More than 1 million Floridians' flood insurance rates to spike with new FEMA program in effect
More than 1 million Floridians' flood insurance rates to spike with new FEMA program in effect
Florida’s businesses and homeowners are seeing double-digit rate increases as high as 45% in property insurance premiums as insurers cite ballooning reinsurance costs, “loss creep” from 2017-18 hurricanes and coastal flooding among factors driving up costs. But more than 1 million – at least – of 1.729 million Florida properties covered under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are going to see additional significant boosts beginning next year in flood insurance rates under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Risk Rating 2.0 program that went into effect Friday. [Source: The Center Square]
Purchased for $10.75M, Al Capone’s Florida home heads for wrecking ball
In 1928, Miami Beach, Fla., was rocked with the news that the infamous gangster, Chicago crime boss Al Capone, had purchased a home on Palm Island, one of the city’s newest and most prestigious addresses. Capone continued to live there until his death in 1947, and his wife, Mae, held onto the house until 1952. For decades, accounts of Capone’s connection with the home and Miami Beach have been a colorful part of the city’s history. However, the estate was recently purchased by a developer for $10.75 million, who will likely tear it down and replace it with a two-story modern home. [Source: SIlive]
People moving to Central Florida just to be close to Disney World
When Walt Disney announced in 1965 he had picked Central Florida for his “Florida Project” that would ultimately be Walt Disney World, the population in Florida was 6.1 million people. Today, it’s more than 21 million people. The population has been tripling in size over the last 50 years, and it hasn’t stopped. So much so that there are entire real estate companies in Orlando catered to people who are making the move to Central Florida just to be close to Walt Disney World. [Source: Click Orlando]
International buyers are trickling back to Miami
Even during the tamped-down international buying market between April 2020 and March 2021, Florida attracted more foreign buyers than any other state for the 13th consecutive year, according to the National Association of Realtors’s 2021 Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate Report. Some 22% of all homes purchased by international buyers in the U.S. during that period were in Florida. And now, real estate agents are seeing more foreign buyers in Miami with vaccines available and travel easier, although not in the numbers seen in past years. [Source: Mansion Global]
Can’t afford to buy? Homes built for renters might be what you’re looking for
Florida has long been home to the sprawl of suburbia — the landscapes of near-identical houses with emerald lawns are as quintessential to the state as its reptile-filled swamps. But a new type of suburb is sprouting around Tampa Bay: those with new homes only for rent. Even as the housing market has an insatiable demand of homes for sale, a growing contingent of companies is focusing on constructing built-for-rent subdivisions for what they describe as an equally hungry clientele that signs leases almost as quickly as the homes can be erected. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times.
$480,000
After hitting a record high $500,000 in July, the median price for a home in Palm Beach County dropped for the first time in 18 months, according to a report released late last month by Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors. In August, the median price for a single-family home rang in at $480,000 — a 4% drop from July and the first decline since before the pandemic hit Florida, in February 2019. [Source: Palm Beach Post]
› Steady buyer demand still present in Bonita Springs & Estero [Naples Daily News]
According to the Bonita Springs-Estero REALTORS® (BER), the month of August 2021 continued along the same path as last month, specifically with reduced inventory. While August 2021 did not see the buyer ‘frenzy’ seen in early-to-mid 2021, the market is still showing steady buyer interest and demand.
› How Julio Iglesias used shell companies to build, cloak his real estate empire [Miami Herald]
You might know Julio Iglesias as a globetrotting Latin lover, or Julio Iglesias the multilingual crooner of romantic ballads. But do you know Julio Iglesias, the Miami real estate tycoon? The Spaniard has owned a home in greater Miami for decades, and is a celebrity who still draws a crowd in South Florida and across Latin America.
› Historic resort sold to trio of companies, two with Florida ties [Business Observer]
South Seas Island Resort, a historic Florida tourist destination dating back to 1946, has been sold to a group of companies with mostly local ties for an undisclosed amount. The three companies — Timbers Co., Wheelock Street Capital and The Ronto Group — that bought the 330-acre resort come from three different, yet similar worlds, and are uniquely positioned to bring some changes to the 75-year-old property.
› KKR sells Boynton Beach warehouses to Oxford Properties for $16M [The Real Deal]
In separate purchases, a Toronto-based multinational real estate investment firm acquired two Boynton Beach warehouses for a combined $15.5 million. Affiliates of Oxford Properties Group, led by company President Michael Turner, purchased the properties at 6600 and 7700 High Ridge Road for $7.3 million and $8.2 million, respectively.