South Florida Law Blog

Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest rates in modern U.S. history this past week due to the fears that the coronavirus is weakening the U.S. economy. Usually, lowering mortgage rates stimulates home sales.  However, with “breaking news” daily reporting a worsening coronavirus epidemic may ultimately lead to home buyers staying at home rather than actively going out to look […]

While we have blogged about the overall effects of the Coronavirus on the South Florida real estate market, the Federal Reserve made an emergency rate cut.  Most recently there was the unprecedented close of Washington state schools amid coronavirus fears. While it is easy to succumb to fear due to this virus and its impact on not only real estate […]

As the U.S. stock and bond markets react to the news that the coronavirus may seriously disrupt the global economy, we have also learned that the United States is not immune to the ravages of the coronavirus that is impacting many parts of the world. In particular, the CDC has  recently warned that schools, governments, as well as businesses will […]

As the election season starts, the United States is starting to wonder who will be able to lead and help this country the most. But little do they know that this person could be him/herself, and everyone else contributing to the record high multitrillion dollar personal debt. Breaking Records Bloomberg reported, quoting a report from the Fed, that household borrowing increased […]

The recent onset of the dreaded Coronavirus which has caused a global health emergency  reminiscent of the deadly SARS virus eighteen years ago. As of writing this, there are unfortunately 563 people that have died mostly in China where the outbreak originated, and many others have been quarantined on a Southeast Asian cruise ship as well as at other facilities. […]

With the fresh stock and real estate market highs as well as consumer spending continuing to accelerate, we must ask, is there a “wealth effect” in play? The “wealth effect” refers to an increase in consumer spending that is relative to portfolio performance such as strong markets in real estate and stocks. Simply put, when a person’s investments go up […]

Despite the ever-shrinking housing supply in the United States, about 21 million homes are expected to be vacated in the next 20 years. Why? Baby Boomers. As the Phrase Goes: Location, Location, Location Baby Boomers want to start selling their properties, but these homes are not in the preferred locations of the generations that are in the process of buying […]

Homes being bought by landlords and flippers now account for more than 11% of U.S. home sales, the highest on record. Meanwhile, Wall Street is now trading billions of dollars’ worth of bonds backed by rental payments. The Great Recession Revisited I recall a time when I was growing up in the Bronx, in a rent stabilized apartment, that the […]