Florida’s DBPR unveils 2011-2012 unlicensed activity media campaign

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Dec. 14, 2011 – The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) unveiled its annual media campaign to educate the public about the dangers of unlicensed activity. The ad campaign encourages Florida consumers to check for professional licensure before hiring someone to do any work that requires a license, including real estate representation.
Last fiscal year, DBPR received 969 legally sufficient complaints about unlicensed real estate or unlicensed appraisal activity. The Department also received more than 1,700 complaints about unlicensed construction, electrical and contractor activity.

“Unlicensed activity can threaten the livelihood of law-abiding, state-licensed professionals and can pose serious personal or financial harm to consumers,” says DBPR Secretary Ken Lawson.

Members of the Florida Outdoor Advertising Association are donating billboard space throughout the state, part of a multi-component campaign that will focus on the licensed activities with the highest number of consumer complaints.

Unlicensed activity occurs when an individual offers to perform or performs services that require a state license, and the individual does not hold the required license. Florida law sets specific rules and guidelines for obtaining professional licensure, and the people who have met these requirements are held to professional standards. Consumers can verify professional licenses online at www.myfloridalicense.com.

Unlicensed activity is illegal and can result in misdemeanor or felony charges if an individual is convicted. Floridians should report any suspected unlicensed activity by emailing ULA@dbpr.state.fl.us, or calling the Unlicensed Activity Hotline at (866) 532-1400.

Reprinted by Permission: © 2011 Florida Realtors®

UF survey: Fla. real estate experts still not excited

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dec. 2, 2011 – Florida real estate experts and investors were pessimistic for a second consecutive quarter, despite encouraging signs in the rise of occupancy rates and prices in the rental apartment market, a new University of Florida (UF) survey finds.

“The Survey of Emerging Market Conditions,” conducted quarterly by the Kelley A. Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies at UF’s Warrington College of Business Administration, indicates the main reason for the third-quarter malaise was the falling market for single-family houses, condominiums and most types of land.

Uncertainty over unsettling economic news at the international, national and state levels provides the backdrop for the declining perspective, said Timothy S. Becker, director of the Bergstrom Center. The Commercial Real Estate Sentiment Index declined in the third quarter, marking the second consecutive decline of the year.

The survey takers anticipate a sluggish recovery for the real estate market in the coming years. A large inventory of home foreclosures partly explains their gloomy expectation. Respondents also worry about employment. Since January, 70,000 new jobs have been created in Florida, but they were offset by 63,000 lost positions, keeping the unemployment rate at 10.6 percent since April.

Respondents also believe that a weak economy continues to discourage the private sector from adding new hires. Companies instead are likely to squeeze more productivity from workers and store profits to sustain them through future tough economic times. Concern over stock market turmoil, ongoing gridlock in Washington and the upcoming presidential election added to the overall pessimistic outlook.

Survey respondents also said that they’re worried because a securities-backed mortgage for commercial property was harder to get in the third quarter. There was also wariness over the newly enacted Dobbs-Frank Act, which expands federal regulation of banks.

“The problem is that individuals involved in banking don’t yet know what the rules are under the new law, and whenever there’s uncertainty, people tend to drop from the investment horizon,” Becker said. “What we’re hearing from the respondents is that because of this uncertainty, there’s a freezing up of capital that should otherwise be going to construction projects.”

That lack of capital, however, is good news for the rental apartment market, which, according to the survey, is real estate’s “best performing asset.” Becker said widespread home foreclosures have forced displaced homeowners to rent apartments. In addition, many young job seekers who want flexibility are seeking rental units. That trend helps to drive up occupancy, allowing owners to charge more rent.

The survey also identified bright spots in Florida’s economy. Condo projects are under way in Miami, which is also enjoying an influx of investment from South America. Respondents are also somewhat cheered by prospects for Florida ports as the Panama Canal expansion project continues.

Still, the overall perception of Florida’s real estate market is glum.

“Where we go from here depends on macro-economic forces, ranging from the debt crisis in Europe to the many we have here at home,” Becker said.

A total of 231 Florida professional real estate analysts and investors, representing 13 urban regions of the state and up to 15 property types, participated in the survey.

Reprinted by permission: © 2011 Florida Realtors®

The State of Miami Real Estate – October 2011 Statistics

Well…the October numbers are finally in. This time, I’d like to not only share the sales data but also pricing trend throughout Miami-Dade county and in Miami Beach.

Based on the newest statistics, Miami-Dade’s October Closed Sales are decisively down and Pending Sales are just a nudge up from Sept. Pretty much, a continuation of recent trends.

Similarly, Average Sold Prices were also down once again between September and October, while the disparity between Asking Prices of properties For Sale and the Average Price properties are Actually selling for continues to widen.

Sales of all property types in Miami Beach in general, did not do much better between September and October, 2011 that the rest of the county did. In fact, prices were, well…they were actually quite wild, probably due mostly to the sale of properties valued between $500k and just under $3M, which is quite hot and helping distort these averages.

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It is worth noting therefore, the marked improvement in sales from a year ago in Miami Beach as compared to the rest of the county. Obviously, the beach continues to be “the beach” and buyers (mostly foreign buyers), continue to pursue beach bargains over anything else. Actually, it seems as though if a property is not being sold in Miami Beach, it’s being remodeled. There’s just a lot of activity throughout the beach.

As a matter of fact, take a look at the beach condo market numbers below. Sales between Sept. and Oct. were not terribly bad and were actually solid as compared to Oct./2010. Beach Condo prices also dropped much less than the overall drop of prices for all beach properties in the same period. In fact, condo prices in Miami Beach were 20% better than the price of all properties sold throughout the beach between Sept. and Oct., down just over 7% for condo sales as compared to the over 27% or so overall price drop for all beach sales.

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In general, we can continue to see the market fluctuations and deterioration, mostly due to the continued uncertainty on the market, changes in the strength of the dollar vis a vis other currencies, the political turmoil in other countries which is still helping drive sales in the USA and the still weak employment and economic environment we’re in.