FAR - News & Events - Florida’s existing home sales soft, median price edges down in March 2007

FAR - News & Events - Florida’s existing home sales soft, median price edges down in March 2007: "ORLANDO, Fla. – April 24, 2007 – Sales of existing homes in Florida remained at a sustainable pace in March, with buyers continuing to see favorable mortgage rates and a range of housing options available across the state, according to the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). Statewide, sales of single-family existing homes totaled 13,469 last month compared to 18,751 homes sold in March 2006 for a 28 percent decrease.

Florida’s median sales price for existing single-family homes in March was $236,000; a year ago, it was $244,600 for a 4 percent decrease. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. In March 2002, the statewide median sales price for single-family homes was $134,100, for an increase of 75.9 percent over the five-year-period, according to FAR records."

FAR - News & Events - The new geography of luxury real estate

FAR - News & Events - The new geography of luxury real estate: "The new geography of luxury real estate

NEW YORK – April 10, 2007 – If you could spend a few million on a modest Manhattan condo and a cozy [read: tiny] Hamptons shack, or put the same amount toward a penthouse in Minneapolis and a lakeside mansion in nearby Wayzata, Minn., which would you choose?

People continue to sacrifice size and quality for location and salary. That’s why states such as New York and California still have the hottest markets for luxury homes. And the top addresses on Fifth Avenue and in Bel-Air just keep on rising in value despite the spreading malaise at the lower end of the housing food chain. But that doesn’t mean that luxury real estate isn’t continuing to appreciate in other areas as well."