Home sales in the Miami metropolitan area surged 16% during the first six months of this year. Not only does the figure represent the highest jump since 2007, two-third of the transactions were paid in cash.
And to think, the region was considered the glaring symbol of excess rife with defaults and foreclosures at the height of the housing crisis in 2008.
David Streifeld reports, "Only a few years after it seemed there were so many unwanted high-rise condominiums that the only solution was to tear some of them down, there are plans to build even more."
"Many of the sales are to investors, rich people or foreign citizens benefiting from a weak dollar. [...] For the traditional buyer who wants to put down no more than 20 percent, loans are somewhere between tough and impossible," he adds.
FULL STORY: Affluent Buyers Reviving Market for Miami Homes

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Connecticut Assembly to Reconsider TOD Bill
The ‘Work, Live, Ride’ bill would prioritize funding for designated transit-oriented zones to encourage denser development near transit.

New Jersey Affordable Housing Law Turns 50
The Mount Laurel Doctrine tasks each city and town with creating enough affordable housing to meet their needs, but half a century after its passage, the law still faces opposition in some parts of the state.

NYC Outdoor Dining Won’t Include Booze — For Now
Hundreds of restaurants will be unable to serve alcohol in their outdoor dining areas this summer due to a delay in permitting.
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