South Florida On The Market

According to RealtyTrac's recently released Year-End 2012 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, a total of 2,304,941 foreclosure filings -- default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions -- were reported on 1,836,634 U.S. properties in 2012, down 3 percent from 2011 and down 36 percent from the peak of 2.9 million properties with foreclosure filings in 2010. The report also shows that 1.39 percent of U.S. housing units (one in every 72) had at least one foreclosure filing during the year, down from 1.45 percent of housing units in 2011 and down from 2.23 percent of housing units in 2010. "2012 was the year of the judicial foreclosure, with foreclosure activity increasing from 2011 in 20 of the 26 states that primarily use the judicial process, and a judicial state -- Florida -- posting the nation's highest state foreclosure rate for the first time since the housing crisis began," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "Meanwhile foreclosure ac

Many South Florida home and business owners do not know they are over paying for their property taxes. Every property owner has a four week window to challange the amount they are paying. The deadline for Miami Dade and Broward is September 18. 1. Property is in poor condition 2. The assessed value is increasing drastically year over year 3. The area has a high foreclosure rate 4. Income property has a high vacancy 5. Property has no homestead or lost the homestead 6. The property is an over improvement for the area

A controversial move to sell 699 Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-owned homes in bulk to an investor was closed last week, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Pacifica Companies LLC purchased the homes as part of a real estate owned (REO) pilot initiative. Pacifica has not released details on how it will oversee the properties. Based in San Diego, the company’s website claims it has an office in Tampa, as well as Austin, Texas; Riverside, Calif.; and four cities in India. Pacifica paid $12.3 million upfront in a joint venture agreement. It will pay an additional $49.3 million by sending Fannie Mae 90 percent of future proceeds. After that, Pacifica will collect a 20 percent management fee and pay Fannie Mae 50 percent of future proceeds. FHFA projects the total value of all payments to be $78.1 million. The total price paid by Pacifica doesn’t represent a significant discount; however, the relatively low downpayment and profit-split deal would make it attractive to mo

10. Montana 1 yr home price change: +5.6% Median home price: $151,300 Unemployment rate: 6.4% (15th lowest) Montana shares characteristics with several of the Plains States. It never suffered from high unemployment during the recession; as a matter for fact, the jobless rate has been extraordinarily low. The agriculture and oil industries did well, and commodity prices were high. The cost of living in these states was, and still is, relatively low compared to the national average, and so are home prices. The benefits of being a homeowner in Montana should continue. Corelogic predicts that the appreciation in home prices in the state will be the 14th best among all states from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, and the 12th best among all states from the first quarter of this year through the first quarter of 2017. 9. Hawaii 1 yr home price change: +5.7% Median home price: $522,000 Unemployment rate: 6.4% (14th lowest) Hawaii has the highest median home

National median list prices have been on the rise since the beginning of the year and now stand at $195,000, up 2.68 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to the June REALTOR.com® Trend Data released recently. Of 146 markets covered by REALTOR.com® , while list prices increased in 101 markets, held steady in 26 markets, and declined in just 19 markets. Sustained, record low inventories have been driving improving prices. The national median age of the inventory dropped to 84 days in June, down -9.67 percent on an annual basis and the size of REALTOR.com®'s inventory of homes for sale was 19.35 percent below a year ago. In June 2011, median list prices were down 1 percent or more on an annual basis in 79 of the 146 markets covered by REALTOR.com®. The nationwide median list price in June rose to $195,000. While list prices remained relatively constant throughout the 2011 home buying season, they have been rising steadily for the past five months, suggesting a growing opti

The Miami real estate market continues to outperform the nation following a record sales year in 2011. Limited supply and heightened demand have fueled robust price appreciation in Miami-Dade County during the fi rst quarter of 2012, despite short sales and REOs (bankowned properties) continuing to account for a signifi cant percentage of closed home sales. Median and Average Sales Prices The median sales price for single-family homes in Miami- Dade County rose 14 percent to $174,799 in the fi rst quarter of 2012 compared to the same time last year, according to the 25,000- member MIAMI Association of REALTORS and the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) systems. The median sales price for condominiums was $129,500, a 38 percent increase year-over-year. The average sales prices for single-family homes and condominiums increased 26 percent to $335,072 and 29 percent to $257,346, respectively, compared to last year. Singl

  Short-Term Improvements The first step to improving your credit score is to know what is on the credit histories maintained by the major credit bureaus and to make sure the information is accurate. Even the best handling of credit can be ruined by mistakes or false information because your credit score is calculated based on the data in your credit history. You have to pay to see your credit score but not the credit history. Once each year you can get a free copy from each of the credit bureaus from the FTC-authorized provider, Annual Credit Reports (see References). If you find incorrect information on your credit history, you can initiate a dispute or corrective action online at the website of the appropriate credit bureau (Experian.com, Equifax.com or TransUnion.com). There are a couple of other things you can do in the near term to improve your credit score. One is to refrain from applying for new credit accounts or closing accounts. Doing this occ