The foreclosure crisis brought the state of Florida a bad reputation. But new home sales and investor demand seem to be perking up the coastal state.
Tampa home prices rose 5.9% year-over-year in October, while Miami prices rose 8.5%, according to data from the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index report.
"I wouldn't say we are in a full recovery," said Becky Walzak, president and CEO of Looking Glass Group, a consulting firm for the consumer financial services industry in West Palm Beach, Fla. "But we are in a strong position right now. We have a lot of foreign buyers who come in and pay cash for properties," Walzak said. Snowbirds from the Northeast searching for real estate deals in Florida also have shown interest.
Still, it took a few years for the state to recover from news of massive foreclosure litigation and the launch of investigations targeting some of the state's largest default services law firms.
