The Survey of Emerging Market Conditions for 2012′s first quarter was nothing but positive, showing many good signs for Florida’s real estate market.
Conducted by the Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies in the Warrington College of Business Administration from the University of Florida, the survey sampled 189 participants, making it the most extensive survey of its kind of Florida’s real estate professionals.

Luxury condo development Midtown Miami’s sales continue to tower to new heights as the community sees its biggest transaction to date.
The development explained in a press release that they closed on a $1.4 million transaction for one of its 10 luxury penthouses.

Freddie Mac yesterday released the latest results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, and it found what by now has become common – that average fixed mortgage rates hit record lows last week.
The 30-year FRM averaged just 3.79 for the week ending May 17, a four basis point decline from the 3.83 percent of the week prior and a substantial drop from the 4.61 percent from last year.

The Neighborhood LIFT program, a major effort to help stabilize neighborhoods profoundly affected by the foreclosure crisis, is coming to Florida, according to an announcement by Wells Fargo & Company.
With a free, large-scale homebuyer workshop at the Miami Airport Convention Center (MACC) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., the program will commence in Miami on June 1 and 2.  Miami is the sixth city to launch the Neighborhood LIFT program along with Atlanta, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Foreclosure filings, which encompass default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, were the lowest in April in five years, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac.
The 188,780 filings for April were a 5 percent decline from March and a 14 percent drop from April 2011. Overall, one in every 698 U.S. housing units had a foreclosure filing in the month.

Miami based agency ONE Sotheby’s International Realty has welcomed real estate duo Iain Montford and Carlos Garcia. The duo will work out of ONE Sotheby’s South of Fifth location, and will specialize in the Miami Beach, downtown Miami and Sunny Isles area.

Lender Processing Services released its latest Home Price Index (HPI) late last week, reporting that home values increased for just the third time in five years.
Covering the month of February, the HIP rose by 0.2 percent from January, the first price increase since March 2010. The January HPI had originally estimated that prices would fall by another 0.3 percent, but as LPS explained, positive sways in the economy since then accounted for the 0.5 variance from the original estimate.

A new study out by Standard & Poor’s is estimating it will take 46 months to clear out the nation’s supply of shadow inventory, one month less than predictions from 2011.
Liquidation rates for the residential mortgage markets appeared stable, the firm’s analysts said, though they did say that the difference between local markets made a national projection difficult for the market.

The Master Brokers Forum South Palm Beach chapter recently held a high level presentation called the Powerful Edge for their members at AZURA by Toll Brothers in Boca Raton.
Established in 1993, the Master Brokers Forum (MBF) is a unique organization comprised of South Florida’s top residential real estate professionals.  The MBF provides its members with the opportunity to network and exchange ideas, stay at the cutting edge of the real estate industry. The event was attended by more than 50 MBF members at the new luxury communities 7500 square foot club-house.

Michael Ambrosio has been named the new president of the International Sales Group (ISG), a global real estate firm specializing in luxury residential properties in Florida and Panama. Some of Ambrosios responsibilities as president will include, managing day-to-day operations and multiple residential developments represented by the firm while building the client roster of ISG.
Ambrosio formerly held the position of chief financial officer for ISG, and says he is pleased to have the opportunity to bring the company to new heights.