Florida Real Estate Pauline Crain Blog

Renters spend almost 6.5 years saving for 20% downpayment   MIAMI – July 13, 2018 – Renters in expensive California markets can expect to spend more than two decades saving for a 20 percent downpayment on a median valued home, but Florida buyers can do so in about one-third the time. Nationwide, renters can expect to spend nearly six and a half years saving for a 20 percent down payment on a home, according to a new HotPads analysis. The median home value in the U.S. is $216,000, which means a 20 percent downpayment would be $43,200. If a renter making the median income saves 20 percent of their income each month – as financial experts recommend – they would have enough for a downpayment in 77 months, which is nearly six and a half years. However, in the three  Florida  cities included in the study – Miami, Orlando and Tampa – renters must spend more than 6.5 years. It takes longest in Miami (11 years, 5 months) compared to Tampa (6 years, 11 months) and Orlando (8 years, 2

Foreclosures down 78% since 2010 peak   IRVINE, Calif. – July 13, 2018 – ATTOM Data Solutions' Midyear 2018 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report found a total of 362,275 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – in the first six months of 2018. That number is down 15 percent year-to-year and down 78 percent from its recession-era foreclosure peak in the first six months of 2010. Unlike earlier years, Florida is barely mentioned in ATTOM's latest report. While its foreclosure rate remains No. 4 nationwide (0.37 percent), the top three states are now South Carolina (0.39 percent), Ohio (0.37 percent) and Nevada (0.37 percent). In a look at metro areas, Miami is mentioned only because its foreclosure activity has dropped 55 percent below pre-recession averages – but 55 percent of the metro areas studied have also seen their foreclosure activity drop to a level below the "normal" level they had before th