The Daily Soak - August 19

Homebuilding Freeze Good News for Anxious Sellers

The glut of unsold homes in many Florida markets is finally getting a little less "gluttier" thanks to the homebuilding freeze sweeping our state and many parts of the U.S. The Census Bureau reports that permits and housing starts both fell to their lowest levels in 17 years. CNN puts the housing numbers in perspective, "The continued drop in building could be just what the battered real estate market needs. Since demand for homes remains weak, the glut will only ease if fewer new homes are built." The builder confidence index released earlier in the week is further evidence the big homebuilders aren't planning to ramp up new home production anytime in the near future. Of the builders surveyed, "only 5% of builders said the current market is good, 8% said they expected a favorable market in the next six months and fewer than 2% said they were seeing strong traffic from potential buyers."


From Palm Beach Condos to the King of Beers...Make Us An Offer

Fresh off another Florida hatchet job, the editors at Time Magazine look out the window and see a giant yard sale stretching from Florida high-rises to U.S. highways and airports to bargains at the local mall. "It's everything from the St.-Tropez crowd buying up condos in Palm Beach, Fla., to Europeans taking over U.S. pharmaceutical and infrastructure companies. Even tourists are busy using their euros and pounds to snap up iPhones, jeans, shoes and everything else they can stuff into the empty suitcases they carry along for just that purpose." HB.com has credited foreign buyers from London to Moscow on several occasions for playing a role (albeit small) in today's Florida real estate market. As June Fletcher of the Wall Street Journal notes on her blog, over half of foreign buyers are still reluctant to pull the trigger, because they don't have a firm grip on current vs. historical prices. Fletcher says motivated sellers would be wise to include such data for foreign buyers, "This may be more persuasive than a lavish description of your outdoor kitchen."


Distressed Property Buying 101 & Florida Auction Updates

The Miami Herald offers some good advice for those contemplating the purchase of distressed properties..."homes that have been abandoned, lost to foreclosure, or with owners in default." Basic information is provided for private auctions, public auctions, REO properties and pre-foreclosures. In distressed property transaction news statewide, we reported on the successful public auction of 75 properties in Tampa last week that attracted 300 bidders. Today, National Auction Group is reporting the Saturday sale of 21 condo units at the Harbour Pointe community on Big Lagoon Bay near Pensacola. According to their website, "79 registered bidders from as far away as California bid on 10 condos at Absolute Auction. Due to the great demand, 21 sold for $6,377,250, or $303,678 per unit." And looking ahead, two additional auctions are scheduled for September 6. 23 condominiums and marina slips will be auctioned off at Bella Sol in Apollo Beach, and 21 luxury homes will be sold at absolute auction in Vero Beach's Antilles community.


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