Results of a new study released last week by Attorney's Title Insurance Fund (The Fund) suggests that Florida homeowners are feeling pretty good nowadays about the value of their homes and the potential for those values to rise further in the future.

Their biggest concern: being hit by a hurricane. Their least concern: falling victim to mortgage fraud -- even though the survey says that Florida is the top state in the nation for such fraud (something that is, unfortunately, always associated with real estate investors working in the foreclosure arena). Between those two extremes, other concerns included: a burst of the housing bubble, rising mortgage rates and depreciating home values.

Is this consumer confidence misplaced? It seems to fly in the face of recent market activity statewide reported by the Florida Association of Realtors . That report showed a 24 percent drop in home sales both year-to-date and year-over-year through May 2006. Yet despite lower sales volume, FAR also reported that the state's median home price continues to go up -- 11 percent on a yearly basis from May 2005, and 15 percent year-to-date, giving some credence to the 71 percent of homeowners surveyed by The Fund who believe that affordability is the biggest obstacle to homeownership in the state.

Such consumer confidence does not seem to jive with RealtyTrac's May 2006 data either, where the Sunshine State was ranked as having the second highest number of foreclosures in the country (8,898) behind only Texas. It also ranked 8th among the 50 states in foreclosure rate with one foreclosure filing for every 821 households.

One local expert quoted in press reports last week suggested that increasing foreclosure activity in Florida may become a trend rather than a momentary blip on the housing radar screen. His reasons: the expected resetting of interest rates on adjustable and other creative mortgage products, plus rate hikes on both homeowner's insurance and energy bills.

Who proves to be right - only time will tell. But then, real estate has always been a lagging indicator of the health of a state's economy. We'd like to know what your experience has been in Florida. Do you think this consumer confidence is well-founded? Or is the recent uptick in foreclosure activity a precursor of tough times ahead for homeowners and the start of a upward trend in business for real estate investors looking for opportunities in foreclosures?