With prices high and supply low, can Florida expect help from Harris, Trump housing plans?
With Florida still in the throes of an affordable housing crisis, the next occupant of the White House could play a major role in determining how long the Sunshine State struggles with prices too high and a supply too small. Florida single-family home construction is in the middle of a projected four-year downturn, the first real slump since 2009. It’s made apartments harder to find and costlier. And it fuels median home sale prices, which hit a record high $429,900 in April, state economists said. [Source: TC Palm]
Florida lawmakers stay quiet as corporations buy thousands of homes
As investor-backed firms buy up homes across the country, policymakers at every level are considering how to limit Wall Street’s control of the housing market. Even in Florida, a state friendly to corporations and landlords and at times hostile to renters, one Republican state lawmaker said it may be time for government intervention. More from the Tampa Bay Times and WTVT.
Florida's condo market looks shaky. Could the bottom fall out?
Higher annual HOA fees, special assessments and the inability to insure certain buildings are causing condo listings to skyrocket. Florida's new condo law requires buildings of a certain age to undergo rigid inspections before Jan. 1, 2025. Many condo owners are receiving four- to five-figure special assessments to fund costly repairs. More from U.S. News & World Report and Yahoo Finance.
South Florida sees boom with 14,000 new apartments. Will that lower prices?
South Florida will see more than 14,000 new apartments enter the market this year. The listings for single-family homes, condos and townhouses also are on the rise. Will that be enough to quench the region’s rising costs? A recent study conducted by RentCafe dove into new apartment construction, finding that a record more than 500,000 new apartments are rising this year across the United States. And South Florida ranks high for new apartment construction compared to other cities. [Source: Suoth Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Florida’s shifting housing market shaken by spiking HOA fees
Back in May, residents of Regency Gardens Condominiums in Orlando were notified that their monthly HOA fees would nearly triple. Plus, to cover a shortage of required HOA reserve funds, they were required to pay up to $22,000 in the form of a one-time special assessment—effectively forcing some of the residents to sell. Regency Gardens Condominiums isn’t alone. [Source: Fast Company]
$70 million
Nowadays, even tear-down properties are no bargain. An unidentified homebuyer has paid what brokers are calling a city of Fort Lauderdale record of $70 million to acquire a prime waterfront estate at the intersection of the New River and Intracoastal Waterway. [Source: Suoth Florida Sun-Sentinel]
› 'Agrihood' would bring 3,300 homes to St. Johns County
Boston-based Freehold Communities, the developer of Shearwater in St. Johns County, is working with St. Augustine landowners on a new project to turn farmland into a residential community with thousands of homes. The development requires a rezoning from Open Rural to Planned Unit Development of 2,673 acres.
› Meet Miami-Dade’s go-to lobbyists for real estate developers
They add skyscrapers to Miami’s skyline and bring new single-family home communities into existence in southwest Miami-Dade. But they’re not the developers. No, they’re the developers’ hired guns: the lobbyists, land use lawyers and consultants who get projects off the ground and across the finish line.
› Developer gets $50 million to move forward with housing project in Northwood Village
Affiliated Development has secured $50 million in additional financing to move forward with an affordable housing project in West Palm Beach's Northwood Village. The Spruce, an eight-story, multi-family complex located off Spruce Avenue between 24th and 25th Street, will have 270 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with 117 units offered first to city employees at below-market rents.
› Tampa Bay employers take on workforce housing
Florida employers are starting to embrace their inner landlord. More than a thousand people continue to move to Florida daily, and the housing market is failing to keep pace, leading to an enduring affordable and workforce housing crisis. From home ownership to high rent to insurance costs, fiscal barriers to attainable housing near employment centers push workers far away from their employers.