“If you’ve been one of these homeowners that’s been real responsible and you’ve hardened your home, why shouldn’t you get a reduction on your rate, just like you would on your auto coverage?” Crist said.

Solutions to the problem will come from Bush, House and Senate leaders from both parties, and his own advisers, said Crist, the state attorney general who beat Democrat Jim Davis last month.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Crist said he would tackle several issues, ranging from raising teacher salaries and lowering property taxes to creating paper trails for ATM-style voting machines, when he becomes governor Jan. 2.

But he said he may now need to put an asterisk next to his promise to sign no other bill before his proposed “Anti-murder Act” because of the Jan. 16 special session on insurance. His proposal, which would require judges to jail violent criminals who violate probation, can wait for the regular session in March.

Crist said he supports the idea of paper trails for touch-screen voting machines. The issue has been highlighted even more since the Nov. 7 election, with Democrat Christine Jennings claiming that touch-screens in Sarasota malfunctioned in the U.S. House District 13 race, possibly costing her the election to Republican Vern Buchanan. Jennings refuses to concede while state election officials test the machines.

“You go to buy gasoline or you go to your ATM machine and you get a receipt that kind of tells you what happened,” Crist said. “It seems like a pretty good idea to me, to be able to double check it later if there’s a close race.”

Making Home Improvements Pay

What’s the return for remodeling? Remodeling magazine’s annual report compares construction costs with resale values for 25 common remodeling projects in 60 U.S. markets.

Pending Home Sales Confirm Market Is Stabilizing

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, says the numbers show that the market is stabilizing. A fairly steady pace of home sales can be expected for the next two months.

How buyers could save the housing market

With real estate on the skids, which matters more to potential buyers: Declining mortgage rates or falling home prices?

Housing bust still has a bite

The newest housing data released today by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight make clear two things: First, that the downturn isn't over. And second, that this isn't a crash.

Safe Haven

10 Tips for making your home safer.

Rent hikes may slow as condos shift to rental apartments

After five red-hot years for housing, inventories of unsold condominiums began climbing nationwide during the past year, causing a glut of unsold units in formerly hot markets. Developers have quickly shifted gears and started either canceling condo projects or converting the planned units to rental apartments.