Home Sales Rise! Miami Beach Real Estate

February Home Sales Rose, Miami Beach Real Estate

After six months of decline, we saw a rise in home sales of existing homes in February but private economists said it was too soon to say the prolonged slide in housing is coming to an end.

Existing home sales rose by 2.9 % in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million units, reported The National Association of Realtors. It marked the first sales increase since last July, but even with the gain sales were still 23.8 % below where they were a year ago.

The biggest slide in the current housing slump was the median sales price for single-family homes and condominiums which dropped to $195,900, a fall of 8.2 % from a year ago, The biggest decline in four decades was the median price for just single-family homes which was down 8.7 % from a year ago,

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial average rose 187.32 points to close at 12,548.64. Wall Street, which had been expecting another decline in home sales, was encouraged by the February increase as well as improved terms for Bear Stearns stockholders in the sale of that company to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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Foreclosed Homes and Condos on the Rise,

Foreclosure Homes, Miami Beach Real Estate Foreclosures

Nationwide, foreclosures have climbed closer to record levels as thousands of homeowners struggled to make their payments and began loosing their properties to foreclosure. Miami Beach real estate foreclosures have more than double this past year and we are starting to see more and more Miami Beach real estate auctions. There are a number of ways to take advantage of foreclosures, depending on the stage of foreclosure of the property. At first, when the homeowner defaults on their mortgage, they receive a notice of default from the lender and are given a chance to catch up on their past payments. If this is not possible, then the property reverts back to the lender and is then considered an REO or real estate owned property, as it is owned by the bank who had given the loan on the property.

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Florida Property Tax Cut, Miami Beach Real Estate

Cutting your Florida property tax by 25% a year? That's what Florida voters will decide in the fall. But adversaries of the plan say that in reality that’s just putting money in one of your pockets and taking it out of another.

Cutting property taxes by 25% would mean an 8 to 9 billion dollar savings for Florida property owners. The state would eliminate property taxes for schools, and make up that money by increasing the sales tax by 1 cent, raising an additional $3.4 billion.

Supporters of the bill say they'll make up the shortfall for schools by cutting spending.

The plan would also cap tax increases for part-time residents and businesses at 5% instead of 10%.

The tax cut plan will require a 60% voter approval to pass.

Full article...Tax Cut, Miami Beach Real Estate