State agency: Free foreclosure help is available

Three years ago, Florida lawmakers earmarked $10 million to provide free housing counseling and financial education services to homeowners facing foreclosure.

But to date, most of that money remains unused.

That’s why the Florida Housing Finance Corp. is launching a public awareness campaign to let homeowners know about the Foreclosure Counseling Program.

The agency partners with federal, state and local governments, nonprofit organizations and other industry groups in all 67 Florida counties to help people at risk of losing their homes.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/fl-foreclosure-counseling-program-20161010-story.html

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Dunkin’ Donuts opens inside BJ’s

Dunkin’ Donuts has opened inside the BJ’s Wholesale Club in Pembroke Pines — and the two retailers will be teaming up at other locations in South Florida.

The new chain location, at 13700 Pines Blvd., is owned and operated by franchisee Mike Fallah. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and guests don’t need BJ’s memberships. The menu includes hot and iced coffees, lattes, cappuccinos, teas, sandwiches and baked goods.

A Dunkin’ Donuts spokeswoman said the chain will open other restaurants inside BJ’s in the coming months. Details have not yet been released.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/sfl-dunkin-donuts-opens-inside-bj-s-20160826-story.html

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South Florida home sales drop in July but prices keep rising

Fewer South Florida homes sold in July compared with a year ago, though the softer demand didn’t hurt prices.

Palm Beach County had 1,530 existing, single-family homes trade hands last month, down 15 percent from July 2015, according to the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches. It was the sixth month in a row that home sales fell on an annual basis.

Broward had 1,499 sales, off 11 percent, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said. It was the first sales decline for Broward in the past year.

Single-family sales in Miami-Dade County, meanwhile, declined for the 10th straight month, falling 16 percent to 1,128, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/fl-home-sales-july-20160824-story.html

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South Florida’s ‘seriously underwater’ mortgages drop in second quarter, RealtyTrac says

South Florida homeowners continue to regain equity lost during the last decade’s housing crisis, as the number of “seriously underwater” mortgages has declined sharply over the past three years.

At the end of the second quarter, 17.3 percent of homeowners with a mortgage — 262,591 people in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties — owed at least 25 percent more than the property was worth, according to the RealtyTrac Inc. research firm in Irvine, Calif.

While that’s still higher than the national average of 11.9 percent, it is down from 22.4 percent (332,186 homeowners) at the end of the second quarter of 2015, RealtyTrac said.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/fl-underwater-mortgages-realtytrac-20160813-story.html

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Downtown Miami condo market solid, report shows

Amid a strengthening dollar and shaky economies across the world, Downtown Miami has stood its ground.

A report released Thursday by the Miami Downtown Development Authority that tracked the period between January 2015 and January 2016 outlined a shift in transactions across the downtown condominium market, suggesting that the days of risky financing are over.

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http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article62303677.html

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As wealthy Brazilians snap up Miami real estate, few benefit

Facing a teetering economy at home, wealthy Brazilians have been pouring money into what they increasingly see as the safest place to invest: South Florida real estate.

So are Argentinians, Colombians, Mexicans, Venezuelans, French and Turks — almost anyone with money to shelter, a direct flight to Miami and a shaky economy to flee.

Their cash has helped drive the latest twist in Miami’s ever-evolving transformation — from a 19th century rail stop to a tourist-and-retiree hub to a haven for Cuban refugees to now a harbor for global investors. No American skyline has undergone a more drastic face-lift from foreign cash in the past decade: Luxury condo towers and swanky retailers crowd a downtown once marred by empty lots.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/sfl-miami-real-estate-brazilians-story.html

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Stantec architecture firm helps Miami’s towers soar

The very first project Jon Cardello’s architecture firm designed in South Florida was a tiny toll booth at a University of Miami parking garage.

Today, Cardello and his wife, Rachel, also an architect, run a team of 117 people designing some of Miami’s tallest new towers, as well as projects in Orlando, Dallas and the Bahamas. ADD merged its business with Canadian-based mega-firm Stantec last year, giving the Miami office global reach.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/miami-dade/sfl-stantec-architecture-miami-development-20151215-story.html

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Buying a home cheaper than renting, but the gap narrows

Young professionals are better off buying a home than renting one, but it’s not nearly the deal it was three years ago.

Buying is 44 percent cheaper than renting in Broward County, according to Trulia.com, a real estate website. That’s tied with Syracuse, N.Y., for the nation’s third-highest difference, after Houston (46 percent) and Baton Rouge, La. (45).

In 2012, with home prices rebounding from the bottom, buying beat renting in Broward by 56 percent.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/fl-trulia-buy-versus-rent-20151020-story.html

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Zombie’ foreclosure homes on the decline in South Florida

Zombie’ foreclosure homes on the decline in South Florida

The number of “zombie” foreclosure homes in South Florida fell sharply in the third quarter, more proof that the housing market is returning to normal, a new report shows.

Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties had 866 of these vacant properties in the July-through-September period, down 76 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the RealtyTrac listing firm.

Zombie homes are still mired in the foreclosure process. The owners have moved out, and the lenders don’t yet control the properties. In most cases, the homes aren’t being maintained.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/fl-zombie-foreclosures-20151007-story.html

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Do you want to know about Broward County Florida Real Estate statistics for Single Family Homes for August 2015?

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