Southwest Florida Real Estate News and Market Insight

A general contractor that specialized in building luxury Wellington equestrian estates filed for bankruptcy protection, as he faces fraud allegations from clients who say he doctored receipts and did not complete work. Records show both David Forkey and his business, Pegasus Builders, filed Chapter

The state sexual battery case against Oren and Alon Alexander, and their associate Ohad Fisherman, is coming into focus.  The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office alleges that Fisherman held down a woman as Oren and Alon, who are in federal custody awaiting their sex trafficking trial, allegedly took

Boca Raton approved an interim master plan that could enable Terra and Frisbie Group to build a mega mixed-use project on 30 acres of publicly owned land. The resolution, which was approved by the city council by a vote of 4-1 on Tuesday evening, sets a framework for Boca Raton’s ongoing negotiation

Continental Realty Corporation is diving into South Florida’s retail market for the first time, acquiring the Fresh Market-anchored shopping center at CityPlace Doral in Miami-Dade County for $87.5 million. Baltimore-based Continental Realty, led by CEO JM Shapiro, acquired the 235,000-square-foot c

Lissette Calderon’s Neology Life nixed a 1,360-unit multifamily project after selling a development site near the Miami River for $54 million. An affiliate of Miami-based Neology sold the 7.3-acre site at 2301 Northwest 33rd Avenue to Miami-Dade County, records show. Calderon’s firm had planned to d

Palm Beach County’s condo sales and dollar volume dipped in the first week of June. Brokers closed 91 condo sales totaling $53.9 million from May 30 to June 7. The previous week, brokers closed 129 condo sales totaling $62.6 million. Last week’s units sold for an average of $592,601, higher than the

The settlement agreement between MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN) and the Nosalek commission lawsuit plaintiffs has been granted preliminary approval for a second time.Judge Patti B. Saris of U.S. District Court in Boston granted preliminary approval to the fourth amended settlement agreem

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) has appointed Chris Morton as its new CEO effective immediately, the organization announced Tuesday.Morton, who previously served as ALTA’s senior vice president of public affairs and chief advocacy officer, succeeds Diane Tomb, who filled the seat for the

There are still three more weeks before Zillow’s new listing standards policy goes into effect, but Compass CEO Robert Reffkin is not wasting time pushing back against the policy.In a LinkedIn post on Monday, Reffkin claimed that Zillow no longer displays all MLS listings to prospective homebuyers. 

The wave of migration set off by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed home prices through the roof in towns that had previously been relatively sleepy. While data shows that some narratives at the time proved to be a bit overstated, there’s no question that it reshaped housing markets across the country.A r

Billionaire Related Ross Chairman and CEO Steve Ross secured $600 million in financing for his planned South Flagler House condo project in West Palm Beach. It marks the largest condo construction financing in South Florida so far this year.  Bank OZK provided $475 million as the senior secured lend

Cara Petersen, who has served as the principal deputy enforcement director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since late 2017, resigned this week with a letter that’s highly critical of the enforcement posture at the bureau under the new administration of President Donald Trump.Peter

An oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach asking $45 million led signed contracts in the county last week. Buyers signed 14 contracts between June 2 and June 8 for luxury properties in Palm Beach County, according to a market report authored by Douglas Elliman’s Eklund-Gomes team. The properties totaled $

A federal judge on Tuesday refused to block a landmark New York City law that will shift responsibility for paying broker fees from renters to landlords — clearing the way for the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act to take effect on Wednesday.U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Abrams den

In the wake of the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) nationwide commission lawsuit settlement, RealTrends Consulting co-founder Steve Murray predicted a new wave of industry consolidation. “Almost any time in history the U.S. federal government gets involved in this kind of litigation against

South Florida’s office values are recalibrating.  From late 2020 through 2022, the tri-county region became a magnet for out-of-state companies, prompting a leasing flurry, record rents and voracious investment sales appetite.  The bonanza pushed up office values to their peak since at least the Gre

As the economic situation for many Americans continues to evolve due in part to the cost of housing, one Democratic member of the House of Representatives used her time on the floor Tuesday to call for more action to address rising housing expenses.Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) on Tuesday introduced a

The former chief financial officer of cloud-based real estate firm The Real Brokerage has filed a federal lawsuit alleging she was pushed out of the company after becoming pregnant and taking maternity leave.Michelle Ressler, who was relieved of her role as CFO in April, claims in the suit that Real

Rocket Pro is partnering with Vetted VA, which provides education to veterans and training to loan officers to give veterans better access to home loan benefits.The partnership, announced on Tuesday at The Gathering by HousingWire, will involve the training of Rocket staff and LOs by Vetted VA so th

Simon Property Group is JCPenney’s new landlord at Dadeland Mall in Kendall, acquiring the ground lease for the big box store for $15.6 million. An affiliate of Indianapolis-based Simon, led by David Simon, bought the leasehold interest in the 190,962-square-foot department store at 7201 Kendall Dri