HispanicBusiness

Florida's real estate recovery no longer gets rave reviews from the Federal Reserve.

The latest Fed Beige Book, which analyzes regional economies across the country, suggested Florida was missing out on some of the momentum behind the nation's real estate market at the start of 2012.

Writing about the Southeast, Fed authors wrote the majority of "residential brokers reported that home sales accelerated in January and early February and stand above levels from the same time period last year. However, reports from Florida brokers were more mixed."

The Florida mention stands out, since past Beige Books have described Florida as an improving real estate market while other states in the Southeast were languishing. Fed analysts compile the Beige Book through anecdotal reports gathered from their regional offices, including one in Miami. The language always requires a bit of deciphering, but the overall tone can convey optimism or worry.

The latest Beige Book maintained the cautiously upbeat vibe of past reports, with hiring up modestly, and residential real estate improving "somewhat."

For the Atlanta region, which covers the Southeast, analysts described the economy as "expanding at a somewhat stronger pace." That appears to be the most optimistic phrase used for the District in at least two years, replacing "expanding at a modest pace," expanding at a "very subdued pace", "little-changed," "moderated," "advancing modestly," "improved," "mixed picture," "slowed somewhat," and "remained slow."

Of interest in South Florida, the Atlanta report noted higher convention attendance, lower cruise bookings thanks to the Costa shipwreck in Italy, and "modest growth" in trade with Latin America.