FAR - News & Events - Residents who lost trees get trial dates

FAR - News & Events - Residents who lost trees get trial dates: "MIAMI – Feb. 12, 2007 – Two lawsuits set for trial in the fall could bring money to thousands of homeowners whose citrus trees were ripped from their back yards in the controversial canker eradication program that was shut down in failure last year.

Judges in Broward and Palm Beach counties have set court dates for September and October for the start of two South Florida class-action suits seeking compensation from the state. Similar suits in Miami-Dade, Orange and Lee counties are awaiting a trial date.

Although he won’t yet say how much he plans to ask jurors to award homeowners, attorney Robert Gilbert of Miami said the final amount will be “staggering.”

There are some citrus trees destroyed by the state that were worth $55 because they were seedlings and others worth $5,000, Gilbert said."

FAR - News & Events - Majority of economists think housing crunch isn’t over yet

FAR - News & Events - Majority of economists think housing crunch isn’t over yet: "NEW YORK – Feb. 6, 2007 – Economists are undecided as to whether housing is on the verge of rebounding or whether the situation will worsen, according to a recent poll of 55 analysts by USA Today. The survey reveals that 9 percent of economists believe the housing slump ended last year, 42 percent believe it will bottom out sometime in the first six months of the year, and 45 percent predict it will end in the second half of 2007.

Recent reports, such as the National Association of Realtors®’ data on pending home sales and unsold properties on the market, suggest that housing may be getting better; but economist Tucker Hart Adams believes foreclosures and unsold homes will continue to rise as adjustable-rate mortgages reset and as payments on nontraditional mortgages and other debt become too much to handle for homeowners."

FAR - News & Events - Tallahassee targets property taxes

FAR - News & Events - Tallahassee targets property taxes: "Tallahassee targets property taxes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Feb. 5, 2007 – The first crisis – unaffordable and unavailable homeowners insurance – has been addressed at the state Capitol. But there is more heavy lifting to be done.

The spotlight now shines on the second fist of what Gov. Charlie Crist called “the one-two punch” hitting Floridians’ checkbooks: property taxes.

Lawmakers will gather in Tallahassee on March 6, and reforming the way cities, counties and special districts hit up homeowners is now their top priority.

Although personal incomes have increased steadily, property taxes have dramatically outstripped homeowners’ spending power."

Metrostudy: Housing fundamentals remain strong - South Florida Business Journal:

Metrostudy: Housing fundamentals remain strong - South Florida Business Journal:

Metrostudy said its fourth quarter housing data show early signs of hope for the South Florida housing market, which it considers to be Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties. 'The annual pace of new home starts in the six-county region fell to a level that can allow inventory to decline - a milestone on the path to equilibrium,' said Bradley F. Hunter, director of Metrostudy's South Florida division.

Metrostudy, which bases its South Florida division in downtown West Palm Beach, said regional starts have fallen to 17,525, which it said is significantly below the level of demand for marketwide move-ins, which numbered 19,417.

'The reduction in starts was the first step,' Hunter said. 'Soon, inventory of both unsold homes and homes that have been sold but are still vacant will diminish.'
The housing information firm counts home starts and move-ins by driving past each lot or home in each active subdivision to verify the construction status of each new home every quarter... "

Read full Article at South Florida Business Journal

Home prices mostly end '06 with gains - South Florida Business Journal:

Home prices mostly end '06 with gains - South Florida Business Journal:: "Home prices mostly end '06 with gains South Florida Business Journal - January 25, 2007

Despite all the cries about the real estate bust, year-end median prices for both existing single-family homes and existing condominiums did manage to rise in every part of South Florida, with the exception of a 1 percent drop in median single-family home prices in West Palm Beach-Boca Raton.
In numbers released Thursday, the Florida Association of Realtors put the single-family home median price increase at 2 percent in Fort Lauderdale, to $367,800 from $361,100, even though the number of homes sold declined 26 percent, to 8,373 homes in 2006 from 11,331 homes the year before...."

Read full Article at South Florida Business Journal

FAR - News & Events - Floridians’ consumer confidence declines slightly in January

FAR - News & Events - Floridians’ consumer confidence declines slightly in January: "Floridians’ consumer confidence declines slightly in January

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jan. 31, 2007 – The sluggish housing market, and not gas prices or the stock market, is likely to blame for the drop in consumer confidence in Florida by one point to 89 in January, according to University of Florida economists.

“For more than a year consumer confidence has moved in the direction of gas prices, rising when gas prices fall and falling when gas prices rise,” said Chris McCarty, director of the survey research center at UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “This month gas prices declined, but consumer confidence declined as well.”

The stock market had been another key influence, but although the stock market fell in January, it was a small decline that would not normally result in lower confidence, he said.

“Because most of the decline was in perceptions of personal finances, then something else must be responsible,” McCarty said. “This something else is very possibly the difficulties associated with a downturn in housing.”"