Florida Real Estate Market Reached Bottom in 2007; Market Expected to Recover from...

Florida Real Estate Market Reached Bottom in 2007; Market Expected to Recover from ''Indigestion''

Report Forecasts Florida Real Estate Market Through 2010
ORLANDO, Fla.--(Business Wire)--A new report released today by Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund
Inc. (The Fund) and posted on www.MyRealEstateStory.com finds that
Florida's housing market slowed in 2007 in nearly every county
analyzed. The report also shows that real estate markets flattened out
in spring 2007, before the subprime mortgage crisis in August knocked
markets down another 10 percent across the state. Since then the
housing market has flattened and is expected to begin to recover
during the next several years.

The 2008 Fund Real Estate Forecast, commissioned by Florida-based
Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund's Consumer Education Campaign, was
created by economist Hank Fishkind, Ph.D. of Fishkind & Associates,
Inc., using The Fund's extensive online system of deed data for more
than 30 Florida counties. The report provides a snapshot of the
national economic outlook and 33 county-specific forecasts for 2008
through 2010, as well as a section detailing how actual 2007 data
compared to projections that were made in last year's Fund 2007 Real
Estate Forecast report.

"Florida is one of the leading states for job creation and
outperformed the rest of the country despite the housing market
meltdown," stated Fishkind. "The state's population growth also
slowed, but is still nearly greater than all of the other Southeastern
states put together. Florida has a very large and powerful economy
that has gone through a cyclical downshift, but it is still
outperforming compared to the rest of the nation."

The Fund's 2008 Real Estate Forecast shows that Orlando continues
to be the strongest residential real estate market in the state
because of its large share of fast-growing industries, such as
tourism, healthcare, education and defense manufacturing. Not all
markets in Florida mirror Orlando's resiliency, however. Miami-Dade is
currently going through the worst condominium bust cycle that Florida
has seen since 1975. Additionally, significant excess supply of
single-family homes in the Fort Myers and Cape Coral markets will not
begin to be absorbed until 2010.

"With Florida's real estate market, it is important to maintain
some perspective as recent reductions in home prices come after a very
lofty and unsustainable peak, and prices are still up considerably
compared to 30 years ago," explained Fishkind. "Florida has created a
tremendous amount of wealth and - despite many of the problems that
loose lending practices and subprime mortgages have caused - the state
now has the highest level of homeownership ever. The market has some
indigestion now, but housing markets will return to normal during the
next few years; the damage for some is significant, but in the
aggregate, Florida still had some significant economic gains."

ABOUT THE FUND'S CONSUMER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN

Launched in 2001, The Fund's Consumer Education Campaign was
designed to educate Florida consumers on the home buying and selling
process. The Education Campaign includes an informational Web site in
English (www.MyRealEstateStory.com) and Spanish (www.InforHogar.com)
and toll-free numbers in English (1-866-FUND-HOME) and Spanish
(1-800-688-7599) with operators offering assistance.

ABOUT THE FUND

Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund Inc., Florida's leading title
insurance underwriter and title information provider, is in business
to preserve and facilitate the real estate practices of its members in
their protection of the public. For more information, visit
www.TheFund.com.

ABOUT THE FUND REAL ESTATE INDEX

Recognizing the need for real estate data to help consumers make
informed home-buying and selling decisions, and to help real estate
professionals provide sound counsel to their clients, The Fund
collaborated with Hank Fishkind, Ph.D. to leverage its extensive
online system of deed data for Florida counties to develop a Real
Estate Index. Fishkind provides independent analysis of data provided
by The Fund.

Measuring sales value and volume for single-family homes, condos
and time shares throughout the state, The Fund Real Estate Index
illustrates the dynamic real estate fluctuations on a county-specific
basis. The reports are posted on local Real Estate Council Web sites
and are updated monthly.

For Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund Inc.
Media Contact:
Kelly Andrews/Mallory Tacker
Edelman
404-262-3000
kelly.andrews@edelman.com
mallory.tacker@edelman.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008