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| National, Florida and Tampa Bay Real Estate News |
- Economic news is not all doom and gloom,
especially not in Florida. Gov. Jeb Bush called the state's post 9/11 recovery "one
of the most robust in the nation," and noted that, of the 10 most populous states,
Florida leads in job creation.
Existing single-family home sales in Florida continue to rise, according to the Florida
Association of Realtors® (FAR). The statewide median sales price rose 8 percent to
$141,700. A year ago, the statewide median sales price was $131,300. In July 1997, the
statewide median sales price for existing single-family homes was $97,500, representing a
45.3 percent increase over the five-year period, FAR records show. A sluggish U.S. economy
is continuing to rely on a solid housing sector to boost its recovery, and Florida’s
robust resales market is helping to lead the way. Realtors in many markets throughout the
state report strong sales, tight inventory and rapid turnarounds, prompted by homebuyers
taking advantage of low interest rates.
Realtors® win a round in battle over banks in real estate
WASHINGTON - A House panel dealt banks their biggest loss so far in an ongoing
battle with real estate agents.
The House Appropriations Committee tacked on an amendment to a Treasury Department
spending bill that would prevent the agency from finalizing until September of next year a
rule to let banks into real estate brokerage. The voice vote was a double blow,
underscoring the difficulty banks are having in trying to capitalize on financial reform
nearly three years after its enactment, and the political risks inherent with the current
anti-corporate environment on Capitol Hill.
First, the action raised serious questions about a cornerstone of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act of 1999, which gave the Federal Reserve Board and Treasury the discretionary authority
to grant banking companies additional powers that are "financial in nature." In
the first significant test of the process, the agencies proposed in March 2000 to grant
all banks the ability to engage in real estate brokerage and property management. But that
plan met a firestorm of opposition from real estate agents, who have made it one of their
political priorities during a contentious election year.
Secondly, the vote signaled that financial services companies are vulnerable to the
fallout of the recent accounting scandals at WorldCom, Xerox, and Enron Corp., even if
most of them have not been directly linked to them.
Lawmakers promoting the amendment freshened traditional rhetoric about the lessons of the
savings and loan crisis with references to recent corporate governance and accounting
missteps. They argued that the latest scandals showed more than ever the dangers of
breaking down the barriers between banking and commerce.
"We only have to look at what is happening today to see that it only takes a few bad
actors that developed what I call 'cozy' relationships to create a bad effect," said
Rep. Anne M. Northup, R-Ky., who introduced the amendment.
Rep. Northup and other lawmakers acknowledged that the issue did not normally fall into
the jurisdiction of their committee, but said they needed to act because Financial
Services Chairman Michael G. Oxley would not.
"He has had a year and a half," Rep. Northup said to reporters after the vote.
"He doesn't step on any toes of the groups he manages or oversees or tries to set the
course for. He just expands the jurisdiction of the group."
A spokeswoman for Rep. Oxley did not return calls seeking comment.
But other lawmakers -- even some who said they were supportive of a House bill to keep
banks out of real estate brokerage -- said a spending bill was not a place to make this
decision, and noted that Rep. Oxley had urged them not to pass the amendment. They warned
that putting this type of provision into the bill could hurt it when it comes up for a
full floor vote.
"I do not believe this bill is the appropriate vehicle to make this decision,"
said Rep. Ernest Istook Jr., R-Okla., the chairman of the Treasury appropriations
subcommittee. "Taking on this cargo on this particular vessel could be enough to make
this ship founder.... We can't evade the issue, but we ought to do it in the proper way
and the proper forum."
Even if the full House passes the amendment, it faces longer odds in the Senate, which has
been less engaged in the real estate issue.
The five most powerful banking groups -- the American Bankers Association, the Financial
Services Roundtable, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers
of America, and America's Community Bankers (ACB) -- signed a joint letter to the
committee members urging them to oppose the amendment, saying it would undermine financial
reform.
"In 1999, Congress contemplated a process and passed it -- they should let that
process operate," said Diane Casey, the president of ACB.
The Realtors group, meanwhile, celebrated. "We will do our best to see that it"
stays in, said Steve Cook, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors.
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