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How to solve Florida's large-scale affordable housing crisis

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How to solve Florida's large-scale affordable housing crisis

Neither Florida nor the nation has figured out affordable housing. More than 40 federal, state and private funding sources for affordable housing target homeowners, renters and developers in Florida, according to the Florida Housing Coalition’s affordable housing resource guide. Florida also is home to 18 existing and proposed community land trusts, ranging from Franklin County in the Panhandle to Key West, aimed at making homes affordable. [Source: Florida Trend]

Florida Amendment 5 explained: Property tax benefit extension

Florida’s Amendment Five gives Florida homeowners more leeway in maintaining tax property tax benefits. Homeowners receive a $25,000-$50,000 exemption on their primary home (depending on its value), plus a cap on how much it can be taxes known as the ‘save our homes’ cap. [Source: WTVT]

‘Hottest real estate market in the world’ may be Palm Beach, Florida, brokers say

Home sales in Palm Beach, the exclusive island retreat of the president and countless billionaires, tripled in the third quarter as the wealthy fled the cities and higher-tax states of the Northeast, according to a new report. “It may be the hottest real estate market in the world right now,” said Jay Phillip Parker, CEO of Douglas Elliman’s Florida brokerage. “You just can’t find homes to buy there now.” [Source: CNBC]

Academic journal ranks FIU real estate research department No. 1

Florida International University came out on top in a global study. The Journal of Real Estate Literature ranked the university’s College of Business first for real estate research, according to an FIU press release. It is the first time the university ranks at the top in the study. FIU tied with the National University of Singapore. [Source: Miami Herald]

South Florida real estate market shifts from focusing on condos to single family homes

Not long ago, condos were the hot item in the South Florida housing market. These days the bidding wars are being waged elsewhere. “You live in a high rise because you like the area, and when the area businesses are shut down, there’s not much to do,” said Oscar Soberon. A surge in people re-evaluating the urban lifestyle months after COVID-19 changed the landscape. [Source: ]

STAT OF THE WEEK
$11.999 million
The former Miami home of Grammy Award-winning musician Willy Chirino, a 10,416-square-foot, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired estate, has been listed for $11.999 million. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

ALSO TRENDING:

› For sale: Jack Kerouac’s Florida house listed for $350K
he Florida house where famed writer and “King of the Beats” Jack Kerouac spent his final years is for sale. Kerouac, the author of the seminal novel “On the Road” who coined the term “Beat Generation,” moved into the modest home on 10th Avenue North in St. Petersburg in 1965 with his mother and third wife Stella Sampas Kerouac. His mother wanted to escape the harsh winters in Lowell, Massachusetts.

› Hurricane Michael recovery loans help Panhandle homebuyers
After Hurricane Michael devastated the region, many people fled their storm-damaged homes. Now down-payment assistance loans are helping put people back into neighborhoods in communities that are still recovering.

› St. Petersburg senior living community to open in December with 165 units
St. Petersburg’s older residents will have a new senior living community to choose from come December. American House St. Petersburg, at Ninth Avenue N and 66th Street, will open with 165 units, including independent living, assisted living and memory care services in a “country club style setting,” said Dale Watchowski, president and CEO of American House Senior Living Communities.

› Mortgage servicer Ocwen will provide $11 million in relief to settle misconduct claims
Ocwen Financial Corp., based in West Palm Beach, has agreed to provide more than $11 million in cash and services to settle a lawsuit by Florida’s attorney general alleging widespread misconduct by its mortgage servicing business. The settlement was announced in separate statements by the Attorney General’s Office and Ocwen.