The Housing Market and Property Taxes

The metropolitan areas nationwide with the highest rates of mortgage foreclosures continues to be heavily found in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada.

The Appraiser's office has been busy tracking sales value while developing this year's property tax assessments.

Prices for the tricounty areas of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade are down 51 percent from their peak in December 2006 but only an average of 6 percent from the previous year, according to the Standard & Poor"s/Case-Shiller price index just recently release. In both Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, most municipalities are showing decreases in property values. However, the majority are posting single digit instead of the staggering double digit losses. This seems to be signaling a slowdown of the economic down turn.

Whether the economic down turn continues will depend in large part on the outcome of the job growth/job loss and the foreclosure crisis that still exists and is looming in the horizon. More than 91,000 foreclosure cases and growing are currently pending in South Florida courts and 14.4 percent of mortgages are delinquent. The highest impediment to homeowners resolving their financial crisis is the fact that thousands are upside down in their home values making it extremely difficult to resolve their problem. This situation projects that many properties are set to enter the foreclosure process. Until the market has absorved these foreclosures, property values will not stabilize.

This brings us to our future housing demand. The rental market is strong and will continue in that trajectory as people displaced from their homes by the economic crisis find the rental option to be the only one available to them. The increases in fuel prices is also adding to the change in housing demand. More people are looking for smaller housing in urban communities as they choose to rent and live in closer proximity to their jobs.

Our economy has a long way to go before stabilizing. So keep budgeting and capitalize with the good buys that can still be found in the market place. Those with cash available find that great investments are waiting to be made whether on homes or income properties. Let me know how I may assist you with your investments.