Wall Street Bailout, Miami Beach Real Estate

Scott Pelley reports on the mortgage crisis that's far from over, with a second wave of expected defaults on the way that could deepen the bottom of the U.S. recession.

Lehman Brother's Bancruptcy, Miami Real Estate

Miami Real Estate Developers Impacted by Lehman Bankruptcy

Lehman Brothers filed for the largest bankruptcy in history Monday, dwarfing WorldCom Inc.’s insolvency in 2002 and Drexel Burnham Lambert’s failure in 1990.

South Florida was greatly impacted when Lehman Brothers, a lender most large real estate developers would turn to for high-end projects, filed for bankruptcy protection.

The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy has left behind billions in debt, including millions in Miami. Lehman bankrolled some of South Florida's biggest real estate projects such as Miami Beach’s Canyon Ranch resort, the Riande Hotel chain, the Donald Trump condo tower under way in Hollywood and the Related Group’s Icon Brikell on Biscayne Bay. City and county governments also invested heavily in Lehman.

Full Article...Miami Real Estate Developers, Lehman Brothers

Florida Foreclosures, Miami Beach Real Estate

78,000 Florida Foreclosures, Miami Beach Real Estate

According to an industry report released Friday, with more than 78,000 new homes in jeopardy of being repossessed by lenders, the number of Florida home loans entering foreclosure continued to rise at a quick rate in the second quarter.

The Mortgage Bankers Association survey, which tracks only first mortgages, painted a dark cloud over Florida's housing market after a more than half-decade of overbuilding and heavy speculation.

Full Article..... 78,000 Florida Foreclosures!

Home Mortgages, Miami Beach Real Estate

Home Mortgage Plan Set by FDIC for IndyMac Borrowers

Under a new plan from federal regulators thousands of troubled home borrowers with loans from IndyMac Federal Bank will be able to switch to fixed-rate mortgages, which seized the bank last month after it became the largest regulated thrift to fail.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said Wednesday, most IndyMac borrowers who are seriously delinquent or in default on their mortgages and can document their situation will be able to switch into loans capped at an interest rate around 6.5%. Unchanged from the previous two weeks, the average U.S. rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages was at 6.52% last week.

Full Article...Home Mortagages, Miami Beach Real Estate

Florida Tourism, Miami Beach Real Estate

South Florida Tourism Up By 30% This Year

One Miami hotel wholesaler that books rooms in South Florida for French travel agencies says he has seen business climb 30% this year as a feeble U.S. dollar gives Europeans more spending power overseas.
According to people in the industry this is the best summer; one of the best summers South Florida has seen in a long time. This good fortune is due to the flood of foreign tourists scooping up bargains at the region's hotels in Miami.

Full Article...South Florida Tourism, Miami Beach Real Estate