Housing: Is It Time to Buy?

Is housing headed for a dreaded double-dip? Or are signs finally pointing to a long-awaited rally?

Despite the glum statistics recently, well-heeled buyers in many markets should feel comfortable betting on the latter.

Home prices nationwide in December were down more than 31% from their 2006 peak, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index, including a 4.1% fall in 2010. And some economists see more weakness ahead, based on the so-called shadow inventory of foreclosures that haven’t yet been put up for sale.

via Housing: Is It Time to Buy?

Brazilian buyers put the luxe in real estate

Fabiana Pimenta, a real estate agent for Fortune International, is sitting on a white leather sofa in the model apartment at Jade Ocean with the expansive ocean views and the Fendi décor, waiting to begin a tour of the Sunny Isles Beach building.

Pimenta, a Brazilian who moved to Florida to attend college, is entitled to a little breather. In January, she and her team, which includes her brother in Sao Paulo, sold 15 high-end South Florida condos — all to Brazilians.

At 2,100 square feet with three bedrooms and both ocean and city views, this is the type of unit that is particularly popular with Brazilian buyers, she says. Seven months ago, Pimenta sold the last Jade Ocean penthouse, a 5,000-square-foot unit, to a Brazilian for $4 million.

via Brazilian buyers put the luxe in real estate – Business Monday – MiamiHerald.com.

Foreclosure mediators: Banks pushed us to fail

Florida’s Supreme Court sought a foreclosure lifeline in forcing banks and borrowers to mediation. It was hoped a judicial referee could help unclog court dockets and free struggling borrowers.

But in documents obtained by The Palm Beach Post and described in a recent court order, mediators complain lenders and their attorneys are stifling the system by pressuring negotiations to end in a stalemate.

In some cases, mediators report that deals were struck for trial payment plans or to seek a loan modification, but that banks or their attorneys asked for the meeting to be recorded as an impasse.

via Foreclosure mediators: Banks pushed us to fail.

In Florida, It’s A Great Time For Canadian Homebuyers : NPR

In especially troubled housing markets such as Florida, foreclosures are down, four years into the housing crash.

But that’s thought to be just temporary. Sales are up in Florida, but in some areas more than half of those sales involve foreclosures.

There’s one group of homebuyers, however, for whom market conditions couldn’t be better: Canadians.

via In Florida, It’s A Great Time For Canadian Homebuyers

All Real Estate is Local? Think Again

Many markets, such as Florida, California and New York, are seeing a surge of foreign buyers. One luxury condo complex in Miami Beach says a growing one-third of such buyers are snapping up homes at bargain prices. Last week, a story on cash buyers quoted a Realtor in Napa Valley noting particular interest from Chinese nationals.

“They are learning about the Western lifestyles,” said Henry Schlangen of real-estate firm Pacific Union International Inc. “These are trophy properties.”

And so real-estate (like everything else, these days) might actually be going more global. Realtor.com plans to add features, such as translation services, to its website to help foreign buyers find real estate. It’s also expanding its coverage to include non-U.S. listings, according to vice president Julie Reynolds.

via All Real Estate is Local? Think Again

Council backs down on Majestic Cove

The Sebring City Council, in a 4-1 vote Tuesday, decided not to pursue legal action against the developers of Majestic Cove because it figured it had no legal grounds to sue the company.The problem, the council members said, lay in the wording of the city’s development agreement, dated Nov. 15, 2005, with the developer.Council decided Tuesday the developer used a loophole in the agreement to do short-term rentals of its condos.The city had earlier complained that the condominium was violating its development agreement by running as a hotel or motel in an area zoned as R-3 residential.

via Council backs down on Majestic Cove.