November 2015 Florida Housing and Foreclosure Report

As the graph shows, the housing market has bounced back from its 2011 lows but nowhere near the “bubble” values of 2006.  There are signals that we could experience a dip during mid to late 2016.  Depending on your risk perspective, for some that have invested in real estate and have a nice gain, perhaps it may be time to pare back a bit and bank some of those your earnings.

Foreclosure Trend in Broward

(Graph provided by RealtyTrac)

The chart shows us the pre foreclosures and auctions are down, while bank owned property is up.  This can mean a couple things, first, we know that the Broward County Court’s are backed up so that could contribute to auctions being down.  Also, as the holiday season hits, Judges are less likely to allow a family home to be auctioned.  The scary statistic to me is the Bank Owned properties being up 88.8% over last year.  There is a HUGE inventory that is being held back by lenders who have foreclosed.  If this inventory is ever released it could contribute greatly to a decline in housing prices, especially combined with the fed raising the interest rate and a stronger dollar that will hold off foreign investors from purchasing real estate.

Florida Vs. the National Average

(Graph provided by RealtyTrac)

Unfortunately Broward is still two and a half times the national average on foreclosure filings.

The Impact of the Above on Rental Prices

(Graph provided by Zillow)

It is no secret that Broward rent’s are some of the highest around outpacing the United States average by over $300.  There certainly is a premium to pay for beaches and sun, but could this high cost be also caused by the lack of people being able to qualify for a mortgage as well as a lack of rental units?  Fort Lauderdale is adding thousands of units that will certainly increase the supply.  Thus, it is quite possible that rents in Broward County can potentially plateau or even be reduced over the next 12 months.  This is a very fluid situation and we will stay on top of it for you.

Though the housing market as a whole is recovering, banks still own huge amounts of housing inventory. These vacant units are troublesome enough that Los Angeles recently took action to move these units back into the market and clean up the blight that they can impose on neighborhoods. It remains to be seen when and if the banks will release their inventory and to what effect on the housing and rental market in the county.