Home values in South Florida rose 6.4 percent during the second quarter of 2012, compared to the same quarter last year, according to a Zillow report released July 24, 2012. Prices are expected to rise another six percent by mid 2013, states the same report.
The combined increases make South Florida the second highest achiever among more than 150 metro areas measured nationally by the national real estate database. South Florida, which consists of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, is second to Phoenix, Arizona, which saw a 12 percent increase during the second quarter of 2012.
Zillow analysts reported home values at rock bottom in late 2011, making the rise in value more dramatic than most. The index puts the median value of single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes in Palm Beach County at $145,000. June marked the sixth consecutive month of home value appreciation in Palm Beach County, according to Zillow analysis. The national average has only seen a rise for the past four months.
The Town of Jupiter experienced a median home value increase of 5.4 percent in the second quarter from last year. Homes are now valued at a median price of $226,600. Palm Beach Gardens saw a rise in 5.1 percent to $226,300. While Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries explains, “it seems clear that the country has hit a bottom,” Florida International University real estate economist Ken H. Johnson reminds buyers and sellers that 6 percent increases are unlikely to become the norm.
Banks are now reducing the shadow inventory of foreclosures and delinquent mortgages before it hits the market by allowing more short sales and loan modifications, explains Bill Hardin, director of the Jerome Bain Real Estate Institute at Florida International University, adding to the notion that South Florida’s housing market is on the up and up.
*This story is brought to you by Florida Regional Center.
Florida Regional Center was established as an agent of the 1990 Congress-approved EB-5 Regional Center Program. Based in Palm Beach Gardens and representing development projects in the South Florida area, Florida Regional center works with foreign investors to obtain EB-5 Visas and permanent residency in exchange for community-developing and job-creating investments. Other projects Florida Regional Center is using EB-5 Visa funding for include the Water Pointe Project, ESI Jupiter Technology Park Project and the Tequesta Village Center project.
For more information on EB-5 Visas and the EB-5 Visa Program, to learn about Florida Regional Center or to speak with a representative from Florida Regional Center, visit visaeb-5.com.