SoFla Real Estate News (1/09 - 2/09)

Awesome story! “Rocket Docket”: Florida’s Lee County has 1000 foreclosures/day per judge on Rocket Docket days; Obama’s ‘free money for idiots’ plan likely to have ZERO effect; February’s foreclosure numbers are worse than January; Speculators live rent free for greater than a year; Lawyer earning $190,000 per month representing lenders (Hat tip bubbleRefuge) (02/18/09)

Wall Street Journal gets wise to what miamicondoforum.com has been saying: HOA delinquencies (along with the government no longer manipulating the free market through the GSEs) will lead to a severe over-correction of SoFla housing prices (02/18/09)

How much stupid can you fit in one room? Peter Zalewski and Ron Shuffield in the same place at the same time; Metrostudy chief economist the only voice of reason (02/18/09)

Peebles is one slick operator - regardless of how you feel about him, he makes all the right moves at the right times (02/18/09)

Miami homicides up 23% in 2008. (Spain sounds really good right now) (02/18/09)

Second Great Depression takes down Irene Marie Modeling in South Beach (02/18/09)

Yet another tax levied against property owners. Tax increase = purchase price of homes (cost basis) must go down (read my comment at the bottom of the article). [Archived Here](02/18/09)

3 bedroom homes in South Florida selling for $50K at auction, condos catching up (02/18/09)

Empty South Florida homes and condos lure criminals (02/18/09)

Don’t get high on your own supply: Celeb Miami Real Estate Broker Goes Broke (02/17/09)

News Flash: The Whitney Condominum in West Palm Beach (individual units for sale asking $386/sf right now) bulk sale goes down at $144 a square foot!!! More that 73% off the asking price!!! More than 50% off the replacement (building) cost of $300/sf!!! THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING PEOPLE. (02/17/09)

Dubai property prices fall 40-50% in ONE MONTH. Worst is yet to come. (On the other side of the planet, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Metro Unit prices are collapsing at an even faster pace - see story above) (02/17/09)

Miami Boat Show bookings down 32% (02/17/09)

California housing crashes to 13% above nominal 1979 prices (02/16/09)

Ron Shuffield uses complicated tax scheme and 4.625% interest rate to claim that owning is cheaper than renting. This is the same Ron Shuffield that claimed “South Florida is working off a totally new economic model” in 2005 (02/15/09)

South Florida citizens know how to make British tourists feel at home [Archived Here](02/14/09)

Boca Raton-based RPC Diversified Holdings slammed by foreclosure on the site of the planned Paramount Park condos (across from American Airlines Arena); more verbal diarrhea from Peter Zalewski (02/13/09)

20.9% of Ocean Bank loans nonperforming; files foreclosure on 438-unit unfinished condo project in Aventura, 83 unsold townhomes in Riviera Beach and a vacant commercial site in Hialeah (02/13/09)

“In the ’90s, you couldn’t walk down Ocean Drive without bumping into the pretty people. That scene is pretty much gone. There still is some modeling, but the business is off tremendously. The location got overexposed (in ads). People you see on Ocean Drive now are drunken frat boys or people in those cheap sweatpants outfits. It used to be a gay mecca. Now there are only a few gay clubs. If you look at (new) condo buildings at night, you see empty ones with a few lights on.” (02/13/09)

Insurance company forced to pay insurance claim (Judge doesn’t understand that actually paying claims isn’t part of an insurance company’s business model) (02/13/09)

Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, Cape Coral, Florida Fails (02/13/09)

The largest Florida-based bank, BankUnited gets the kiss of death (02/13/09)

Government signs death warrant for Florida’s largest bank - no support for BankUnited (Over the FDIC limit anyone?) (02/13/09)

Boat show weekend, typically Miami’s busiest of the tourist season, leaves hotels unfilled/discounting rooms (02/13/09)

Worldwide luxury condo demand plunges (02/13/09)

80 years worth of condos built downtown, Q4 sales pace slows to standstill; more dumb Peter Zalewski quotes (02/13/09)

Insurance company denies condo hurricane insurance claim, association takes insurer to court; if association loses building may be condemned (02/13/09)

Mortgage professionals discuss the coming foreclosure tsunami. (Note: Subprime was much more evenly distributed across the US whereas the VAST majority of Alt-A/Option ARMs are in California and Florida) (02/12/09)

Canyon Ranch Miami Beach Fiasco (Hat tip “H20″) (02/12/09)

Gold Bullion Sales Hit Record (02/12/09)

China has true justice. America theatrics. (02/12/09)

Key West mayor could lose 2 homes to foreclosure (02/12/09)

There is a better time to buy than now: Later! (02/12/09)

South Florida home prices not expected to rise soon (02/12/09)

Abandoned and/or Vacation Condo in Brickell Robbed (02/12/09)

Florida Keys resort falls on hard times (02/11/09)

Jack McCabe not fooled by “reversal” in number of Foreclosures (P.S. Who is right? SACRAMENTO-based foreclosure.com’s “models” or an actual count of the foreclosures by local authorities such as the Miami-Dade County Clerk?) (02/11/09)

Talk about foolish: overpay by $4 million, get a $250K car. (Incidentally, I am offering anyone that purchases my 300 sf “flat” in Little Haiti for $3 million a Lamborghini Reventon) (02/10/09)

No bottom for Miami-Dade Housing until 2011. (When 2011 gets here they’ll revise their prediction to 2012) (02/10/09)

Report: South Florida home prices will continue to fall (Hat tip “Cleo”) (02/10/09)[Archived]

Both parties are screwing you: Republicans introduce real estate industrial complex subsidy to stimulus bill (The majority of the points about the tax credit are right on) (02/10/09)

New York Times: The Downside for Condos in a Downturn (02/10/09)

New York Times: In Florida, Despair and Foreclosures (02/10/09)

Condo Q&A topics are nuts: Condo with once stable HOA now taking on debt, question about special assessments secondary to nonpayment of dues, condo loses half its reserves investing in the market and continues to invest more anyways, bulk contract headaches [click green arrow at bottom to enlarge] (2/09/09)

West Palm Beach condo tower gets approval, more supply coming online (2/09/09)

“Giant potato men” of Miami story gaining traction (2/09/09)

Canada’s third-largest bank is opening Miami branch to get TARP funds for bad Miami loans (last sentence of second paragraph) (2/09/09)

Wind condo buyers want out, try to use financial crisis to nullify contracts (2/09/09)

National Historic Landmark adjacent to “giant potato men” (2/07/09)

Federal Trade Commission: “Realty agents sell six homes per year and work about five productive hours per week; their pay is over $50,000 year - the lowest productivity of any job in America” (2/07/09)

Housing slump has just begun according to I-banker “oracle” with impeccable track record (2/07/09)

Move over, subprime - Alt-A and Option ARM delinquencies go PARABOLIC. (2/07/09)

A home debtor is LIBERATED every 13 seconds (2/07/09)

Miami’s “giant potato men” getting nationwide reputation (2/07/09)

Premier American forecloses on projects in Little Havana, Miami Beach (2/07/09)

Now that home buyers have to make sacrifices to purchase, they will be much more prudent about home prices (2/07/09)

More news on the soon to be defunct Corus Bank (2/07/09)

GFI Buys two nonperforming North Miami commercial mortgages (including 140 residential units) that have a face value of $13M at a discount (2/07/09)

Mederos & Associates faces five building foreclosures (total of 248 units) for $32M in outstanding loans (2/07/09)

Foreclosure auction set for 109 units in Coral Springs (2/07/09)

One of the Repo Riviera’s most influential architects is accused of deception (2/07/09)

Unemployment Claims Highest Since 1982 (2/05/09)

Grand View Palace in North Bay Village experiencing some issues (2/05/09)

Homeowner Vacancy Rate May Be Worse Than Reported (2/05/09)

Spine surgeon client of Peter Zalewski calls bottom in Miami real estate. Better buy now before you’re priced out of the market sucker! (2/05/09)

BRE Properties: Beginning of “Two Year Declining Rent Curve” (It’s just getting started baby!) (2/04/09)

Moribund Corus (”Condos-R-Us”) Bank is on its last gasps; More than 1/3 of its loans nonperforming! [Note: to avoid having to subscribe, copy and paste the title of the article into google and click the result] (2/04/09)

Miami-Dade leads the way in South Florida price declines; more pain to come
(2/03/09)

Deerfield Beach may shut off water at condo complex that owes $90,000; other complexes throughout Florida owe big time water bills
(2/03/09)

Miami-Dade citizens struggling to pay utility bills
(2/03/09)

Langerado Music Festival canceled due to mega-recession
(2/03/09)

The next U.S. Mortgage Time Bomb Needs Defusing Yesterday
(2/03/09)

Macy’s eliminates all 600 of its highest paying jobs at its Miami headquarters- there goes $400 million/year that was propping up Miami real estate [Partially archived here]
(2/03/09)

If We Can’t Stop Foreclosures, Maybe It’s Time to Rent
(2/03/09)

High-End Housing Market Ravaged by tighter Jumbo Loan Standards, Stock Selloff
(2/03/09)

Complexes with many deadbeats may lose out on Fannie Mae loans
(2/02/09)

Corus (Condos-R-Us) Bank is running out of cash
(2/02/09)

Dade cries ‘fire’ when in need of cash
(2/02/09)

Visual Guide to the Unemployment Rate. Hint: things are a lot worse than the government claims.
(2/02/09)

Housing crash hits the ultra-swanky Fisher Island; 25% of condos on the market! Wow. Just wow. (2/01/09)

Brilliant WSJ Article: Why Be a Nation of Mortgage Slaves? (1/31/09)

Worst of recession is yet to come, economists say. But fear not! Peter Zalewski says the bottom is in on Miami real estate. Ha!
[Partially archived here] (1/31/09)

Ocala National Bank, Ocala, Florida Fails (1/30/09)

Peter Zalewski calls the bottom in Miami real estate way too early (1/30/09)

S. Fla. homes sell at deep discounts (1/30/09)

Job cuts exceed 100,000 for the week. (1/30/09)

Florida option ARMs defaulting at an astounding rate [Note: to avoid having to subscribe, google the article title and then click the result] (1/30/09)

Even with rapidly increasing premiums, home insurers are fleeing Florida; driving up prices (1/29/09)

Florida unemployment at the highest rate since 1992 (1/29/09)

Mortgage insurer severely tightens Florida requirements (FHA mortgages require private mortgage insurance) (1/29/09)

More on the new (and soon to be repealed) condo insurance law (1/29/09)

NPR covers the worsening Miami commercial real estate crash (1/29/09)

Ft. Lauderdale-based Citrix cuts 10% of its workforce (1/28/09)

17% of Florida jumbo loans are 90 days delinquent (1/28/09)

Home price crash nearly over? Nope, real crash is about to get started! (1/28/09)

Florida condo owners desperate to have new individual unit insurance law overturned (1/28/09)

Supposed news article reads like real estate advertisement (especially at the end). Shameless! (1/28/09)

Tibor Hollo, meet the Second Great Depression (1/28/09)

Talk about doomed: $2.9-billion Fontainebleau Las Vegas mega-resort, on track to open later this year (1/28/09)

Florida and Miami-Dade unemployment skyrockets [Broken Link? Archived Here](1/27/09)

Miami home prices down 2.2% in the last month (1/27/09)

Another housing bubble? I don’t think so (1/27/09)

Housing endgame: bottom in 10-12 years (1/27/09)

Median Miami condo prices down 33%, median single family home prices down 41%; more pain to come (1/27/09)

Just like the NASDAQ halfway through the crash, some think now is the time to get in (1/27/09)

More on the Fannie Mae condo loan requirements. Better late than never I say (1/27/09)

Bloody Monday: Over 71,400 jobs lost in ONE DAY. Good time to buy a luxury condo liability? (1/27/09)

December unemployment skyrockets, hits 8.1%. Miami-Dade loses 69,500 jobs in 1 year. (1/25/09)

Buyer beware: Chinese drywall afflicting unknown number of new developments (1/25/09)

New rules raise the bar for condo mortgages in Florida [Broken Link? Archived Here -Part 1][Part 2][Part 3](1/24/09)

The Miami-based Ocean bank files foreclosure lawsuits against two Miami developers – a 180 unit condo conversion in Hialeah and vacant agricultural land near Florida City
(1/23/09)

Tennis star looking to unload her Brickell Key condo for $1.3 million; other celebrities trying dump overpriced real estate
(1/23/09)

Terrible quality of new construction implicated in Florida condo parking garage collapse
(1/23/09)

Report: Only 1/3 of foreclosed properties making it to MLS. Only a few days after I talk about months of supply being utter nonsense!
(1/23/09)

London landlords dropping rents 20-30%. This WILL be Miami in 2009. We have so much overbuilding.
(1/23/09)

British Pound pounded; hits 23 year low against dollar, get ready for a new wave of condo defaults
(1/23/09)

Banks no longer hide foreclosed South Florida properties
(1/23/09)

Home prices see sharp dip
(1/23/09)

Apartment Rents, Occupancies Drop in U.S. as Job Losses Mount
(1/23/09)

Bright Spot in the Housing Crash: Cheaper Rents (I repeat, if you have not already done so, stick it to your landlord!)
(1/23/09)

S. Fla. repossessions up 160%, housing starts tumble (Where the hell is Peter Zalewski getting his info? See Below)
(1/22/09)

Where I get my Miami-Dade foreclosure statistics
(1/22/09)

Florida ranks No. 2 in mortgage-related layoffs (1/22/09)

Miami renters negotiating lower payments mid-lease! Landlords practically begging good tenants to stay put. (Do your part and stick it to your landlord ASAP)(1/22/09)

Goldman Sachs: Home prices to fall another 25% from current levels. Bottom in 2010. (1/21/09)

National Association of Home Builders chief economist predicts another 29% decrease in the Case-Shiller Index in 2009 (1/20/09)

“In Regions’ $2.1 billion first mortgage Florida portfolio, 1.17 percent of the loans were charged off in the fourth quarter – double the rate of other states.” (1/20/09)

Sunbelt homebuilders under pressure (1/20/09)

Apartment tightness index drastically weakening (1/20/09)

Banks unloading $75 million of foreclosed properties (it’s only the beginning)(1/19/09)

Times Online inexplicably proclaims that “outlook is bright in the United States Sunshine State” without giving any logical reason! (1/17/09)

Say goodbye to Arab condo investors (1/17/09)

Condo board fails to fund reserve and now has to pay the piper (1/17/09)

Brickell land being dumped at 50% off (current buyer to eventually dump his purchase at 50% off) (1/15/09)

Yet another government foreclosure prevention program that will have NO effect. [Broken Link? Archived Here](1/15/09)

Miami one of the highest risk markets for home prices being lower in Q3 2010 (1/15/09)

More office space, hotel rooms, and condos coming online in 2011 (1/15/09)

Miami-Dade ghost town shows that real estate can go to $0. (1/14/09)

Latest Jorge Perez Related sales promotion is absolutely pathetic! However, the comments for the article are hilarious and show that people are getting wise. [Broken Link? Archived Here](1/13/09)

South Florida housing recovery pushed back to 2010 (will likely be pushed back to 2011 next January)[Broken Link? Archived Here](1/13/09)

U.S. Century Bank hits two incomplete Miami-Dade projects (one by Millennium Group and the other by Innovative Builders) with foreclosures (1/13/09)

Foreclosure Crisis Hits Polk and Florida Hard (1/12/09)

Orlando area in 2009: ‘Foreclosures will still rule (1/12/09)

Ruble falls to 6 year low against US Dollar. Bye-bye Russian condo investors! (1/12/09)

New pool safety law to cost Florida associations hundreds of thousands of dollars (can you say special assessment?) (1/11/09)

Real estate article conning Canadians is reminiscent of boom times - fortunately it’s a bit more balanced towards the end. (1/10/09)