Commercial property forclosures expected to be next wave in recession

Commercial property forclosures expected to be next wave in recession South Florida’s residential and commercial real estate markets suffered in 2008, and the new year doesn’t figure to offer much relief. Although home sales started picking up this summer, the beleaguered housing market has been hammered by foreclosures and falling prices. Both trends are expected …

Can you afford it now? [Southern California]

Can you afford it now? [Southern California] We’ve pretty much blown through the first couple of stages of grief with regard to the Southern California housing bust. There’s no room left for denial now that home prices in the Southland are down 44% from their peak in 2007, and there’s not much use for anger. …

Northwest Florida gets a break on taxes

Northwest Florida gets a break on taxes | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal Try living in New Jersey. Homeowners in Passaic County, N.J., spend more than 8 percent of their $81,684 annual median income on real-estate taxes. That gives the county 43 miles northwest of New York City the distinction of being tops in the …

Homeowners refinance, put savings under mattress

Homeowners refinance, put savings under mattress Chicago-area mortgage broker Steve Molitor had knee replacement surgery a few weeks ago, purposely scheduling it around the holidays because it’s typically a slow time of year in his business. But as he and other can attest, it’s been anything but slow. Since the Federal Reserve’s announcement during Thanksgiving …

Palm Beach may see some Madoff victims selling homes, yachts, jewelry [South Florida]

Palm Beach may see some Madoff victims selling homes, yachts, jewelry [South Florida] Madoff mania may be flooding the island, but signs of panic may be more anecdotal than factual. With the economy already in the doldrums, it can be difficult to divine the reasoning behind island residents’ financial moves. While some island real estate …

Square Feet – Long List of Commercial Properties Face Distress – NYTimes.com

Square Feet – Long List of Commercial Properties Face Distress For many months now, the commercial real estate industry has been grim about its future, but it has been hard to quantify just how bad things are. The default rate for loans packaged into securities and sold on Wall Street has remained well under 1 …