The number of new foreclosure cases involving property in South Florida leveled off last year, according to a market report.

Default Research, a data collection firm based near Pittsburgh, Penn., found that the initiation of foreclosure cases in South Florida decreased last year after soaring for two years.

“What we deal with is the initial foreclosure proceedings, which is the lis pendens,” or notices that litigation is pending, said Serdar Bankaci, CEO of Default Research. “We basically track properties that are initially being foreclosed upon.”

Default Research found a 13.6 percent decline last year in the number of foreclosure cases initiated by mortgage lenders in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties last year, following comparable year-over-year increases of 195 percent in 2008 and 177 percent in 2007. [more]

He helped shape modern Miami, and that makes developer Tibor Hollo a world figure of sorts. Last week, that was confirmed when Hollo, the president of Florida East Coast Realty, was named “Global Citizen of the Year” for 2009 by the City of Miami and the Greater Miami Host Committee.
Eighty-two-year-old Hungarian-born Hollo, who has spent 55 years in the development game, was chosen for his ability to bring Miami to the world and the world to his adopted city.
On Thursday, the Miami City Commission formally recognized his contributions when it bestowed the award.
“Mr. Hollo has committed to concepts of sustainability which, of course, are global issues,” said Corky Dozier, executive director of the Greater Miami Host Committee. “By focusing on sustainability, he is actually restoring what was traditionally part of the landscape of Downtown Miami…. He is the father of Downtown Miami real estate development.” [more]

From left: Tere Blanca, principal of Blanca Commercial Real Estate and Michael Cannon, managing director of Integra Realty Resources in Miami, who will speak at a Condo Vultures panel tonight

The weather may be frosty, but South Florida’s commercial real estate leaders will spend this evening talking about where rays of sunshine may penetrate the gloom.

Robert Cruz, Miami-Dade County’s chief economist, said that many elements of stability need to be in place before there’s a sustainable market recovery, and that may take more of 2010 than optimists would like.

“The financial sector remains weak and many things need to happen before we will see more robust growth,” Cruz said. “But compared to where we have been, I see positive signs internationally — and that means there will be more demand for U.S. products as we move into the future. Housing and construction will be the last segment to recover.”

Cruz will join Tere Blanca, former Miami branch manager of Cushman & Wakefield of Florida and principal of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, and national real estate analyst Michael Cannon, managing director of Integra Realty Resources in Miami, at a Condo Vultures panel discussion tonight. [more]

Michael Cannon, of Integra Realty Resources, a 40-year veteran of Miami
real estate, looks at the flood of foreclosure and sees history
repeating itself. A quick survey of 40 years of newspaper headlines in
his personal collection of real estate related objects shows a pattern:
Dim housing outlooks from the 50′s. People stuck renting in the 80′s.
He says Florida is seeing the same characteristics today as the 80′s,
during the periods of the 70′s, during the 60′s as well. He said it’s
just that it’s bigger this time, that it’s the great recession. [CBS4]

[more]