S & J Journal

People from other countries and other states are pouring into Florida again, a sign of the state's recovery from a long period of economic doldrums and slow growth. Recently released U.S. Census numbers show that Florida's foreign-born population increased by 140,000 from 2010 through last year. And movement within the United States left Florida with a net gain of 105,000 residents last year and 109,000 in 2012 — 84% more than in the previous two years. The population surge has accelerated this year, according to state estimates, growing at a rate of about 700 new residents a day. That's a healthy increase, though still less than the big migrations during the Sunbelt boom of past decades. For many job seekers, South Florida has become a hip beachside destination with a nexus of entrepreneurs, investors, a big consumer market and a gateway to Latin America. Read more at Sun-Sentinel.com

With 8,000 baby boomers expected to retire daily for the next several years in the U.S., Southwest Florida stands to benefit from a massive influx of home buyers, the chief economist of the National Association of Realtors believes. Lawrence Yun said the baby boom influx will not be just from the U.S. states, because the phenomenon was not limited to America. "After the war, servicemen came home and started having babies," Yun told an audience of 200 Wednesday at the annual Sarasota International Real Estate Conference. "The same thing happened all over the world." Already, half of all foreigners who buy real estate in Florida are retired. In all, foreign buyers make up about 10% of the state's buyers, Yun noted, though locally that figure may be higher. While German buyers tend to acquire property in Naples—partly because there's a direct flight from Dusseldorf to Southwest Florida International Airport outside Fort Myers—Sarasota attracts ...

Starting October 5th, the Coral Gables branch of Miami-Dade County Public Libraries will be open: Monday-Friday , and  Sunday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday  and Wednesday 12:00 noon - 8 p.m. Closed on Thursdays 3443 Segovia Street Coral Gables, FL 305 442 8706

Although sales and inventory are up in the state of Florida, nationally home sales are down, 1.8%, and investors have retreated because inventory of distressed properties has gone down. From The Washington Post article:  "Cash buyers retreat from housing market, cooling home sales": Sales of previously built homes dropped last month in part because investors paying all cash to buy foreclosures retreated once the supply of distressed properties shrank, a real estate industry group reported Monday. The National Association of Realtors said that existing-home sales fell 1.8% in August from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million. The performance — which captures sales completed last month — is also down 5.3% from a year earlier. The results signal yet another stumble in the housing market’s stilted housing recovery, though Realtors tried to put a positive spin on the development. The group said that having investors retreat from the market...

Florida's housing market saw higher median prices and a rising inventory in August, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Closed Sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 21,742 last month, up 4.9% over the August 2013 figure. "For several months now, stability and consistency are key trends we're seeing in Florida's housing market, as the state's jobs outlook remains steady and the economy continues to grow," says 2014 Florida Realtors President Sherri Meadows, CEO (and team leader, Keller Williams, with market centers in Gainesville, Ocala and The Villages). "The statewide inventory (active listings) for single-family homes last month rose 13% year-over-year, while the townhouse-condo inventory of active listings rose 8.9%." Read more at FloridaRealtors.org