V Dr.

Broward County is one of the most progressive area in th estate of Florida. The county has a population of about 1,787,636 ; which makes it the second most populated county in the state.

Its county seat and largest city is Fort Lauderdale. The county has a vibrant economic, tourism, education, and arts & cultural scene, and despite the temporary concerns brought about by the US housing slump, its economy remains vibrant and residents here remain upbeat about long-term prospects when it comes to housing and mortgages.

County Housing Market Figures For January 2008

With most of the US housing market slumbering because of the mortgage crisis, home prices and sales of existing homes dropped last January, as the downturn in South Florida's housing market has entered into its third year.

In Broward County, the median price slid by 14 percent in January 2008, to $314,200, down from 364,500 a year ago, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Home sales have dipped by 33 percent, to 307 from 458. It was the fewest homes to change hands in any month countywide since the Florida Association of Realtors started releasing monthly housing figures in the mid-90's.

The housing depression is also seen in Palm Beach County, across the state and elsewhere in the US. According to data from the National Association of Realtors in January the median price for a home was pegged at $201,100, and was down further for the fifth consecutive month.

Will Foreclosures Further Depress Home Prices?

According to local housing analysts, the expected swelling of foreclosures this year is expected to further add to the excess of homes already on the selling block.

In Broward County last month, 2,745 homeowners were notified by their lenders that they intend to take back the properties, which nearly tripled from 949 the previous year. According to housing analysts from Metrostudy, the foreclosures are going to continue to depress home prices, therefore 2008 will still be a generally soft year.

According to a county housing analyst, a lot of home buyers today who don't have a convincing reason to purchase now are holding off, and cautiously waiting for the housing boom's inflated prices to continue falling to more reasonable levels. The county housing observers further added that housing prices in Broward still remains unaffordable for a large segment of the people who work here, which gives them second thoughts about buying homes.

How County Residents Are Taking Stock Of The Property Tax Relief Proposal

The state's referendum passed on Jan. 29, which allows residents to transfer Save Our Homes tax breaks from their existing home to newly purchased ones, limits how much a home's tax value can increase each year to no more than 3 percent, which allows many homeowners built up huge tax cushions during the real estate boom years. The county's Homeowners have also lined up to take their tax breaks with them to a new home in the month, because voters approved a property tax relief proposal allowing the long-sought ability to transfer savings.

The county's Property Appraiser's Office is also preparing itself for hundreds more to come in before the proposal's deadline. Most of those filing are residents who have bought larger homes within their current communities. However, for those leaving the county and taking their tax breaks elsewhere in Florida, analysts note that the areas of St. Lucie and Lake counties should be preferred destinations.

According to the county's property appraiser, "people had been in a holding pattern waiting to see what happened with the referendum, but they now can move and not worry about their taxes going through the roof."

The county appraiser also notes that those who sold their home and purchased a new one last year are eligible to benefit from portability on this fall's tax bills, and individuals who have moved this year can also apply for portability; however it won't apply until the tax bills that come out in fall 2009.

The numbers noted on January 2008 home sales figures for the whole of Southwest Florida, are giving more credence to real estate observers and agents who are contending that the housing market is ahead of the rest of the state, or ahead of the nation as a whole, in recovering from the doldrums created by the US housing crisis.

According to January figures, the 4 percent increase in sales for the Sarasota-Bradenton region, and the 13 percent rise for the Charlotte County-North Port areas, has marked 2 of only 3 sales gains for the state’s 20 most lucrative and largest markets.

However , the sales gains came at a huge cost, with median home sales prices dropping by 13 percent in the Sarasota-Bradenton region and 21 percent in the Charlotte County-North Port area, as home sellers continued to adjust to the realities of the present housing market.

Comparing Markets In The Southwest Fla. Region

In a comparison of sales in the Southwest Florida region for January, Sarasota-Bradenton real estate agents sold 490 homes in January, as compared to 472 in the same period last year.

In Charlotte County-North, brokers were reported to have sold 175 homes last month, as compared with 155 for the same period last year. The drop in home sales in other parts of the state ranged from 6 percent in Fort Walton Beach to 51 percent in Ocala. During January, pricing in Sarasota-Bradenton slumped by 13 percent to $246,300, and in Charlotte County-North Port it went down by 21 percent to $156,800, basically almost on pricing during the last several months.

According to the Florida Association of Realtors, only 6,737 homes changed hands in Florida last month, which represents a 28 percent reduction from the same month last year.

The median sales price was pegged at $208,600, which also dipped by 14 percent. Home sale prices basically declined in every market in the state, except in Panama City, which saw a 13 percent rise, and Pensacola, which noted a rise of 3 percent. The biggest seen so far was in the Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie market, which saw a 27 percent reduction.

Are Foreclosure Rates Still High?

The reports of the gains in home sales however came with a more sobering note on Monday,, with the Southwest Florida region noting around 1,924 foreclosure actions in January, which was only a bit fewer than the ones in December.

At this time last year, the Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties had reported only 198 foreclosures. On a per-capita basis, Charlotte County's January foreclosures placed it at No. 7 in the state and No. 42 nationally, closely followed by Sarasota County at No. 8 and No. 45, respectively. On a national level, the 233,001 foreclosure actions filed in January rose 8 percent from December and nearly 57 percent from a year ago.

According to RealtyTrac, a real estate firm that records foreclosures nationally, January's foreclosure numbers demonstrate that foreclosure activity is continuing on its upward trend, though much slower than the 19 percent spike at this time last year. RealtyTrac adds that many key states actually experienced reduced foreclosure activity from the previous month. The state of Florida was third in foreclosure activity behind Nevada and California, two other states which experienced speculative buying during the 2004-05 housing season.

Housing Market Observers Are Painting A Positive Outlook

The housing industry as a whole is still in an upbeat and hopeful mood, despite the depressing foreclosure figures, because industry observers were encouraged by the January figures.

According to Sarasota-Bradenton brokers, they are convinced that the market has hit its nadir, a notion shared by some Florida economists, who noted that the market has already hit bottom in Sarasota, and some are beginning to pick up the pieces, by buying homes right now, and temporarily holding them as rental properties.

Some have found that single-family homes in Sarasota that sell for $150,000 or less, and can finance them as rental property for $1,200 to $1,300 per month to cover their expenses. As of now, local housing analysts are saying that rentals are more favorable in Sarasota than in Charlotte or North Port, because they had such a huge building boom there.

The city of Miami Beach is one of the United States' most fashionable and one of the truly coveted destinations.

The city is a famous tourist, fashion and entertainment, film, fine dining and premier arts and culture destination. However, nothing best defines the city's characteristic more than the unique, highly artistic, architectural landscape being painted by Miami Beach condos and South Beach condos.

Miami Beach is known as an International Mecca for travel, business and to establish a home. From its small hotels with unique designs that line up along lower Collins Avenue and Ocean Drive, to its major upmarket hotel chains along the beach.

The City Has Had Its Fair Share Of Condo Boom Times

The area's extensive redevelopment has catapulted it into the higher levels of real estate in South Florida and the US as well, more so with the place being a well-known bastion of consumerism and all-out hedonism, with it's thriving party, celebrity scene, and entertainment scene.

The city's real estate investment options include ready for occupancy condominiums, and are setting the benchmarks when it comes to the building of elegant, sophisticated and amenity-filled condo developments. The area's most prolific developers, renowned architects and hippest designers are making their mark on the city’s eclectic lifestyle, one that best describes the art of indulgence and opulence.

Current Condo Prices For The City

According to local real estate analysts, the average condo prices based on October, 2007 levels for each of the city's districts are the following: Miami Beach - $496,000; West Avenue - $463,060; Star, Palm and Hibiscus Islands - $2,788,143; Downtown Miami - $555,590; Biscayne Corridor and Wynwood, Edgewater - $448,487.

Local property analysts further noted that during the month of November, 2007, the average time needed to sell a condo in Miami Beach was 153 days.

Have Condo Supply Levels Dropped?

From a more wider perspective, the city of Miami Beach saw a 19 percent slide in its condominium levels since last month. Miami Beach did not come close to experiencing the level of development that we recently saw in Miami.

Most of overseas and out-of-state home buyers are also more likely to purchase a condo unit in this city than they are somewhere in the Miami-Dade area. Many think that the city will continue to see an increasing gap between the Miami and Miami Beach condo supply figures in the months ahead.

Over the years, tourism has been the city's major economic driving force; however today, the area's economy is diverse today. In recent years, it has expanded way beyond its traditional tourism-based cash cow, and has reinvented itself to become a multi-faceted real estate, entertainment, culture, health care and tourism center. This is an area where nearly 95,000 residents live, work, shop, go to school, have fun and go dining, and do many leisure activities.

The city's cultural scene is diverse, and takes pride itself in having the Miami City Ballet and the New World Symphony. Though the city's geographic borders are set, its economic growth is booming, and many public works investments, like the proposed Baylink project, that is expected to create a mass transit connection between Miami Beach and the mainland Miami area, continues to reinvigorate the area.