For Miami Real Estate, The Worst May Be Yet to Come

As a turbulent market battered South Florida in 2008, the Magic City itself appeared to fare better than some of its neighbors, with a particularly resilient commercial sector. However, emerging data seems to contradict these rosy assumptions.

According to Moody's Economy.com, Miami leads the country in first mortgage write-offs with a percentage of 12.55, as opposed to a national average of 1.95 percent. Moreover, when counting in mortgage delinquencies, Moody's found that more than a quarter of Miami's borrowers have either defaulted or are behind on payments.

The downbeat news continues on the heels of the Florida Association of Realtors' latest housing data. In 2008, sales of existing homes tumbled 4 percent, with a total of 124,215 homes sold as compared to 129,855 a year earlier. The good news: Home sales rose in December for the fourth consecutive month. However, median sales prices slumped to $130,600 by year-end 2008, a 32 percent drop from $192,600 in December 2007.

Stephen Ross Buys Remainder of Wayne Huizenga’s Miami Dolphins

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- New York real-estate developer Stephen M. Ross bought almost all remaining shares of the Miami Dolphins from team owner Wayne Huizenga and will become the team’s managing partner.

Ross, the chairman of New York-based Related Cos., will own 95 percent of the National Football League franchise and its stadium and 50 percent of its surrounding developable land, the team said in a news release. Huizenga will retain five percent of the franchise and 50 percent of the land.

Financial terms of the sale weren’t disclosed in the release. Ross bought half of the Dolphins and all attached properties from Huizenga in February 2008 for $550 million, according to the Miami Herald. Huizenga remained managing partner in that deal.

Foreign Buyers Primed for Real Estate Spree

Foreign investors and lenders aren’t the only ones to turn bullish on U.S. real estate. Distressed asset investors all over the country are snapping up properties at bargain prices.

For example, sales of Southeast Florida condominiums and single-family houses jumped 17 percent in November from a year earlier, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.

Buyers snagged bank-owned properties, foreclosures and homes from owners willing to sell at deeply discounted prices.

“We have been predicting for some time that the number of South Florida residential transactions would surprise most people,” Peter Zalewski, principal of Condo Vultures, a real estate consulting firm in Bal Harbour, Fla., said in a statement.

“Early indications are that the December closed sales numbers will be just as strong as November’s if not stronger. We are getting reports that many all-cash buyers are moving into the market.”

Buyers closed on 1,623 condos and houses in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in November, compared to 1,391 transactions a year earlier.

Mortgage brokers could face tougher rules

Florida regulators have proposed sweeping changes to state law that would make it tougher for mortgage professionals to get and retain licences and that would cap fees at 2 percent of a loan's value.

The changes aimed at providing greater protection for consumers against predatory lending -- come at a time when both federal and state lawmakers are focused on the mortgage business, an industry many view as a key driver of the economic predicament the nation is facing.

If passed by the Legislature in the upcoming session, the changes proposed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation would also: