According to data released by Zillow.com, home sales in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties rose 1.1 percent in the second quarter and Florida Realtors reports of condominium sales improving 14 percent. While that may be the case, data released by Fiserv shows that the Miami – Miami Beach area is projected to be the worst market in the nation.

While Zillow celebrates the fact that these three counties have experienced the first quarterly increase since 2006, there are still numerous factors to consider. For example, in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, the home value index is down 54 percent since the housing crash, 46 percent of homes with mortgages are “underwater” and 44 percent of homes were sold for a loss in the second quarter.

Broward County is projected to be the third worst market in the nation with home prices falling 19 percent from 2011 to 2013, Palm Beach county prices are expected to drop more than 10 percent from 2011 to 2013 and Miami-Dade County prices are expected to fall about 22 percent from 2011 to 2013, making it the nations worst market.

According to Fiserv, adverse factors including low median family income, rampant unemployment and a high ratio of median home price to median family income (3.7) combine to make the Miami metro area the worst housing market in the United States for the next two years.

But just as Zillow celebrates the small increase in home sales, there is a small ray of sunshine for Florida home prices. The Palm Bay / Melbourne home prices are expected to rise about 18 percent in the next two years which will rank it the number two market in the country.

Another upside in Florida are the condominium sales. According to the Florida Realtors, statewide there has been a 14 percent rise in condo sales when compared to the second quarter of last year, and in Miami alone, the condo sales rose 62 percent.

Interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgage can also offer some help to home or condo buyers with its decreased rate of 4.66 in the second quarter, compared to 4.91 a year earlier.

However, Dr. Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness, explains that the housing market won’t just improve on its own.

“The fate of the housing market in Florida is tightly bound to that of the labor market,” Snaith said. “They are like economic conjoined twins – improvement in one will invariably help the other. More jobs and lower unemployment will slow foreclosures as well as build the pool of potential buyers; both of these will work to help support prices. As single-family home and condo prices stabilize, the wealth effect of this will make owners more willing to spend, which in turn could boost hiring.”

With so much data and so many financial services interpreting this data differently, its hard to grasp what’s really going on in Florida. Experts anticipate that third quarter reports will show a more accurate glimpse of the market recovery, because by the third quarter of last year, the effects of the housing stimulus program had faded away.