Dreaming of beachfront real estate? Much of Florida's coast is at risk of storm erosion

Back-to-back hurricanes left an unnerving scene on the Florida coast in November 2022: Several houses, and even swimming pools, were left dangling over the ocean as waves eroded the property beneath them. Dozens of homes and condo buildings in the Daytona Beach area were deemed unsafe. The destruction has raised a disturbing question: How much property along the rest of the Florida coast is at risk of collapse, and can it be saved? [Source: WUSF]

Worried about a housing crash? Here’s how the South Florida market is really faring

2021 was a record year for real estate in South Florida, yet the last eight months of 2022 have been about the market slowing. Questions linger as to how bad the decline in the market is and whether it’s headed for a crash. There’s little doubt that the market has slowed over the past six to eight months: closed sales are down as buyers grapple with rising interest rates, it’s taking longer to sell a home, and bidding wars are not as common as they once were. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the South Florida market is crashing. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Yahoo News.

Commentary: Floridians care about rising rents; why don’t elected officials care as much?

The election is over, but the need for Floridians to have access to safe and affordable housing remains. It doesn’t matter what the corporate landlord lobby says. It doesn’t matter what the wealthy real estate lobby says. And it doesn’t matter what corporate-funded political leaders say. Everyone deserves to be housed. That is a basic human right, one that those with wealth, power and privilege cannot dismiss. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Florida homeowners waiting for state assistance years after major hurricanes

For Irma alone, the state awarded more than $430 million to fix and rebuild damaged homes through the Rebuild Florida program. Hundreds of Southwest Florida homes took on storm after storm with no help from a state program they’re already approved for. For Mary Lundberg and more than 300 other homeowners in southwest Florida, the work still needs to be done. She worries the same thing could happen to hundreds more after this year’s hurricanes. [Source: WBBH]

Florida is running out of homes people can actually afford

Florida's housing market is tight. After years of robust population growth, there are simply not enough homes to meet demand. Conditions continue to worsen as natural disasters destroy its limited supply of existing inventory and builders slow down their production of affordable housing. For a state seeing an influx of about 900 new residents each day, the loss is likely to exacerbate its housing crisis. More from  Business Insiderand Marketplace.

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› Jacksonville housing market sees big slowdown, home purchases fall through at highest rate in nation [WJXT]
The red-hot housing market seen last year in Northeast Florida is a thing of the past. New data released this week by real estate brokerage Redfin shows home purchases in Jacksonville fell through at a higher rate than anywhere else in the country last month. About 30% of purchase agreements in Jacksonville were canceled in October. It was the second straight month that Jacksonville had the most in the country.

› Experts: Orlando home prices plateau, rent slowly decreases [WESH]
The housing market is beginning to cool down. That's what analysts at agencies like Zillow are saying after looking at the numbers from October. But Florida's market, as per usual, is different from the rest. And Florida's housing market has been hot for a while now. "Florida has frankly had the hottest housing market during this very hot national housing market in the country," Jeff Tucker, Zillow senior economist, said. Tucker said Florida wasn't immune to the cooldown from higher interest rates.

› Pinellas judges uphold Tarpon Springs’ approval of Anclote River apartments [Tampa Bay Times]
A three-judge panel has upheld the city’s 2021 approval of an apartment complex on the Anclote River, legally affirming a project that is being scrutinized by city commissioners elected after the project got the green light. The Concerned Citizens of Tarpon Springs nonprofit sued the city and developer Morgan Group last year, alleging the application did not comply with the city’s comprehensive plan. The group also argued the public was denied a fair opportunity to be heard during hearings that ran into early morning hours.

› Three sky-high towers on horizon for Fort Lauderdale - with a yacht valet [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
One day soon enough, two towers dubbed Raintree Riverwalk Residences will rise on the south bank of the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The developer behind that project has ambitious plans for the lot next door: Nautica Residences and Hotel, a sky-high three-tower project that would bring Asi Cymbal’s total investment in the neighborhood to $1 billion.