Florida real estate gets Fed downgrade

Florida’s housing market slumped compared to the rest of the southeastern United States in the first part of 2012, according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent edition of the Beige Book, released today.

The report is surprising because several recent releases of the economic climate report, issued eight times a year, have noted that Florida’s real estate sector has outperformed the rest of the Atlanta district.

But today’s report read: “The majority of District residential brokers reported that home sales accelerated in January and early February and stand above levels from the same time period last year. However, reports from Florida brokers were more mixed.”

In other real estate news from the report, commercial brokers in the Southeast said conditions are improving slightly and home builders said new home sales and construction activity is gradually improving, partly because of unseasonably warm weather.

Tourism was strong in the region in January and early February,except for cruise line bookings which have suffered since the disaster in Italy, the report said. — Adam Fusfeld