South Region

Florida to get $541 million in federal housing funds

Sep 29th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News, South Region

WASHINGTON - Sept. 29, 2008 - The state of Florida will receive $541 million in new federal foreclosure funds to prevent further home loan defaults and combat the effects of blight caused by the growing tide of abandoned properties, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston announced Friday.
State and local governments must use the [...]



Several Florida metro areas continue upswing in existing home, condo sales in August

Sep 24th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News, South Region

ORLANDO, Fla. - Sept. 24, 2008 - For the second month in a row, several of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased sales of both existing single-family homes and existing condos in August 2008, according to the latest housing statistics released by the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR).
“Despite economic uncertainty and the start of [...]



Can Washington stop home price declines?

Sep 22nd, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News, South Region

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sept. 22, 2008 - Home prices. That’s what the Bush administration’s historic Wall Street bailout is really about.
Falling home prices in the U.S. have acted like dominoes, knocking homeowners into foreclosure and taking down lender after lender, until the entire global financial system was in jeopardy.
Experts say that the government’s enormous plan [...]



Condos losing luster in fragile economy

Sep 22nd, 2008 | By RT Staff | Category: South Region

As the outlook of Fort Worth’s residential real estate market continues to become clearer, some developers are re-examining their mixed-use development projects - and their high-dollar condominium facets - in an effort to correct with the market.
And for developers of West 7th project, that meant scraping the condos and replacing them with a better performing [...]



Q&A: Condos Still A Stormy Sector in South Florida Public Relations

Sep 22nd, 2008 | By RT Staff | Category: Housing News, South Region

South Florida may have dodged some of the recent hurricanes, but it is still experiencing turbulence, especially in the condo market. Has it hit bottom yet? Peter Fitzgerald, COO of the The RADCO Cos., talks about what’s in the sector’s forecast.
Where does South Florida’s condominium market stand right now? Have you seen any recovery, or [...]



Demise of Lehman Brothers could impact South Florida’s real estate industry

Sep 16th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News, South Region

When large South Florida developers needed money, they often turned to Lehman Brothers.
That role ended in dramatic fashion when Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection. But Lehman still controls nearly $2 billion in large loans throughout the region, meaning the bank’s demise will play out across South Florida’s besieged real estate market.
Among the local projects Lehman [...]



Money Magazine cites Florida cities in ‘best places to live’

Sep 15th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News, South Region

NEW YORK - Sept. 15, 2008 - CNN’s Money magazine recently listed America’s best places to live, and a number of Florida cities made the grade. Three cities - Coral Springs, Miramar and Weston - are in the top 100 for best places to live; Dunedin is a terrific town on the water; Collier County [...]



Dallas real estate thrives on job growth

Sep 12th, 2008 | By RT Staff | Category: South Region

The real estate business runs on jobs.
Oh sure, you need low interest rates and a ready supply of debt to do property market deals.
But for the industry to do really well, there has to be a sound economy and job growth.
Fortunately for Dallas-Fort Worth real estate developers and investors, this area leads the country in [...]



Condo buyers in Florida seek to exit deals

Sep 10th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News, South Region

MIAMI - Sept. 10, 2008 - In Florida, scores of real estate investors are filing lawsuits against condominium developers in the hopes that a contract flaw or loophole will enable them to back out of the transaction, with experts citing double-digit drops in condo prices as the trigger. However, the courts have sided primarily with [...]



Hurricane Ike batters Caribbean

Sep 7th, 2008 | By Gregory Arzumanov | Category: Housing News, South Region

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos: Hurricane Ike damaged most of the homes on Grand Turk island as it roared onto the Bahamas, raked Haiti’s flooded cities with rain and threatened the Florida Keys on its way to Cuba as a ferocious Category 4 storm Sunday.
The prime minister of Turks and Caicos, Michael Misick, said that Ike [...]