The home-price index for South Florida fell 28.2 percent from 2007, which is better than June’s 30.5 percent drop. This index includes Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Standard & Poors, the company that compiles this index,says that this slight improvement is nothing to phone home about. “While some cities did show some marginal improvement over last month’s data, there is still very little evidence of any particular region experiencing an absolute turnaround,” Chairman of S&P’s Index Committee, David Blitzer, said.

Issues with the housing market is at the center of the financial market meltdown we’ve been experiencing lately. Wall Street is a roller coaster and buyers or potential buyers don’t have as much confidence in America’s economy as they once did. The financial institutions that are still open are taking precautions to make sure that they stay afloat.

“Banks will probably stiffen lending rules even more in coming months to limit losses, indicating residential real estate will keep contracting and consumer spending will falter,” the Herald said.

In a nutshell, housing prices will continue to decline. According to the Herald, prices fell 0.5 percent in June and an additional 0.9 percent in July. Although we have experienced a slight improvement in the home pricing deficit, there is still a loss.

For those who can still afford to buy in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, this is definitely good news.

Coconut Creek and Sunrise officials are looking to potential tax increases as a way of dealing with the deficit. On the other hand, the city of Deerfield Beach will be cutting programs and increasing other fees to adjust.

Most of the homes in question were already reduced- cost senior living communities. Sunrise Lakes in Sunrise, Wynmoor Village in Coconut Creek and Century Village in Deerfield Beach all incurred severe property damage due to 2005’s Hurricane Wilma.

This decrease in cost has placed buyers in a more favorable position than sellers. And with so many pieces of South Florida real estate up for grabs, sellers will have to accept lower bids in order to make a sale.

For more information on what your home is worth or the value of homes in a particular area check out the websites of the Broward County Property Appraiser and the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser. Click on property search and type in either seller’s name, property address, subdivision name or property id.