RAA Group

Existing home sales rose both in Florida and nationwide as the housing market continues to show signs of stabilization.

Statewide, year-over-year existing home sales shot up 45 percent last month, with a total of 15,160 homes sold, up from 10,444 homes sold in October 2008, according to Florida Realtors.

Between September and October, existing home sales increased 5.1 percent.

Florida’s median sales price for existing homes last month was $140,300, down 17 percent from a year ago, when it was $169,700.

Sales of existing single-family homes in West Palm Beach rose the most in the tri-county area – up 36 percent, to 841 from 618. The median sales price also fell the least – down just 8 percent, to $243,600 from $264,600.

Existing home sales in Fort Lauderdale rose 32 percent in October, to 826 from 625 a year ago. The median sales price slid 16 percent, to $211,600 from $252,500.

Sales in Miami grew the least – up 26 percent, to 571 from 453 – while prices fell the most – down 28 percent, to $178,500 from $246,800.

Statewide existing condo sales rose to 5,398 in October, up 82 percent from 2,958 a year prior and up 6.1 percent over September. The median sales price of an existing condo in Florida fell 29 percent, to $105,200 in October from $147,900 a year ago.

Fort Lauderdale saw the biggest increase in sales of existing condo sales in the tri-county area in October – up 68 percent, to 926 from 551 a year ago. The median price fell 28 percent, to $83,200 from $115,200. West Palm Beach recorded a 59 percent hike in existing condo sales, to 766 from 481. The median price fell 20 percent, to $109,300 from $135,800. And in Miami, existing condo sales rose 47 percent, to 647 in October from 439 in the year-ago period. The median sales price of a condo in Miami fell 30 percent to $138,400 from $197,400.

Nationwide, exiting home sales in October jumped a record 10.1 percent as buyers continued to take advantage of the first-time homebuyers credit.

Patrick Newport, U.S. economist with IHS Global Insight, suggested in a news release that “sales will drop in the first quarter of 2010, payback from the first tax credit. Sales will take a second hit in the third quarter of 2010, payback from the second tax credit. Overall, sales in 2010 will be about the same as in 2009.”

As most of the nation prepares for a Thanksgiving feast comes a report from the Food Research and Action Center that Florida is below the national average in “food insecurity.”

The term means that access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources.

Florida was 30th among the 50 states, with 12.2 percent of households food insecure while 4.9 percent had very low food security.

That means the food intake of some household members was reduced, and their normal eating patterns were disrupted because of the household’s situation.

The latest rankings, which come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ranked Mississippi the worst and North Dakota the best. The USDA monitors the extent and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households through an annual, nationally representative survey. This latest report presents statistics on households’ food security, food expenditures and use of food and nutrition assistance programs in 2008.

USDA found that 17 million households in the U.S., or 14.6 percent, were food insecure. The prevalence of food insecurity was up from 11.1 percent in 2007, and was the highest observed since the surveys were launched in 1995.

“As the recession hit, the number of Americans in households struggling against hunger skyrocketed to one in six last year, and it’s likely that the number is even higher today,” said Jim Weill, FRAC president. “Millions have lost jobs or seen their wages reduced over the past two years. While many more people are turning to the federal nutrition programs for help, those programs don’t reach enough people and their benefits often aren’t enough to stop hunger.”

Regionally, food insecurity was most prevalent in the South, intermediate in the Midwest and West and least prevalent in the Northeast.

Tax revenue across the country declined for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to a preliminary report issued Monday by the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

In Florida, tax revenue fell 8.6 percent in the July-through-September period.

Sales taxes in the Sunshine State fell 8.1 percent.

For the 44 states reporting third quarter results, overall tax revenue declined 10.7 percent, year-over-year. The most significant drop was in the corporate income tax category, which fell 19.4 percent.

In Florida, the corporate income tax fell 11 percent.

Nationwide, personal income taxes fell 11.4 percent and sales taxes fell 8.2 percent.

The institute said it will issue a complete report on the third quarter in several weeks, when final U.S. Census data becomes available. It will also issue a further outlook on the remainder this year and for 2010.

Click here to read the full report.