Foreign Buyers make the difference

Upturn in Florida home sales a welcome surprise
 

The following story provides insight into the world’s positive view of Florida as a smart real estate investment. It was published by Xinhua, a Chinese news agency that claims over 800 million website visitors.

(Xinhua) – Sept. 1, 2011 – One of the first U.S. states to have its economy crushed by the U.S. housing market recession is now experiencing a rather happy surprise – its housing market is undergoing an upturn.

Despite an unemployment rate of 10.7 percent, which is higher than the national rate of slightly over 9 percent, enough people are buying houses in Florida, especially in the Miami area, so that the state’s housing market is no longer considered an imminent problem by housing and regulatory agencies.

What makes this even more unique is the fact that the status of Florida’s housing market seems to be in the opposite condition of the national housing market.

End of July statistics by the U.S. Department of Commerce show that total sales of newly built homes in the U.S. declined for the third consecutive month. Total sales in July fell almost one percent.

On another housing market matter, Standard and Poor’s (S&P), the rating agency which created a global storm by downgrading U.S. credit rating in early August, is currently being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice to see whether or not S&P mis-rated home mortgage securities. S&P declined to be interviewed by Xinhua for this story.

With all of the above fiscal-related problems negatively affecting the U.S. housing market, how are the Miami and Florida housing markets now having success? Todd Nordstrom, a Realtor for Keller Williams Realty in Miami Beach, got the answers.

“The recent building boom has brought a tremendous increase in residents to the (Miami) downtown areas. At this time, approximately 85 percent of all condominiums built in the last boom are currently occupied, which is fueling new restaurant and entertainment options. Foreign nationals account for over 50 percent of all sales in the (Miami-Dade) county,” said Nordstrom.

According to Nordstrom, “foreign nationals with cash due to rising currencies” were attracted to Florida by its lower home prices. They are mostly nationals from Brazil, one of a few countries that have witnessed rapid economic expansion in the past decade despite the recession that hit the U.S. and other major industrialized countries.

A spokesman for RealtyTrac, which publishes the monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, also gave its explanations for the housing boom in Miami and Florida.

“We believe a slowdown in foreclosure activity, that started 10 months ago because of problems with foreclosure paperwork and documentation, is actually helping the Miami and Florida housing markets to experience this upturn,” said Daren Blomquist of RealtyTrac.

Miami and Florida’s good-fortune housing market environments have happened elsewhere in the U.S. – most notably in Phoenix, Arizona – and “prices have passed the tipping point where buyers are willing to jump in, and the temporary lull in the foreclosure activity has helped to boost buyer confidence as well,” Blomquist said.

Yet there are two other possible reasons for Miami and Florida’s upturn in their respective housing, according to Brad Sullivan, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“Florida/Miami has a relatively high concentration of retirees that may contribute to the demand for housing, relative to states/metro areas with a higher share of unemployed persons. The Southeast in general was/is growing faster than many other parts of the country – the upper Midwest, for example,” noted Sullivan.

The Miami-Dade housing market has had 12 consecutive quarters of increased sales. Condominium and home sales in the Miami-Dade area rose almost 50 percent in the second quarter of 2011.

The Internet is another source for would-be homebuyers to refer to if interested in buying a house in Florida. RealtyTrac.com and Foreclosure.com, which has monthly charges for customers who are given a grace period of seven days without fees, allow Internet users to examine Florida foreclosure records. Another website, Equator.com, does the same, but for no charge at all to customers.

While the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is considering making tens of thousands of government-owned foreclosed homes into rental units, the medium price for a single-family home in the West Central Florida region dropped 3.2 percent from June to July. The medium price for such a home is now 125,000 U.S. dollars.

According to S&P’s Case-Schiller home price index, from June of 2010 to June of 2011, Tampa had the largest decrease in the price of a single-family home than anywhere else in the U.S. In that time span, the price of a home in the region of Tampa declined by 9.5 percent.

When RealtyTrac released in late July its mid-year report of the 20 metropolitan areas in the U.S. that had the most foreclosures, only one Florida area – Cape Coral/Fort Myers, which rated at 12 – was listed. One year ago, Florida had nine areas and cities listed in the top 20 of RealtyTrac’s listing.

But in Washington D.C., a number of federal agencies have churned out data and reports about the housing market that seem to conflict – and the upturn in the Miami and Florida housing markets is no exception.

On Wednesday, the FHFA issued a 83-page report about the status of housing markets all throughout the country, which stated that Florida’s housing market was down 8 percent in the second quarter of 2011 compared with the same period of last year.

Yet Andrew Leventis, a senior economist for the FHFA, admitted that all is not glum for the Miami and Florida housing markets.

“The strength (of both housing markets) is that there are incredibly affordable price levels for houses and that interest rates are at historic lows. If you want to buy a house in Florida and you have good credit, there’s a good chance that you can get a 30-year loan, which Americans love to do. There’s a lot of inventory (i.e., unsold homes) out there,” noted Leventis.

Miami-Dade County is not the only area of Florida’s housing markets that is now experiencing robustness. In Orange and Seminole counties, both located in the middle of Florida, Realtors note that there is anywhere from four to five months of backlog inventory houses available – meaning that all types of homes, from single- family houses to mansions, are available to would-be buyers.

In Leon County, only 9 percent of all homes available for purchase were sold in 2010, yet 2011 figures showed that this statistic is on the rise.

DataQuick.com, a website which posts real estate news and custom data, reported that in the immediate Miami metropolitan area, the number of foreclosures decreased to it’s lowest level since 2007.

From FloridaRealtors.org  -  Sept. 1, 2011

Henry B. Nathan is a Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.

Visit my websites:

Condo-southflorida.com

GoldenIsles-homes.com

Golden-Beach-Homes.com

The Beach Club Condos

Brickell area condos moving fast now.

ST Residential sells 100 condos at downtown Miami’s Mint

A $160-a-square-foot price cut was the trigger behind the sale of 100 units at the Mint at Riverfront condominium, according to data from Bal Harbour-based Condo Vultures. The pricing was a 33 percent discount from the Miami project’s original marketing.

Buyers, many of them original pre-construction contract holders, paid an average of $326 a square foot, or a total of $327.6 million, for 100 units from October through December, data showed.

Eleven units were sold at an average of $325 a square foot during the prior quarter.

The discount comes as ST Residential, which bought Mint’s debt as part of the portfolio of the failed Corus Bank, works with developer Key International to set a pricing bottom.

“ST Residential kicked off the winter tourism season by selling 21 percent of the total inventory in the Mint at Riverfront condo tower,” Condo Vultures principal Peter Zalewski said.

Mint at Riverfront’s original preconstruction pricing ranged from $489 a square foot for one-bedroom units to $563 a square foot for two-bedroom units, according to sales material from Key International.

Mint at Riverfront is a 51-story, 530-unit tower at 93 S.W. Third St. It stands within a gated condo enclave with neighboring towers Ivy and Wind at Neo on the north bank of the Miami River. Three more towers were planned for the enclave, but were never built due to South Florida's condo crash.

Wind at Neo sold 488 units at an average price of $286 a square foot, while the Ivy sold 469 units at an average price of $262 a square foot.

From:  South Florida Business Journal -  January 18, 2011,

Henry B. Nathan is a Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.

Visit my websites:

Condo-southflorida.com

GoldenIsles-homes.com

Golden-Beach-Homes.com

The Beach Club Condo 

floride-immobilier.fr

How State Farm won and how they got away with it.

It does not happen too often nowadays.
Good journalism is the essence of our democratic values.

I real the following in the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

It is so revealing that I have no choice but to post it on my blog.

The article is not so much about the ruthless conduct of big insurance companies, but especially revealing on how our legislators can allow them to carry out these preposterous and immoral ripoffs.

Did you ask yourself why the cost of owning a home has gone up so much during the last few years?

We all know that INSURANCE.is one important element.

You think you know what's going on?  Think again.

An intricate web of offshore companies set up with the only purpose of escaping regulations and skimming the consumer is the essence of the whole scheme.

You think you have escaped their grip?  Not so easy!

Shameful?

What is being perpetrated against our middle class is across the board and unbelievable.

Banks, Insurance companies, are only the tip of the iceberg.

But, as a realtor, looking as the worse real estate crisis in history, I can't but write my indignation.

HERALD-TRIBUNE INVESTIGATION

How State Farm cashed in on a crisis

A Sarasota Herald-Tribune investigation

When State Farm stepped up its march out of Florida, it loudly and publicly claimed hurricanes were pushing it toward financial disaster. The company argued it had to leave the Florida coast -- and drop nearly half a million customers -- because it could not profit in a state wracked by so many storms.

But State Farm never really left Florida.

A Herald-Tribune investigation finds Florida's largest insurer has instead found an easier way to profit from homeowners desperate for coverage. And the desperation State Farm helped create allows it to command some of the highest rates in the world.

The conduit for this back-door insurance is DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd., an offshore company with no physical office or employees of its own that sells policies to insurers to cover their storm losses.

The virtual corporation was launched in 2001 by State Farm and a Bermuda reinsurer with which it has close ties.

State Farm provided $200 million in seed capital. Its partner, RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., took on management and the recruitment of other investors.

While it has little physical presence, DaVinci is now one of the state's most important hurricane reinsurers. Contracts show DaVinci provided coverage last year to more than 50 Florida insurance carriers representing the owners of 3.7 million homes.

Through DaVinci, State Farm quietly continues to collect money from thousands of former customers who were told their homes were too risky to insure.

Collectively, these customers have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to State Farm's offshore reinsurance venture. Without a hurricane, the $300 million in Florida premium paid to DaVinci from 2006 through 2009 has been largely profit. Florida's payments for 2010 are not yet available.

The advantages to State Farm are clear.

In Florida, the insurance rates State Farm can charge are regulated by the government. Profits are controlled and taxed. The potential loss from a major hurricane is measured in billions of dollars.

DaVinci's premiums, on the other hand, are as high as the market will bear. Based in Bermuda, it avoids U.S. taxes and faces no limit on profits. If a hurricane strikes, State Farm would lose no more than its investment in DaVinci -- $350 million at the end of last year.

State Farm officials would not disclose the company's current ownership interest in DaVinci. Nor would RenRe release the names of DaVinci's directors. Securities filings show that since 2008, State Farm has had an option to leave DaVinci, but as of December 2009 it had not exercised that right.

A spokesman for State Farm responded to questions from the Herald-Tribune with a two-sentence statement.

"Reinsurance exists to help insurers protect homeowners from major catastrophes," wrote spokesman Phil Supple. "In this instance, State Farm is simply an investor and not actively involved in this reinsurer's underwriting decisions." 

Stacked against State Farm Mutual's $92 billion in assets, the investment in DaVinci is small. The cash payout so far has been only $100 million in dividends split between State Farm and other investors, including the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund. But the impact on Floridians has been huge.  

DaVinci helped facilitate the transformation of Florida's home insurance market into one reliant on thinly capitalized, Florida-based companies and unregulated offshore reinsurance.

DaVinci, along with its partner RenaissanceRe, writes a specialized form of reinsurance that allows investors to launch and operate new Florida insurers with relatively little cash.

"It brings more capacity ... I would welcome State Farm to do more of it in a heartbeat," said Joe Graganella, president of two Florida insurance companies, Capitol Preferred and Southern Fidelity, which buy coverage from DaVinci and RenRe. Without that protection, it would be hard to do business, Graganella said.

The expansion of DaVinci's coverage in Florida, however, was also self-serving. 

DaVinci's presence made it easier for State Farm to withdraw from Florida's densely populated coastlines and in five years shed more than 865,000 customers -- by helping give those customers a place to go.  That, in turn, aided State Farm politically.

The company's withdrawal has put pressure on lawmakers to give concessions to the insurance industry, but is not so cataclysmic as to prompt state intervention to prevent it. In the end, Florida officials allowed State Farm to sharply raise rates and eliminate policy discounts while shifting to safer parts of the state and retaining its highly profitable auto insurance operation in Florida.

Earnings projections filed with state regulators show State Farm expects to collect as much premium in 2011 as it did before its exodus.

"State Farm has done a good job, an excellent job, in pulling the wool over the eyes of many of my colleagues in the House and Senate," said state Sen. Mike Fasano, a Pasco County Republican and a critic of State Farm. "They've convinced them that State Farm is poor and they're losing money and the Legislature is willing to come to their rescue."

OPPORTUNITY IN DISASTER

DaVinci emerged from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

Within weeks of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, it was created by State Farm and its Bermuda partner, RenaissanceRe, to capitalize on price increases that followed the disaster. State Farm's original $200 million stake gave it a 40 percent share in DaVinci and a seat on the board of directors. RenRe provided 20 percent of the money and manages the venture. At the outset, DaVinci was a nominal reinsurer for Florida. It specialized in low-risk contracts with large U.S. insurers such as Allstate and Zurich American. 

That changed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

To take advantage of rising reinsurance rates, DaVinci shifted its attention to hurricane risk, raising $375 million, including $25 million more from State Farm. It doubled its capacity to write reinsurance and refocused much of its business on Florida. 

Together, DaVinci and RenRe became the largest provider of hurricane coverage to Florida-based insurers. The rates they charged Florida insurers post-Katrina doubled, RenRe executives told stock analysts at the time. The company's pursuit of such distressed markets is a central part of its business philosophy.

"Where there's gunfire we don't run toward the bullets, but we like to get involved when there's still smoke in the air," RenRe CEO Neill Currie told the Herald-Tribune two years ago at a reinsurance gathering in Monte Carlo. "It works out pretty well, because we come riding in on the horse."

National reinsurance records show that in 2005, Florida-only insurers provided 23 percent of DaVinci's U.S. revenue. By 2009, it was 41 percent. 

Interviews and documents examined by the Herald-Tribune show DaVinci focused on selling the riskiest, hardest-to-get coverage most critical to Florida's weakest property insurers.

There is little competition in that niche, and reinsurance brokers said the price for such protection is among the highest in the world, sometimes more than 50 cents for $1 in coverage. " 'Opportunistic' is the absolute key word," said John DeMartini, vice president at Towers Watson, a national reinsurance brokerage. "DaVinci cleverly stepped into the void."

What's more, State Farm organized its withdrawal in a way that helped it keep control of its most profitable business -- car insurance. It created a list of insurers to which State Farm agents could direct dropped customers. 

Homeowners who switched to those companies could retain their multi-policy discounts. State Farm agents also keep their clients if they move them into the state-created Citizens, or to the pre-approved companies -- most of which are backed by DaVinci reinsurance coverage. Details about DaVinci were kept quiet enough that several longtime Florida State Farm agents told the Herald-Tribune they were not aware most of the pre-approved companies had a connection to State Farm.

EVERYWHERE, A BIT OF STATE FARM

Tampa resident Trudy Hensley canceled her State Farm home and car policies in 2009 after seeing her premium jump 66 percent in two years. 

State Farm's threat to drop Florida residents angered her enough to look for coverage elsewhere. She switched to Tower Hill. What she did not know was that the Tower Hill group, including four insurers under that umbrella, is by far DaVinci's largest Florida customer. 

The Tower Hill companies together paid State Farm's reinsurance venture more than $48 million in premiums from 2004 through 2009. "It's very unethical. I have no feelings of Good Neighborliness," Hensley said. "I'm not happy at all. It's another case of those big insurance companies taking advantage of people." 

Hensley's first reaction after being told about DaVinci was to ask for a list of companies that do not buy reinsurance from the company. It would be hard to find one.

By 2009, DaVinci, in partnership with RenRe, had provided some hurricane protection for 54 Florida insurers, including Allstate and fast-growing Universal Property & Casualty. The duo supplied the majority of hurricane protection for six companies, a list that included Security First, Argus and the now-defunct Northern Capital.

According to financial contracts reviewed by the Herald-Tribune, DaVinci was the third-largest commercial provider of hurricane reinsurance in Florida by the end of 2009. As State Farm dropped customers along the Florida coast, many remained in the State Farm family when they were picked up by companies using DaVinci reinsurance, including Northern Capital. The Miami-based insurer was started in 2007 by the owners of a security guard company. 

Alexander Anthony and Albert Fernandez put up $8 million and approached state regulators with an offer to take on more than 45,000 homeowners who had been dropped into a state-run program by State Farm and others.

Like many Florida start-up insurers, Northern Capital lacked the money to insure that many homes. It could have drastically scaled back its growth plans to fit the money it had. Instead, it devoted two-thirds of its income to buy reinsurance, letting it insure thousands more homes. 

Northern Capital concentrated its business in Miami-Dade County and adjacent areas -- a region State Farm closed to new business in 1992. Despite that, 90 percent of Northern Capital's private reinsurance in 2007 came from DaVinci and RenRe. The decision was a fertile opportunity for State Farm's venture.

Northern Capital paid DaVinci as much as 40 cents for every $1 in protection it received, akin to paying $80,000 a year to insure a $200,000 home.

A risk assessment done for state regulators shows Northern Capital's coverage from DaVinci had a technical value -- the average annual expected hurricane loss -- of no more than 4 cents per $1 insured. But DaVinci demanded to be paid 10 times the actual risk. 

That cost landed on homeowners. A Herald-Tribune review of scores of reinsurance contracts found similar terms for other companies. In 2009, Southern Fidelity paid 52 cents for every $1 of protection bought from DaVinci and RenRe. Homeowners Choice paid the two companies 43 cents per $1 of protection. Capitol Preferred also bought high-risk coverage last year at 57 cents on the dollar; Gulfstream paid 32 cents for every $1 of coverage. 

As Northern Capital illustrates, the contracts worked out better for State Farm than for companies that bought the coverage. With no hurricanes, DaVinci kept the $20 million it collected from Northern Capital.

In early 2009, state regulators accused Northern Capital of paying too much for reinsurance and put it under secret supervision. 

A year later, the company had so little money regulators shut it down.

From the Sarasota Herald Tribune – December 6, 2010

Henry B. Nathan is a Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.

Visit my websites:

Condo-southflorida.com
floride-immobilier.fr

GoldenIsles-homes.com

Golden-Beach-Homes.com

The Beach Club Condos

Florida Property Taxes - Millage Vs. The People

 I just received my 2010 proposed property taxes notice.  

I have lived in the same house for about 24 years. I am thus protected by the Homestead exemption which should not allow my taxes to be raised more than 3% per year.

The value of my home has been steadily decreasing during the last 3 or 4 years. 

However, my 2010 taxes will go up about 9.4 % in the best case and 14.4% in the worse.

How does this happen? 

a) My "assessed" home value goes up 3% to catch up on past years when I was protected.  When prices went artificially up 20% or 30% some years, they couldn't raise my taxes more than 3% per year, because I was a beneficiary of the homestead regulations. But now, even though prices have been going down every year, they still apply the 3% tax increase every time. Difficult to explain? I confess it is. 

b) The millage. Say your home is worth $100,000 and your taxes are $2,000 per year. Your millage is 2%. Figured it out? The millage is the percentage applied on your home value to calculate your tax. Of course it is on the net assessed value. The assessment is what the County Appraiser establishes as your home value. 

We have certain tax exemptions generally called Homestead which benefit residents' first home, and plus some minor additional benefits for some senior and low income or disadvantaged residents. The Homestead exemption reduces your assessed value by $50,000 for some tax components,  except for the school taxes which have a lesser exemption.

Let's analyze my specific property taxes, as an example.

Reading my 2010 proposed tax bill, (if the budget changes are approved)  I notice:

a) County taxes amount to 22.96% of the dollars total of the tax bill. 

Millage Last Year: 4.8889 - Millage  this year: 5.2256%  - 6.88% Millage  increase 

b) Public School taxes total a 33.61% of the dollars amount of my tax bill. 

Millage Last Year: 7.363% - This Year: 7.631% - 3.64% Millage  increase

c) South Florida Water management taxes amount to 2.16% of the tax bill. 

No changes in Millage rate  -  0.5346 % .

d) Everglades Construction Project taxes amount to 0.362% of the total tax bill. 

No changes in millage rate- 0.0894%

e) Florida Inland navigation taxes amount to 0.1396% of the total tax bill.

No changes in millage rate - 0.0345%

f) Children's Services Council amounts to 1.90% of the total tax bill.

Millage Last Year 0.4243% - Millage this Year 0.4696% - 10.68% Millage increase

g) Municipal (City Taxes) which amount for  31.15% of my total tax bill:

Millage Last Year 6.9934% - Millage This Year - 7.7% - 10.10% Millage increase!

h) South Florida Hospital District, which amounts to 5.90% of my total bill.

Millage Last Year - 1.2732% - Millage This Year 1.4572% - 14.45% Millage increase

i) Non ad-valorem assessments: 1.80% of the total dollars amount of the tax bill.

No change in millage rate.

 

I repeat:  Altogether, my 2010 taxes will go up between 9.4 % in the best case and 14.4% in the worse, depending on the budget discussions.

 *****

Is this fair? When property values have been plummeting  for four years now?

When inflation is close to zero? 

Can people hardly hit by this unending recession afford these increases?

Here is my analysis and my conclusions

The largest impact on my tax bill is by far the MUNICIPAL TAXES  item, followed by BROWARD COUNTY TAXES. Millage rates have increased a lot in one year on both counts.

Public School Taxes had a more moderate increase in the millage rate.

Hospital District Taxes had the highest millage rate increase (14.45% more). However it is only a 5.90% of my tax bill; so the impact is not so bad, and I can understand that in these recession times, hospital could be extending their services to more under-privileged citizens. 

What I can't easily swallow is the County and City tax increases. 

In spite of the present property values drops, the overall tax base (total of assessments for all properties) of my city has substantially increased since 2000. This increase is much higher than the rate of inflation in the same period.  How can be explained?  A couple of words may suffice: waste and mismanagement. 
Do I have actual proof of that? I do not follow these budgets and city commissioners'  decisions and meetings so closely.

On the other hand, services have not improved, and I have seen higher bills for my  sewer, water, trash services; In some cases, these services have been actually reduced.

But like any private corporation, what count for a shareholder at the end of the Business Year are the dividends of his investment.  And a conscious shareholder will compare them against previous years' returns and results, as well as similar corporations' results. According to this judgment, the CEO and Board of Directors will be confirmed or voted out.

Our taxes are a main consideration when assessing our governors' work. It's not quite the same as a corporation, but very similar. We can and should exercise our judgment and make our voices heard. 
It is done once every few years when voting for our commissioners.  

As a realtor, I am severely affected by the impact of property taxes (as well as insurance, maintenance expenses), on people's ability to sustain their home-ownership.  Foreign buyers often balk when confronted with the cost of maintaining a property in Florida. 

No doubt that, unleashed as it seems to be, this is a leading factor in the real estate recession.

This is the bottom line. 

**-**

I have read in The Palm Beach Post – August 27, 2010,  an article on the same subject.  That confirms it. I am not alone. This is what it says:

Home values way down but taxes often up; homeowners ask how it's possible

Many Palm Beach County homeowners may feel like they've been drop-kicked in the gut after opening their preliminary property tax notices this week.

Property values across the county have plummeted, leaving many owners owing more than they paid for their homes.

Even those who aren't under water felt the jolt. In many cases, not only did their property values fall, but they will pay more in property taxes next year.

"I thought to myself, 'How does that happen?' " said Bob Deacy, who is slated to pay about $100 more in property taxes next year for his home in West Palm Beach's historic Flamingo Park neighborhood. "I read it over three times."

The increase came despite a 22 percent drop in his home's market value.

Deacy bought his home $79,000 in 1997 and saw its value rise year after year. But to see it plunge this year from $189,143 to $147,296, is more upsetting than the proposed tax increase, he said.

"I am a realist, and I know that if you want improvements in your community you are going to have to pay," he said. " I didn't think in a neighborhood that is sought-after it would go down as much as it did."

By contrast, suburban Lake Worth resident Erna Altenor also watched her home's value plummet but has seen her tax bill fall. Altenor bought her home for $260,000 in 2007. Its market value is now $73,581, according to her preliminary tax notice.

"I couldn't take it no more," said Altenor, who stopped reading the notice after seeing the new value.

State law prevents homeowners from being taxed on more than their home is worth. As a result, Altenor's taxes have also plummeted to $1,055, down from $2,133 last year.

"That is good news," she said.

For those unhappy with the numbers in their preliminary notices, there is time to challenge them.

The county's value adjustment board can lower a property's assessed value after a hearing before a special magistrate. Petitions can be filed with the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller's office.

And the county, cities, and other agencies won't finalize tax rates until next month. Before they do, they must hold public hearings on their budgets. Those who want to sound off about tax increases can speak out at those hearings.

The dates and locations are included on property owners' preliminary tax notices.

Property taxes rising

Many longtime homeowners will see their property taxes go up this year, even though the values of their homes have fallen. Here's one example:

West Palm Beach Year purchased: 1997

2009 market value $189,134

2010 market value $147,296

2009 property taxes $1,310

2010 proposed property taxes $1,413

Property taxes falling

Homeowners who bought during the boom will likely see property taxes fall this year, along with the values of their homes. Here's one example:

Suburban Lake WorthYear;  purchased: 2007

2009 market value $133,740

2010 market value $73,581

2009 property taxes $2,133

2010 proposed property taxes $1,055 

Henry B. Nathan is a Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.

Visit my websites:

Condo-southflorida.com

GoldenIsles-homes.com

Golden-Beach-Homes.com

The Beach Club Condos

The Real, Deep Cause of Real Estate Troubles

More than in any other branch of the country's economy, real estate crisis might be the thermometer of US middle class' distress and the looming disappearance of the American dream of home-ownership.

Mortgage abuses and frauds, banks games of hedges, CDO's and Credit Swaps, uncontrolled financial schemes are of course signs of the bad course we've been on. However, they are not the whole story.

They are in fact relatively correctable issues that can be addressed with regulations and government controls.

What hasn't been addressed and will not be any time soon is the continuous deterioration of employment and salaries.

We hear our legislators and our president planning on the creation of new jobs and new opportunities; at the cost of billions to the taxpayer.

This sounds so ridiculous when we read every other day about thousands of American jobs lost, small businesses closing doors, corporation shipping away their research and development departments, their calls centers, their accounting and their software engineering to India or China.

Who are we going to sell these condos and these homes to? Or are we going to end up as humorously said by somebody "selling insurance policies to each other" ?

A substantial part of realtors' activity has been switched to selling a large part of whatever is being sold now, to foreigners, Canadians, French, Japanese, you name it. Because these people are gradually becoming the only ones who can afford buying a home in America. And I am not being xenophobic, just observing facts.

Read for example the following article from the St. Petersburg Times in Tampa. It's the symbol of our times.
Observe that we are not losing blue collar jobs. They have been gone long time ago. It's not about U.S. Steel, or G.M. assembly workers.
What we see now are the very same high-tech class of workers that we are supposed to become, by going back to school to retool our knowledge, learn, and prepare for the new times and the new careers. These jobs, businesses, technologies, that were supposed to keep our country in its traditional position of economic dominance, and sustain the prosperity and livelihood of our middle class.

Read on:

PricewaterhouseCoopers to lay off 500 workers, mostly in Tampa

PricewaterhouseCoopers will lay off about 500 information technology workers, most of them in Tampa, as part of a broader push to outsource to cheaper labor.

The news is an untimely blow to Tampa Bay's economy, which is already battling a 12 percent unemployment rate, the fifth-highest among the country's largest metro areas. It also comes amid a recent resurgence in mass layoffs and growing concern nationally that the economy might slip into a double-dip recession.

"It's just terrible news," Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio said Friday. "It's a terrible job market for those people to find other jobs and I'm very sorry to see it happen. … They're moving jobs away from this community and that's a negative. And it's a negative to our national economy when jobs are moved overseas."

PWC spokesman Jonathan Stoner said the consulting powerhouse employs 1,100 in its information technology group nationwide. Of the 600 remaining employees, most will stay in its Tampa hub, he said. With four locations and 1,850 employees in the Tampa Bay area as of early this year, PWC has been one of the region's top employers. In March, it ranked No. 3 among large bay area companies in the Times' Top Places to Work survey.

Iorio said PWC did not approach the city asking for incentives to keep workers here. "If they're making a fundamental decision to move jobs overseas to reduce labor costs, that's a business decision," she said, "and I don't think there's anything any American city can do to compensate for that."

Stoner said the decision stems from a combination of PWC's information technology groups in the United States and United Kingdom.

"The U.S. and UK firms are combining governance, organizational structure and business processes and a single, Indian-based vendor will provide service to both member firms," he said.

Other reports identified Tata Consultancy Services of Mumbai, India, as the vendor, but Stoner said the company does not comment on clients or third-party contracts.

He also disputed one report that employees were told they would have to reapply for positions at Tata. "What we have told our employees is that they are all to be encouraged to apply for other positions at the firm, at PWC."

Throughout the recession, corporations have continued to outsource jobs to Indian vendors to save money, with Tata often reaping the rewards.

Idearc Media, which publishes the Verizon Yellow Pages, laid off 150 employees in St. Petersburg in December as it transferred much of its publishing business to Tata. Ratings agency Nielsen Media Research also turned to Tata for cheaper labor in laying off 170 information technology employees at its Oldsmar complex in 2008 and 57 in November.

Workers found out about the Pricewaterhouse layoffs on Thursday, coming in the wake of PWC cuts elsewhere statewide, including the shutdown of its tax practice office in Orlando.

A half-dozen workers exiting PWC's Lakepointe office complex on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on Friday said they were in shock, but were warned by managers not to speak publicly. Workers said the company had not given details on severance packages nor a specific time line, except to indicate cuts would likely be completed by the end of the year.

One worker, an Indian contractor for PWC, said the project he's working on will likely be shut down, leaving him with bittersweet emotions: He's sad for his colleagues here and happy for people in India.

As recently as a month ago, Florida economists were pointing to a slowdown in mass layoffs as a sign that the economy was starting to recover.

But July has been a particularly brutal month based on recent mass layoff notices filed with the state. Among them: 892 workers affiliated with the Kennedy Space Center; 320 with the GEO Group in Graceville; 81 at LifeLink HealthCare Institute in Tampa; 245 at Lockheed Martin Corp.; 344 at Kehe Distributors; 221 at Mosaic Fertilizer in Fort Meade; 100 at Bank of America's Idlewood Avenue location in Tampa; and 67 at Enterprise Leasing in Tampa.

All told, 16 layoff notices have been filed in July affecting 2,864 workers statewide. That doesn't include this week's cuts by Pricewaterhouse.

And, as a Spanish poet said: The rest is silence

Henry B. Nathan is a Real Estate Professional. Please visit our website and learn about:

Sunny Isles Beach Condos

Sunny Isles Real Estate

Aventura Real Estate

     Aventura Homes

Terra Beach Side in Miami Beach

Good Opportunities in one of the very few new buildings in Miami Beach.

Last Units for sale at reduced prices !!

Developer is selling remaining units at incredibly reduced prices.

Check with me at (954) 296-6741

Terra Beachside Villas offers contemporary living with architectural sophistication. Designed as one of Miami Beach's m
ost unique residential offerings, Terra is the definitive urban oasis, with access to the beach and the Intracoastal.

Floor plans are exotically named:

Fire

Water

Wind

Earth

all with generous living space.

Each unit has been designed with volumes of space & light combined in grand proportion on-site, ranging from 1,095 square feet for the 1-Bedroom residences up to 3,495 square feet for the 3 story residences.

Terra Beachside Villas features a spectacular 400 foot long Zen-like garden enclosed by a translucent arched roof atrium.

Amenities include a unique cone-shaped clubhouse with walls of water-colored glass, full equipped fitness center and swimming pool.

Residents also enjoy a private beach club membership and access to a private marina across the street at Terra's sister properties Cabana and 6000 Indian Creek.

AMENITIES:

Steps from the Beach

Landscaping designed by EGS2, Bill Eager, ASLA, Landscape Architect

Reflection Pool

Tropical landscaped pool deck and grounds

Heated swimming pool

Pool deck with pool furniture restrooms facilities

Secured access parking garage

Mail Room

Building designed by award winning firm of Sieger Suarez Architectural Partnership.

3-Level Recreation - spa, aerobics, meeting areas

Exquisite Grand - 6 Story Atrium

Controlled Atrium Access

Spectacular Porte-Cochere

KITCHENS:

- Miele self-cleaning oven

- Miele ceramic cooktop

- Miele built-in exhaust hood

- Miele lift board

- Miele Incognito dishwasher

- KitchenAid microwave

- 30" Sub-Zero refrigerator/freezer

- Franke Style Vision Sink

- Franke accessories

- Cooking wall with stainless steel/glass lift doors

- Rolling server

- Rolling island storage drawers

- Stainless steel storage bins

- Stainless steel back splash

BATHS:

- European spa inspired

- Hansgrohe and Duravit appointments

- Dual shower sets with seat

- Dual hand-held body sprays

- Countertop wash basin

- Bidet

- Glass shelf and stainless steel towel bar

- Stainless steel and glass vanity

- Storage cabinet

Henry B. Nathan is a Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.

Visit my websites:

Condo-southflorida.com

GoldenIsles-homes.com

Golden-Beach-Homes.com

The Beach Club Condos

One Bal Harbour

Presenting the newest construction in Bal Harbour

ONE BAL HARBOUR.

10295 Collins Avenue

A symbol of the rich and famous, Bal Harbour Village on the Beach, North of Miami Beach and Surfside, next to Sunny Isles Beach, is one of the most coveted locations in South Florida.

And the One Bal Harbour Condominiums constitute the most "chic" designer building in Bal Harbour.

Click here to find Available Listings of Condos for sale in ONE BAL HARBOUR

The 26 story luxury building proves that "Perfection is Singular." One Bal Harbour is one of the first new luxury towers to be built in Bal Harbour in years, and the first condominium/hotel offered on the island in decades.

Residents also have the option of enjoying the hotel's room service, luxurious spa, white glove concierge assistance and valet service.

One Bal Harbour's innovative Tower Estates and Grand Penthouses range from approximately 2,000 to 8,000 square feet and offer spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean, Intracoastal Waterway, Biscayne Bay and South Florida skylines.

Adjoining the residential tower, is the five star The Regent, a most prestigious, world class hotel.

At One Bal Harbour condominium owners have unlimited access to room and concierge services, fine dining in the hotel restaurant, and valet parking, white beaches and crystal clear waters.

One Bal Harbour Amenities:

Beautifully manicured gardens and lush landscaping

Tranquil pool overlooking The Atlantic

Poolside pavilion and beachside cabanas

10,000 sq. ft. world class spa

Five star quality oceanfront restaurant

State of the art fitness center

Social room with sumptuous seating, original works of art and full bar

Meeting rooms and executive boardroom with teleconferencing capabilities

Broadband wireless Internet access

And then…

White glove treatment

24hour valet

24hour room service

Housekeeping

Full time concierge to assist with travel,

Dining and theatre arrangements

Executive laundry and dry cleaning services

Massage and body treatments performed by licensed professional therapists at spa.

And in your residence….

Open beachfront views of the Atlantic Ocean and Baker's Haulover Inlet

Expansive terraces with waterfront views

Floor to ceiling windows

Private elevators that open into

Grand vestibules

Dramatic 10 ft ceilings

Crown molding

Recessed incandescent lighting

Spacious walk in closets

A stunning kitchen with:

Granite countertops and back splashes

Italian style, custom Seimatic cabinetry, under cabinet lighting

Subzero and Wolf Stainless Steel appliances

Built-in Miele coffee system

Asko high capacity, multicycle dishwasher

In your bedroom….

Soothing Kohler Sok Infinity Edge

Overflowing bathtubs or Jacuzzi

Separate water closets

European style glass shower doors

Marble vanity with vessel type sinks

Tub decks, showers and seats

One Bal Harbour was completed in 2007

Offering

2, 3, 4 bedroom units, Penthouse

260 Units from 1918 to 3282 Sq. Ft.

26 floors East Tower

17 floors South Tower

Pets: Minimum restrictions

Parking: 24 hour valet and garage parking

Rental Policy: Twice yearly; minimum of six months

Henry B. Nathan is a Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.

Visit my websites:

Condo-southflorida.com

GoldenIsles-homes.com

Golden-Beach-Homes.com

The Beach Club Condos