Anyone familiar with many of our previous posts knows that the South Florida real estate market is presenting both property buyers and sellers with unique positions. Unlike many areas in the country, the South Florida market is red-hot and seemingly only getting hotter by the day. But is there any downside to the feeding frenzy that seems to have engulfed property in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County? According to a recent report, there just might be.
On its face, the report that a whopping 69 percent of residential home sales in South Florida are transacted through cash only purchases may seem like a very good thing. After all, that probably means that property isn’t sitting idle for long, that sellers are getting what they want faster and money is getting pumped into the local economy at a much quicker pace. But here’s the problem: these cash only transactions may be due to Florida’s unusually high foreclosure rate.
According to the report, what many people may not realize is that the State of Florida still has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. Let’s face it: the housing bubble burst hard in Florida, and even though the South Florida area is enjoying a booming market doesn’t mean that the recovery is taking root throughout the rest of the state.
Having trouble making a mortgage payment can be scary. Cash buyers and investors in South Florida may not have this problem, but when an individual or family faces this type of situation there may not seem like there are a whole lot of options. However, a mortgage loan modification could be a solution – one that could save a lot of homeowners the heartache of facing foreclosure in what remains a tough real estate market statewide.
Source: Sun Sentinel, “69% of home sales are cash in S. Florida,” Mary Shanklin and Paul Owers, Aug. 29, 2013