Florida housing permits in Cape Coral fell to their lowest level in more than a decade in July, according to a city report released Wednesday. (more…)

In many areas of the Florida housing market, prices will get worse before they get better - according to an analysis by Moody’s Economy.com.

In the survey of 379 metro areas, the study’s authors project that nearly 20 areas eventually could experience a “crash,” or a decline of more than 10 percent from peak to trough. The most affected cities in the Sunshine State will be Cape Coral, Naples and Sarasota.

In those areas, therefore, the time to seek out a Florida mortgage is now because sellers will be anxious to sign off on a contract before things get worse. Nationwide, the study forecasts a 3.6 percent decline in the sales price of existing homes.

The table below shows only those markets among the 100 largest by population that are forecast to have declines. In an analysis that considered Florida home mortgage rates, the local job market and other factors, the study makes projections on when those markets would peak, when they would hit their worst point, and what the total decline would be.

Cape Coral FL -18.6 Q4 2005 (Peak) Q2 2007 (Bottom)

Sarasota FL -14.0 Q4 2005 Q3 2007 Naples FL -13.8 Q4 2005 Q3 2007

In other words: You may be best served to wait until the second quarter of next year to take out a Florida mortgage loan for a residence in Cape Coral. This is when prices will be at their most affordable.

Kelly Green is a single mom that’s been working two jobs for years. Nevertheless, help was needed for her to apply for a Florida home mortgage:

The Cape Coral Housing Development Corporation paid part of Green’s down payment.

The non-profit group also assisted this single mother with her credit score and is looking to do the same for others. How come? Because affordable housing in Florida remains a major concern. It’s one that needs attention in all cities.

“We actually have not taken applications for home ownership programs since January of 2005,” said Bonnie Timberlake of the group. “The need is still out there. “We get calls daily, but we don’t have the means to take care of all those individuals.”

That may soon change.

On Monday, Cape Coral’s City council will talk about giving the Housing Development Corporation more than $600,000 worth of state funding. They want to see applications for Florida home loans rise even more and for lower-income, first-time buyers to have a chance to purchase property.

If accepted, the program/funding will be reserved for those making less than $30,000 per year. But the group also holds home ownership classes once a month.

Those classes are open to everyone. We suggest stopping by. Or at least completing the RISK-FREE application at the top of this page. Sitting down with a Florida home mortgage broker is the best way to understand what you can afford.

The South Florida Sun-Sentintel reports that, in an effort to help potential buyers in a market where prices continue to rise, city commissioners in Coral Springs, Fla., tentatively approved the first official affordable housing ordinance in Broward County.

“This is our way of recognizing the problem and doing something with teeth in it to address the problem,” said Mayor Scott J. Brook.

The mayor also is the chairman of the Broward County Planning Council, which oversees the countywide land use plan. In June, Fort Lauderdale commissioners rejected a similar measure, saying an ordinance wasn’t necessary.

The issue thrust the region into the national spotlight recently when Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle proclaimed that laws designed to impact housing affordability are akin to communism. The city of Pembroke Pines also plans to take up the same housing issue in a few weeks.

• Under the Coral Springs ordinance, developers must contribute money to a trust fund or provide affordable housing within their complexes.
• The fees will be based on a formula related to the square footage of each housing unit.
• Area developers that designate 10 percent of their units for affordable housing would be granted permission to build “bonus” units at the site.

“I think this is something we need,” said George Rahael, president of Amera Urban Developers, the master developer for the Coral Springs Community Redevelopment Agency.

Commissioners unanimously approved the measure Tuesday. A second reading is set for August 15, and commissioners say some revisions are likely.

One aspect of the ordinance is a program geared towards prospective buyers that would allow them to receive up to 25 percent of the purchase price, at zero percent interest, for five years. Payment would be deferred for five years, with the principal paid over 25 years with interest at one-half the rate of their Florida home loans.

Funds to pay for this would come from developer fees. In Coral Springs, the median household income is $72,000, and the median sale price of homes is $320,000. An affordable home would cost $284,000, according to the city. The aim of the Florida home loan assistance program is to enable homebuyers to bridge that $36,000 gap.

Another facet of the ordinance involves the creation of a teacher village on 10 acres of city land on Riverside Drive, north of Sample Road. The city is hoping to create affordable housing for teachers at the Coral Springs Charter School, which the city owns.

“I do think it’s a good thing… Should it just be the developers’ responsibility, that I am not so sure,” said Joy Carter, a Coral Springs real estate agent with Prudential Florida WCI Realty.

She added that helping teachers, nurses, police and other professionals buy their own homes in the increasingly expensive South Florida housing market is key to maintaining the region’s high quality of life.

Paul Cawley, Executive Director of the Coral Springs Economic Development Foundation, the city’s contract agent for economic development, said the city’s proactive stance is an encouraging sign.

“We are trying to attract new high-wage, knowledge-based industries to Florida, and [housing cost] is a barrier to us potentially doing that. It becomes an economic development dilemma, really,” Cawley stated.

Cities across Broward have until the end of the year to develop housing proposals or face having major residential developments rejected. The cities in the area that don’t want to charge impact fees or require developers to set aside units could take other steps, such as streamlining their permitting process to encourage affordable housing or helping with the maintenance of existing affordable homes.

The number of single-family home permits issued in May dropped sharply in Cape Coral, Fla., even as the number of permits in the rest of Lee County stayed about the same.

The News-Press reports that Lee County issued 906 single-family home permits in May, up 4.7 percent from April and almost identical to the 901 issued in May 2005. However, in a sign of a declining Florida housing market, the number of permits issued in Cape Coral fell to 323 in May, a drop of 26 percent from 439 in April.

In May 2005, Cape Coral issued 724 permits, more than double the activity seen this year.

Fort Myers, meanwhile, issued 75 permits in May, up 15 percent from 65 in April. In May 2005, the city issued 63 permits.

The totals for Lee County include the unincorporated county plus the city of Bonita Springs and the town of Fort Myers Beach, which both contract with the county for permitting services.

So why are Cape Coral’s numbers down so sharply? In part, experts say, it’s because lots there are substantially more expensive than those in Lehigh Acres, the other area of the county where a large numbers of houses are being built.

“In Cape Coral the pricing has increased substantially for the lots, especially north of Pine Island Road… If you look at the price of a lot in north Cape Coral versus the price in Lehigh, whereas there didn’t used to be a difference five years ago, there is now,” said Michael Timmerman, Naples-based managing director for Florida at Hanley Wood, a company that collects and analyzes data for home builders.

County Community Development Director Mary Gibbs said about 75 percent of the county’s single-family permits were issued in Lehigh.

Timmerman said the Cape is also experiencing a sharper drop in real estate activity because it’s made up primarily of existing lots for which permits are easily obtained. By contrast, the rest of Lee has a lot of development in which new communities (and therefore lots) are created.

As a result, the surge in new Southwest Florida real estate being built last year is still keeping numbers relatively high, even as a number of market indicators are falling off.

The diverging Cape and Lehigh markets are evident to builders, said Fred Hermann, president of Cape Coral-based First Home Builders, the biggest builder of houses in Lee County.

“Last year we started to see it… We were starting to shift a little bit more to Lehigh. that’s just a simple matter of economics. It’s more affordable,” he said.

Overall, permits in Lee County spiked sharply last summer as home prices skyrocketed and builders went into high gear. The county’s relatively strong figures reflect the fact that a lot of new projects begun last year are just now being permitted — even amidst a burgeoning inventory of unsold properties on the market.

As Florida home mortgage rates continue to inch upward, it will be interesting to see if the county’s building permits — as well as sales — experience any sort of sharp decline.