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:

Miami foreclosures dip, fundamentals stay grim

NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Foreclosure actvity in Miami dipped in November, possibly because of a rise in short sales, but the broader long-term picture remains bleak, say brokers and foreclosure experts.

The number of newly scheduled auctions on foreclosed properties in Miami were down 21 percent to 679 from October, real estate research firm PropertyShark.com said.

According to RealtyTrac, total foreclosure activity in Miami fell 37 percent in November from October to 6,473 filings.

RealtyTrac compiles the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing -- default notices, auction sales notices and bank repossessions -- reported during the month.

Subprime lending, speculation and overbuilding were rife in Miami during the boom years of 2002 to 2006, generating first towering price spikes followed by steep declines and a surge in foreclosures.