A report from RealtyTrac Inc. that 342,000 American families received a foreclosure-related notice in April – that’s up 32 percent from April 2008 – help send the stock market skidding May 13.

That’s bad news nationally. And the South Florida numbers are much worse. Realty Trac says foreclosures in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties were up about 90 percent over the same period. In addition, foreclosures in Miami-Dade  were up 111 per cent between March and April. The Broward County increase is pegged at 124 percent between March and April.

But for an up-to-date snapshot of the local market, talkofaventura.com turned to data from two national real estate search firms and to local realtors who see conditions here day in and day out.

The average listing price for an Aventura home is continuing to rise – up 0.9 percent to $513,627 in the week ending May 6 -- but the median sales price of $215,000 for the quarter ending April 30 continues to fall, according to Trulia.com. A total of 2,101 Aventura homes are on the market with 245 in some stage of the foreclosure process.

In Sunny Isles Beach, both listing price -- $783,152, down 3.7 percent from the previous week -- and median sales price -- $305,000 for the three-month period, down 20.8 percent from a year ago  -- are trending lower. There are 945 homes on the market and 240 in foreclosure. Trulia.com reports.

The online real estate search firm’s data shows sales volume is coming back strongly in both Aventura – up 103.5 percent over a year ago -- and Sunny Isles Beach – up 236.4 percent.

But average per square foot price is still down 22.4 percent from a year ago – to $177 per square foot -- in Aventura and down 26.1 percent – to $221 per square foot -- in Sunny Isles Beach.

So what are prospective buyers and sellers to make of such conflicting data?

It’s still a buyers’ market but there are hopeful signs, local realtors agree. And they have some hints to share.

First, forget the idea that the exodus of snowbirds signals the start of off-season for real estate, says Katerina Brosda, president and CEO of Brosda & Bentley Realtors, a boutique firm based in Aventura.

Struggles of the American economy have sent brokers looking offshore for buyers and offshore buyers to South Florida for bargains, she says. The Germans are back in a big way. So are Russians, Italians, Israelis and even the Chinese. And this is the time of year when the market sees an influx of South America’s inverted snowbirds, escaping that continent’s winter weather.

Brosda points to Jade Beach, where 65 percent of the units have closed and few of those paying the $500,000-plus price needed a mortgage. The power of the ocean, the charm of the Sunny Isles Beach strip and the security of a well-managed building remain a compelling draw for those who are largely immune from the vagaries of the economy.

She says her agents are busy,  a promising signal also spotted by Andre Shambley of The Keyes Company. Both are seeing increased activity from investors who like the deals they can now negotiate. Shambley also is seeing some opportunistic first-time buyers.

While Brosda doesn’t see the federal $8,000 homebuyer “stimulus” tax break playing much of a role along the ocean, she and other brokers concede it may help generate some traffic later this year, particularly in more moderately priced Aventura and non-oceanfront Sunny Isles Beach properties.

Ellen Bithell and Agnes Stalmach, the owners of RE/MAX Executive Realty in Hollywood, are betting the stimulus does drive extra business. Beyond the tax break, they’re encouraging prospective buyers to explore the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Cities set the rules for this program that is not restricted to first-time homebuyers.

Meanwhile, sale prices continue to fall. Numbers from national real estate website Zillow.com echo those from Trulia.com.

Zillow.com shows Aventura with a “median home value index” of $225,083, down 21.4 percent from a year ago. It puts Sunny Isles Beach property in worst shape. Using the same methodology, it sets Sunny Isles Beach value index at $197,259, down 34.8 percent from a year ago.