46% of South Florida homeowners are `underwater'
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•Slightly fewer South Florida homes 'underwater'
Slightly fewer South Florida homes 'underwater'
Nearly half of all owners of single-family homes in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area were underwater at the end of the third quarter, meaning their homes were valued for less than the mortgages owed against them.

Forty-six percent of homeowners, representing 387,157 homes, were underwater at the end of Sept. 30, compared to 47 percent in the second quarter, according to a new report from Web-based real estate services firm Zillow.com

Nationally, 21 percent of homeowners were underwater as of Sept. 30, down from 23 percent in the second quarter, as home values stabilized in the short term and more underwater borrowers lost their homes to foreclosure, Zillow said.

•47 percent of South Florida homeowners underwater on mortgages
47 percent of South Florida homeowners underwater on mortgages
As home values continue to show declines compared to a year ago, the percentage of South Florida homeowners underwater in their mortgages grew between the first and second quarter of the year, figures from Zillow.com show.

Forty-seven percent of all single-family homeowners with mortgages in Miami-Dade and Broward were in a negative equity position at the end of the second quarter, meaning they owed more on their mortgages than their homes would likely fetch on the market.

That's up from 44 percent at the end of the first quarter, according to the Web-based real estate services firm. The firm does not do a similar analysis for condo owners.

•South Florida home sales increase, but prices fall
South Florida home sales increase, but prices fall
South Florida home sales rose in the second quarter as prices continued to fall compared to the same year-ago period, according to a report released Wednesday by the Florida Association of Realtors. In the meantime, more homeowners slipped underwater on their mortgages, putting them at risk of foreclosure, new figures show.

Building on a months-long trend that analysts say is a sign of improved health in the housing market, existing home sales surged by 75 percent in Miami-Dade and 35 percent in Broward as steep price declines, low interest rates and tax incentives continue to drive demand.

In both counties, values suffered. The median sales price fell by 35 percent in Miami-Dade to $195,000 and to $195,500 in Broward. Statewide home sales were up by 23 percent, while the median was off 29 percent to $143,600. The median price refers to the price at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

•Homeowners walking away from underwater mortgages
Homeowners walking away from underwater mortgages
Andres Duque thought he got a real steal when he paid $125,000 for his Little Haiti condo. But four years later, similar units are selling for $35,000 and even less.

And so, faced with the prospect of being underwater on his mortgage -- owing more than the unit is worth -- for the next 20 years, Duque, 33, made what seemed to him like a rational choice: to cut and run.

He stopped paying the mortgage, basically forcing the lender to take the condo off his hands through foreclosure.

•Florida foreclosures on rise
Florida foreclosures on rise
As home prices fell and the job picture worsened, the percentage of Florida home loans either past due or in foreclosure hit 23 percent in the second quarter, outpacing any other state in the nation.

The figure represents 807,000 loans, a staggering sum of the roughly 3.5 million mortgages outstanding in Florida.

``Florida deserves special mention as the worst state in the country,'' said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association that released the numbers Thursday. ``Nevada is a close second, but everyone else is far behind.''
Miami Herald Staff Report
Nearly half of all owners of single-family homes in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area were underwater at the end of the third quarter, meaning their homes were valued at less than the mortgages owed against them.

Forty-six percent of South Florida homeowners, representing 387,157 homes, were underwater at the end of Sept. 30, compared to 47 percent in the second quarter, according to a new report from Web-based real estate services firm Zillow.com

Nationally, 21 percent of homeowners were underwater as of Sept. 30, down from 23 percent in the second quarter, as home values stabilized in the short term and more underwater borrowers lost their homes to foreclosure, Zillow said.

Zillow's home price index showed that the median price of a single-family home in the area was $168,400, down 17.1 percent from the same period a year before. Values were down 2.1 percent from the second quarter.

The Zillow index measures values of all homes, not those sold in a particular period. While values continue falling, the firm said September marked the eighth consecutive month of decreasing year-over-year price declines.

Additionally, 50 percent of all homes sold in September sold at a loss, the firm said. A small percentage, 5.5 percent, saw their values rise over the past 12 months.


http://www.miamiherald.com/business/...y/1324267.html

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