SHARE:
Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
More Florida homeowners are self-insuring amid property insurance crisis
Amid Florida’s property insurance crisis, more Floridians are taking protecting their property into their own hands. Some are doing away with property insurance and self-insuring. The number of Floridians self-insuring their homes has increased over the last year, according to the Insurance Information Institute. It is directly attributed to the high cost of insurance in Florida, according to industry analysts. More from the Click Orlando.
South Florida prices soar more than any large U.S. metro area
New inflation information confirms the daily difficulties many South Floridians are having making ends meet as consumer prices increased again in the region by the widest margin among large U.S. urban areas. The Miami metro area in August posted the highest cost-of-living increase among the nation’s biggest 14 metropolitan areas. That is an infamous distinction the region has held since December 2022, when annual inflation rose 9.9%. More from the Miami Herald.
See also:
» What's driving the higher inflation rate in South Florida
Tampa mulls cuts: ‘Gigantic wish list and a limited number of dollars’
A week after axing any chance of a tax rate hike, Tampa City Council members gathered Wednesday to brainstorm ways they could make good on promises that investments in community priorities were possible without saddling property owners with larger tax bills. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Orlando home sales, prices fall again in August, report says
Home sales and prices in Orlando continued to drop in August, according to a report released Friday. The 2,792 sales in the month were down 2.1% from 2,852 in July, and were 16% lower than the 3,324 sales in August of last year, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, which looks at sales from Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties. The median home price fell from $380,000 in July to $375,000 in August, the report said. The median home price had reached $385,000 in June. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Cost rises to $65 million for kick-off phase of "driverless" shuttles in Jacksonville
The cost of building a high-tech corridor for "driverless" shuttles on part of downtown Jacksonville's Bay Street went up to $65.6 million as the Jacksonville Transportation Authority gets ready for ground-breaking by the end of the year and the start of passenger service in mid-2025. More from the Florida Times-Union.
Business Beat - Week of September 15th
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Energy Trends
Lighting the way
In April, the city of Orlando teamed up with Kolumi — an Orlando startup that makes lighting systems out of recycled aluminum, glass and plastic — to outfit an administrative parking garage with its light fixtures. In the months since, the fixtures have cut the garage’s energy consumption by half, according to Michael Hess, Orlando’s sustainability and resilience director. An added bonus: When Kolumi’s lightbulbs reach the end of their lifespan in seven to 10 years, they can be recycled again, leaving no waste behind.
» Read more from Florida Trend.
In case you missed it:
