Fort Walton Beach Real Estate Law Blog

In a recent post, we discussed how Florida foreclosure rates remain high. Unfortunately, Florida has maintained one of the highest foreclosure rates across the entire nation since the economy started to plummet. With estimates of 400,000 pending foreclosures, and three-year projections forecasting an additional 700,000 foreclosure cases arising, there are thousands of homeowners in Florida in dire straits.

When we discussed the current improvement of the housing industry in the state, we mentioned that the lack of inventory is creating strain and driving up prices. A real estate broker says that speeding up the foreclosure backlog carried in the state's courts could in effect increase inventory, thereby preventing another housing bubble. However, this "inventory" would be the homes that families lost to foreclosure.

While the housing crisis created financial hardships for a lot of people in Florida and beyond, signs of improvement continue to emerge.

Home sales increased nearly 20 percent in March compared to last year. In addition, home prices were up 15 percent from March 2012. The median home price in Florida last month was $160,000.

Residents in one Florida city are concerned about plans to build an 11-story, 22-unit condominium. People are so concerned, in fact, that they have formed a group called the Residents for Responsible Growth. Their biggest concern is that the condominium will be too big for the plot of land where it will be built. Despite residents' worries, the site plan development permit was recently approved.

The condominium will sit on 0.6 acres of land on the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale. The building will feature a wave-shaped design with most of the first floor enclosed in glass. Some say the new building will be "architecturally stunning." However, others say it simply won't fit.

There was a 7 percent increase in the number of vacation homes purchased in 2012. Destin readers of this blog may remember our discussion of that topic last month. As the housing market has picked up it appears more people are interested in buying a home, and there is evidence that people in Florida and others living elsewhere may be better off buying a home rather than renting one.

According to Trulia.com, people can actually save more money when they buy a home. According to one report, it costs about $1,600 per month to rent a home in Broward County. It costs about $770 a month to buy a home. That same trend is being seen in other Florida counties and even in other states across the country.