Lessons Learned from the Florida Housing Market Crash
What to keep in mind, now that property values are looking up
By G.K. Sharman | Last updated on January 27, 2023Use these links to jump to different sections:
Nine years after Florida’s housing market collapsed, heralding a global financial meltdown, where does the real estate market stand? On more solid ground, thank you. How do we know this?
- Home prices in South Florida are on the rebound
- Interest rates are still consumer-friendly
- Foreclosures are generally down
- Median home sale prices are higher
- Houses in some areas are almost back to pre-crash home values
New Rules
Some important lessons have been learned. “What we’re seeing is like 2004, ’05 and ’06, before the crash, but there are different dynamics,” says real estate attorney Mark F. Grant, a partner at Greenspoon Marder in Fort Lauderdale. Lenders are more cautious, he says, and are weeding out speculators. They’re also requiring higher deposits from house and condo buyers. Many lenders and developers are requiring homebuyers to put 10 percent down, then make a progression of payments during new home construction, says Mindy A. Mora, a partner in the business finance and restructuring group at Bilzin Sumberg in Miami. This doesn’t seem to have slowed things down. “The increased deposits ease the amounts required by buyers to close and, in fact, make it easier for buyers to finance their purchases, since they have significant invested equity,” says real estate attorney Gary Saul, a partner at Greenberg Traurig’s Miami office.Who’s Buying Now?
Nearly a third of real estate transactions in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in 2014 was by foreign purchasers, according to a Miami Herald report. Here’s where much of it is coming from:- Latin America
- Russia
- Europe
- Canada
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