[CITY] Real Estate News

Florida Today!

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city index released Tuesday ticked up in July from June. But the gain is merely temporary, analysts say. They see home values taking a dive in many major markets well into next year.

That’s because the peak homebuying season is now ending after a dismal summer. The hardest-hit markets, already battered by foreclosures, are bracing for a bigger wave of homes sold at foreclosure or through short sales. A short sale is when a lender lets a homeowner sell for less than the mortgage is worth.

Add high unemployment and reluctant buyers, and the outlook in many areas is bleak. Nationally, home values are projected to fall 2.2 percent in the second half of the year, according to analysts surveyed by MacroMarkets LLC. And Moody’s Analytics predicts the Case-Shiller index will drop 8 percent within a year.

Among the areas likely to endure big price drops, according to Veros, a real estate analysis company:

• Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Reno, Nev., where prices could fall 7 percent over the next year.

• Orlando and Daytona Beach, Fla., which face price drops of at least 6 percent.

• Las Vegas, which led all declines in the latest report, is also expected to post a 6 percent drop. Home values there have already tumbled 57 percent from their peak four years ago.

Las Vegas has been hit by foreclosures and the loss of tourism and construction jobs. More than 70 percent of homeowners there owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, according to real estate data firm CoreLogic. And the city’s unemployment rate is nearly 15 percent, one of the highest for major U.S. markets.

The outlook in Orlando is also grim. More than half of borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth. The unemployment rate there is nearly 12 percent.

As for the KEYS I think some areas will still see some decline, mostly the areas hardest hit with spectators and those with heavy inventories.  Key West is still reeling and may face further downturn.  Other Keys are holding their own in homes that have a lot to offer a buyer for a reasonable price.

I have always believed that because we are limited as to development here we will be one of the first areas to recover.