South Florida home sales choppy in October

| 11/25/2019

South Florida home sales choppy in October

October was a rough month for home sales in South Florida. Single-family home sales rose in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in October, but fell in Palm Beach County, and condo sales declined across the region, according to newly released figures from the Miami Association of Realtors. The October results follow a strong third quarter, when sales rose across the tri-county region. [Source: The Real Deal]

More Florida millennials plan to “always rent” and forgo purchasing home altogether

A new study by Apartment List finds that 10.2% of Florida millennials plan to “always rent” and forgo purchasing a home altogether. This is share is up from 8.4% in 2018. The study reports findings from 34 metros nationwide, including Florida metros of Tampa, Orlando and Miami. Tampa surpasses the state and national (12.3%) rate of “always rent” millennials, with 14.9% of the metro’s millennials planning to rent forever. More at Florida Trend and Narcity.

How will new immigration change impact South Florida real estate?

Major changes to a federal immigration program that has fueled South Florida real estate development for almost three decades came into effect Thursday. The EB-5 investor visa program, which gives wealthy immigrants a chance to invest in U.S. real estate projects in exchange for a permanent U.S. residency, also known as a green card, will now be more expensive for foreign investors. [Source: Miami Herald ]

Baby boomers may put 'tidal wave' of 21 million homes on market -- but who will buy them?

The U.S. is at the beginning of a tidal wave of homes hitting the market on the scale of the housing bubble in the mid-2000s. This time it won’t be driven by overbuilding, easy credit or irrational exuberance, but by an inevitable fact of life: the passing of the baby boomer generation. More from the Wall Street Journal, Zillow, and FOX News.

Real-estate websites want to buy straight from homeowners. But is it really a good deal?

With big marketing budgets, venture capital funds and promises of quick and easy sells, direct home buying companies such as Opendoor and Offerpad are becoming a major force in the Central Florida real estate industry. Real estate tracking website Zillow said recently that it plans to launch its Zillow Offers program later this year, which is a similar program to Opendoor that buys homes directly and puts them back on the market. [Source: SDD]

STAT OF THE WEEK
$1.9 million
Retired baseball star Gary Sheffield knocked his Florida home sale out of the park, selling the two-story spot in Tampa for the full asking price of $1.9 million. [Source: LA Times]

ALSO TRENDING:

› Offerpad to enter third Florida market in Jacksonville [Florida Trend]
Offerpad announces that it will take its array of streamlined home buying and selling solutions to Jacksonville, Florida in January 2020. The Arizona company will introduce many more Florida homeowners to the company’s innovative features, which provide unparalleled customization and choice in home selling and buying.

› Miami Realtors association launches commercial MLS [The Real Deal]
The Miami Association of Realtors launched a commercial multiple listing service. South Florida Commercial Property Search is the only commercial MLS in South Florida with a consumer-facing website, according to a press release. The website was launched with the Beacon Council and Florida Power & Light.

› St. Pete condo buyer ‘liked the view and he had the cash’ [Tampa Bay Times]
Tampa Bay’s luxury condo market had an unusually strong month in October as an unfinished penthouse in downtown St. Petersburg was flipped for a $1 million profit. A shrinking supply of available houses, however, took its toll on the market for single-family homes.

› FSC booster, founder of real-estate schools dies at 88 [Lakeland Ledger]
Bert Rodgers, a Lakeland native who created a statewide network of real-estate schools, died last week at 88. Rodgers, a graduate of Florida Southern College, helped establish the Hazel Haley Scholarship at his alma mater to honor the English teacher who dubbed him “the inimitable Bert” early in her 67-year tenure at Lakeland High School.

Tags: Real Estate eNews

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