Reinsurance picture improves for Florida
As Florida gets ready to enter the thick of hurricane season, property insurers have seen improvements in the market for reinsurance — critical backup coverage that helps drive how much homeowners pay in premiums. Now, it’s a waiting game as forecasters expect a busy, and potentially costly, season. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Colombia accounts for most web searches of South Florida real estate
House hunters from Colombia made the most international web searches for South Florida real estate in May, closely followed by Germany and Canada. Potential buyers from 149 countries searched MiamiRealtors.com, which has three consumer-facing property-search portals, in May. Colombia, which also accounts for South Florida’s top international property buyers, has now finished in the top-two countries searching Miami real estate for the last 26 months. [Source: South Florida Agent Magazine]
See also:
» New data reveals top 20 cities in Florida most Googled by real estate investors
These Florida neighborhoods have the most excessive property fees
Tax, home insurance and homeowner association fees can add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to your monthly bills. But the level of these fees compared to your repayments can vary widely depending on where you live, even down to your ZIP code. [Source: Orlando Business Journal]
MBA sees risk in new Florida law that gives first-lien priority to PACE loans
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) last week detailed its reasons for opposing a bill in the state of Florida designed “to expand projects eligible for residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing,” which was recently signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Florida Senate Bill SB-770 authorizes local and county authorities within the state to create financing programs for home and other property renovations, which can include energy efficiency upgrades or renewable energy installations funded through non-value based assessments of a property. [Source: Housing Wire]
Boca Raton’s building boom
Add Boca Raton, once a suburban community known for its retirees and affluent lifestyle, to the growing number of South Florida communities that are now hotbeds for development. As they are in many parts of Florida, builders are scrambling to capitalize on the influx of people and businesses since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 100 projects are under construction, planned or proposed in Palm Beach County’s southernmost city. [Source: South Florida Business Journal]
$44,880,000
It’s big. It’s beautiful. It’s expensive. Sanibel mansion’s asking price of $44,880,000 is the highest in Lee County. [Source: Fort Myers News Press]
› Tampa Bay has second-fastest cooling housing market
Florida may be hotter than ever, but its housing market is cooling quicker than most other states. The housing market in Tampa Bay is cooling faster than in most metros nationwide. Tampa Bay ranked second nationwide for decreasing homebuying demand and competition between April 2023 and April 2024, per Redfin.
› Mystery buyer acquires Coral Springs shopping center for $20M, amid flurry of retail sales
Palm Beach real estate investor Beverlee Raymond sold a Coral Springs shopping center for $20.4 million to a mystery buyer. An entity managed by Raymond, CEO of Palm Beach-based Extraordinary Charities, sold Plaza at Royal Palm at 10299 Royal Palm Boulevard to a Boca Raton-based entity whose authorized representative is Rocco Labella, a Hackensack, New Jersey-based attorney, records show.
› Orlando Union Rescue Mission to build downtown apartments
Orlando Union Rescue Mission wants to build more transitional housing units for the homeless in the downtown area north of Camping World Stadium. The nonprofit has proposed a three-building, 108-unit multifamily community on 4.77 vacant acres. It is seeking a modification of its future land use to allow for the higher intensity.
› Hyatt, developer receive green light for mega skyscrapers in downtown Miami
A Miami board approved plans for three high-rises of up to 1,044 feet tall to be built where the James L. Knight Center now stands. It was unanimously approved by the city’s Urban Development Review Board on June 20, a spokeswoman for the developers said, and is slated to break ground in 2026. The project is expected to open in 2030, she added.
Previous Real Estate Updates:
