Rising housing costs are top contributor to inflation. What's to be done about it?

| 4/3/2023

Rising housing costs are top contributor to inflation. What’s to be done about it?

Guess what sector is the largest contributor to inflation these days? Yup: housing. In February, overall house prices registered their smallest year-over-year gain since September 2021. Even so, housing’s share of the Consumer Price Index rose at an accelerated pace and was the largest contributor to the overall inflation rate, according to the National Association of Home Builders. [Source: Miami Herald]

Living on the edge: 'The ultimate test'

While Hurricane Ian pounded southwest Florida for eight solid hours last fall, Syd Kitson was hunkered down at his home in Babcock Ranch, the solar-powered town he’d worked to develop over the prior two decades. The major Category 4 storm was “the ultimate test,” Kitson said last month at the Aspen Ideas: Climate conference in Miami. It ended and the sun came up on the solar town. Residents never lost power. They never lost water. They didn’t even lose the internet. While other southwest Florida communities were battered, Babcock Ranch had little to no damage. [Source: WUSF]

25,000 affordable housing units may be built, Florida advocates say

Tens of thousands of new housing units will now be possible in Florida, according to the facilitator of an affordable housing coalition. The Live Local Act just signed by the governor allots more than $700 million for affordable housing projects. The money for housing programs is receiving praise, but some affordable housing advocates in Jacksonville are pushing for something the law doesn't include at an event Sunday. More from First Coast News and the Commercial Observer.

Florida remains hot spot for people to move to from out of state

A new study shows a high number of people nationwide are on the move. A study by Redfin shows of the buyers seeking a home, one in four looked to relocate to a new metro area in the month of January. Miami was the most popular migration destination in January, claiming the top spot for the first time since August. Half of the 10 most popular destinations are in Florida: Tampa, Cape Coral, Orlando, and North Port-Sarasota are also on the list. Other popular cities were Sacramento, Phoenix, Dallas, and Las Vegas. [Source: CBS News]

Florida SBA outlines plan to align real estate portfolio with allocation target

Florida State Board of Administration (SBA) has outlined its real estate investment plan for 2023 to help manage the portfolio towards a 10% allocation target, according to the pension fund’s document. Florida SBA has $21.1bn (€19.5bn) or 12.4% of total plan assets invested in real estate. The pension fund’s investment policy allows for the real estate portfolio to be in a range of 4% to 16%. The current overallocation to real estate is due to a strong performance in private real estate and a decline in Florida SBA’s total plan assets. [Source: IPE Real Assets]

STAT OF THE WEEK
1.2%
Rents in March in Sarasota decreased by 1.2% from February, compared to a national increase of 0.5%. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

ALSO TRENDING:

› Investors bet on “semi-distressed” apartments in North Miami [The Real Deal]
A partnership of four investors scooped up an aging North Miami apartment building, with plans to fix it and raise rents. Giovanni Bertolotti, Abiel Ballesteros, Rene Sanchez and Michael Mallory bought the Ocean King Apartments at 14500 Northeast Sixth Avenue from an affiliate of Miami-based Ezkanda Group for $13 million.

› Citizens names retiring Justice Polston new general counsel [Florida Bar]
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s board March 29 unanimously approved the appointment of retiring Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston to become Citizens’ new General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer. “When the stars align, best stay out of the way,” Chair Carlos Beruff said in a statement, “Justice Polston’s accounting, insurance litigation and judiciary experience make him uniquely qualified to lead Citizens legal team as general counsel. We are lucky to have him.”

› Florida Realtors tech helpline growth extends reach to 750,000 members [Florida Trend]
Tech Helpline continues to grow the reach of its tech support services, adding eight more Realtor organizations in North America, including Canada's Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) and seven other US-based Realtor organizations, adding more than 14,000-plus members since last May. Real estate's No. 1 tech support service is now accessible to 750,000 members across the US and Canada.

› Beach house for sale in Florida is freaking people out with just one glance. See why [Miami Herald]
A unique home that has some people a little on edge is nabbing attention thanks to a popular real estate social media page. The two-bedroom, four-bedroom beach house — listed in St. Augustine, Florida, for $1.199 million — has a special, exterior aspect that makes it stand out visually: stilts.

Tags: Real Estate eNews

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