If you are an investor, homeowner, or homebuyer with an interest in real estate in Florida you will want to review the latest stats released by the Florida Association of REALTORS   for home sales in 2007.

According to the Florida Association of REALTORS press release on Tuesday, "Florida's Existing Home Sales Ease in August 2007" the sale of existing family homes "...was closer to activity in August 2001 and 2002-before the peak of the housing boom years..." and the median sales price for single family homes showed "...an increase of 64.2 percent over the five-year-period, according to FAR records".

Do these numbers mean that Florida is ready for a rebound?  I asked three Connect2Agent members in Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville and Panama City to weight in on this topic.  Here are there thoughts.

Ben Abdallah  says Fort Lauderdale's market won't start recovering until 2008 because:

The foreclosure rate in this area is still high.  According to Realty Trac, Miami Florida ranks the 7th highest in Foreclosures rates for the first half of 2007).
There is a huge inventory of homes for sale that Abdallah does not believe will decrease and stabilize for another 2 years.
Sellers are competing with the banks for homebuyers.

Barbara Miller in Gainesville Florida is hoping real estate taxes will decrease to make homes more affordable.

• Investors are starting to come back into the market.  Homebuyers are still hesitant to purchase homes in Gainesville even with the lowered interest rates.
• Miller said it is hard to imagine an ease in home sales because of all the inventory in Gainesville's current market.
• Real estate taxes have increased with the increase in home prices over the past 5 years making it difficult for homebuyers to afford purchasing a house in Gainesville.  There is a tax reform slated on the ballot for January which Miller is hoping will make it more affordable for homebuyers.

Diana Holmes is concerned about homeowners insurance in Panama City

• There is a high inventory of foreclosures and short sales on the market.
• Holmes stated that many homebuyers are not relocating into the area, and there are locals who are leaving the area because they cannot afford current home prices.
• Beachfront properties are suffering: Insurance companies are not insuring houses within a mile of the water.  A homebuyer who needs a mortgage would not be able to get one without homeowner's insurance.

While Florida's median prices in Gainesville, Panama City and Fort Lauderdale enjoyed a modest increase from August 2006 to August 2007, it is clear that high inventory, tax and homeowner's insurance issues need to be overcome before Florida's housing market stabilizes.

For those homebuyers who are willing to ride the tax and insurance waves, there are plenty of housing styles to accomodate their needs.  For more information, it is best to contact a local real estate agent.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

Read more ... http://connect2agentconsumers.typepad.com/homebuyerseller/2007/09/is-floridas-rea.html.