Median home values, improving sales and stronger inventories were all features of the 2012 first quarter report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Median existing single-family home prices rose year-over-year in 74 out of the 146 metro areas tracked by NAR. By comparison, in 2011′s four quarter, only 29 areas were showing gains from a year earlier, which suggests that in 2012, more buyers have attained the necessary income levels to buy a home in their area.

The U.S. Treasury Department says it has sold off the final portion of $225 billion in mortgage-backed securities it purchased during the height of the financial crisis, and in addition, the sales of securities issued, primarily by troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have netted the government $25 billion in interest.

Real estate is an industry of hyper-local interests, and few sectors of the market better demonstrate that than construction.
Though some builders are growing, and raising prices as a result, others are still pursuing incentives, such as price cuts, to lure in prospective homebuyers, and a recent Wall Street Journal piece analyzed some of the motivations for that divergence in behavior.

Miami Beach May no longer be the sandiest beach in Florida – new construction in Hallandale and Hollywood beach has attracted foreign money and residents who may have been feeling a bit crowded from the Miami Beach area.

BCRE Brickell LLC has announced that they have signed Fortune International to lead the sales and marketing efforts at Axis,an Arquitectonica-designed condominium community located in the heart of Miami’s Mary Brickell Village neighborhood.
 
Fortune International will direct efforts to market and sell the remaining 290 units at the two-tower, 718-unit development.

Patricia Delinois has been appointed by the Miami Association of Realtors as its new residential president. As president, Delinois will represent the 26,000 member organization working in residential, commercial and international real estate.

It’s no mystery that home prices are low. CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index fell from October to November, and prices have fallen by an average of 32.8 percent from their 2006 peak.
What has not followed suit, though, are home sales. Though the most recent existing-home sales stats were up by 5 percent and pending-home sales reached their highest level in 19 months in December, current home sales would never suggest that home affordability is at its highest level in 40 years. A new poll from HouseHunt, though, suggests there may …

ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, the leader in luxury real estate throughout South Florida, is pleased to welcome Al Arostegui to their team of associates. With over 35 years of real estate experience, Arostegui is recognized within the community for his expertise in high end residential real estate and a passion for the luxurious South Florida lifestyle.

According to a new story on National Mortgage News by Lew Sichelman, South Florida has unloaded 90 percent of its 49,000 boom-era condominiums, leaving 4,700 unsold units for the market to work out – notwithstanding, of course, some outliers.
Peter Zalewski, a principal at the consulting firm CondoVultures, said 2013 could be the magic year for South Florida condominiums.

Thanks to $749 million worth of grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), thousands of very-low-income seniors and disabled persons will have access to affordable and supportive housing.