The Housing Bubble

The Tribune reports from California. “The median price of a single-family, detached home in San Luis Obispo County inched up 4.1 percent year-overyear in May to $579,540, according to the California Association of Realtors. But the uptick reflects more a change in the mix of the housing market than a strengthening in prices, according to the association’s chief economist.”

“‘The high end of the market is doing much better, so it’s not really that home prices are rising, but that the mix of what is selling is changing,’ explained Leslie Appleton-Young, vice president and chief economist for CAR. ‘We’re seeing less home-buying activity in the lower end of the market.’”

“The number of home sales fell off significantly year-over-year, down 14.1 percent from May 2006.”

“‘Our median home price is skewed by some larger sales. I think that if we looked at the average, we would find that the average home price in the county was flat or even down compared to last year,’ said David Skinner, office manager for Prudential California Realty in Arroyo Grande.”

“While most homes are taking longer to sell, Jim Irving, a broker associate in Paso Robles, said sellers who are ‘accepting reality’ are seeing their homes sell more rapidly.”

The Orange County Register. “Kenneth C. Ketner of Newport Beach was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison Monday and ordered to repay banks $9.27 million he swindled in a mortgage fraud scheme.”

“Ketner was supposed to have been drummed out of the mortgage business in 2001, when his company lost its state real estate license. But Ketner, who was indicted for criminal fraud in 2005, continued to make a living from the mortgage business, according to defense and prosecution court documents.”

“Federal law enforcement officials said his case illustrates the lack of consumer protection in California’s mortgage industry, even from someone who pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud.”

“‘Ken Ketner has admitted to taking advantage of all of the weaknesses available in the mortgage industry to defraud related parties, from lenders to borrowers, all for his own personal benefit,’ said Peter Norell, head of the FBI’s white collar crimes unit in Santa Ana. ‘These types of frauds are serious and worthy of allocating resources to investigate because it hurts everyone involved and takes advantage of those seeking the American ‘dream’ of homeownership.’”

“Ketner currently works as a partner in Danbury Consultants, ‘a company that markets mortgages by direct mail,’ according to an April 9 filing by Sheila Balkan, a criminologist hired by the defense to argue for a mild sentence.”

“Ketner’s former business partner, Michael Cardwell of Phoenix, said Ketner has been doing ‘consulting work,’ but has not been directly involved in writing mortgages. ‘He’s not – he can’t be – in the business,’ Cardwell said. ‘As liberal from a licensing standpoint as California is, there are still background checks.’”

“The California Department of Real Estate, which regulates most licensed mortgage brokers, employs 175 auditors and other enforcement staff to police more than 500,000 licensed real estate agents and brokers, fewer than one per 2,800 licensees.”

“‘Clearly, given the numbers, we’re more reactive and we need people to let us know what’s going on,’ said Tom Pool, a spokesman for the Department of Real Estate.”

The Bakersfield Californian. “Negotiations ended Monday between would-be developer David Crisp and Cal State Bakersfield for a twin 24-story tower project on campus.”

“Carl Cole, Crisp’s former partner…said recent reports in The Californian about a rash of defaults on Crisp-related properties affected the deal. ‘You guys have single-handedly had a big part in this. I have no comment for The Californian,’ Cole said Monday afternoon.”

“Crisp had until June 15 to show he had financing to cover projected costs estimated at $300 million to $400 million and a hotel and construction partner. In late May, Crisp gave The Californian a copy of a letter showing he had received a $1.8 billion line of credit from Neuflithz Wisenthall & Schlumberger, an international investment firm.”

The Central Valley Business Times. “The university says a series of newspaper stories in the Bakersfield Californian about defaults on Crisp-related properties had no impact on the decision.”

“The CSU Board of Trustees in January gave its okay for development of residential, hotel, restaurant, parking and retail space on the CSUB campus and the university says it will look for other partners to accomplish that.”

“‘Within the coming months the university will issue a new request for proposal for a public private partnership that would consist of a hotel and conference center,’ says CSUB President Horace Mitchell.”

From USA Today. “A glut of vacant, unsold homes with swimming pools is contributing to a glut of mosquitoes in the West. They become these little backyard swamps,’ says John Townsend, who runs the mosquito-control office in Arizona’s Maricopa County. ‘Mosquitoes move in and breed up a storm.’”

“Luis Navarro, a mosquito-control officer in Maricopa County, says mortgage foreclosures have brought him more business this year. Some owners don’t drain pools when they move out, and pools that were drained collect rainwater, he says.”

“David Brown, manager of the Sacramento and Yolo County, Calif., mosquito-control office, says growing concern over the mosquito-borne West Nile virus is prompting expanded efforts to identify problem pools. Last year, 4,269 people in the USA contracted the West Nile virus, and 177 died from it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

“Sacramento’s mosquito-control operation has asked the Sacramento Association of Realtors for a list of vacant homes with swimming pools. Since May, 400 pools have been reported.”

“The Southern Nevada Health District, which includes pool-packed Las Vegas, relies on neighbors’ complaints to identify pools green with algae. By June 25, the district’s ‘green pool’ count outpaced last year’s numbers by more than a fourth. Many involved vacant homes in the process of foreclosure, environmental health supervisor Mark Bergtholdt says.”

“In central California’s Santa Clara County, mosquito fighters say they can’t check each pool and that people are hesitant to report their neighbors, so the county hires a plane to take aerial photos, says Kriss Costa, community resource specialist.”

The Gazette reports from Colorado. “Colorado Springs remained mired in a housing slump in June, and at least one local economist says don’t expect a turnaround until next year. The supply of homes listed for sale soared to 6,870 in June, breaking the month-old record number of 6,567 set in May, according to a report released Monday by the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors.”

“Also, the number of home sales whose transactions were handled by real estate agents fell 17.5 percent in June when compared with the same month last year.”

“The median price of homes sold in June dropped 0.5 percent to $223,900 when compared with the same month last year. It’s the second time in three months prices have dropped, but it might not be the last.”

“‘With 6,800 homes on the market, and the median price going down, I would think we’re going to see more of that until this evens out, as much as I hate to say it,’ said Joe Clement, a veteran local real estate agent in Colorado Springs.”

“Meanwhile, El Paso County foreclosures for the first half of 2007 jumped to 1,708, a onethird increase over the same period last year, according to the El Paso County Public Trustee’s Office.”

“Springs economist Dave Bamberger said too many homebuyers jumped into the market in 2004 and 2005 to take advantage of rock-bottom mortgage rates, greatly reducing the number of buyers in today’s market.”

From Yourhub in Colorado. “A record number of foreclosures in Douglas County has prompted county officials to step in and attempt to help residents who may be in over their head on a mortgage.”

“The county recorded 1,200 foreclosures in 2006, which tied it for sixth most in the state with Larimer County, according to Public Trustee Dianne Bailey.”

“The county has already received close to 900 foreclosure notices through June of this year, which puts it on pace to nearly double the amount of foreclosures from last year, she said.”

“Some lenders extended questionable adjustable rate mortgages and interest free loans that offer small monthly payments upfront but rise considerably over time. After a while, homeowners can’t keep up with payments that double or even triple after a year, said Craig Maraschky, executive director of the Douglas County Housing Partnership.”

“‘Some people are told they can get into a house for $500 a month and don’t realize it could go up to $1,500 a month in a year,’ said Travis Anderson, single family programs manager for DCHP. ‘But the lenders, in most cases, probably knew those people shouldn’t be in a house that big but they did it anyway.’”

“There is bound to be a ripple effect from the number of foreclosures in the county on other homeowners. Foreclosures often drive down property values in the neighborhood and slow down appreciation rates on homes, Maraschky said.”

“‘It affects people on both a micro and a macro level,’ he said. ‘On a micro level, it negatively impacts the family and on a macro level, it negatively affects property values.’”

The Denver Post from Colorado. “With prices starting below $200,000, it took just a matter of weeks for developer East West Partners to sell the 389 units in the 23-story Glass House tower. Although the metro Denver housing market generally is slumping, buyers are snapping up the Glass House units that are coming back on the market.”

“Buyers started closing on their units in late January. Since then, 24 of the units have been resold, and another 44 are on the market. A significant portion of the buyers who have flipped Glass House units for a quick profit have been real estate brokers.

” “When the condos first went on the market, they sold for an average of $350 a square foot. Today, they’re fetching about $450 a square foot.”

“While Glass House attracted a slew of investors when it went on the market in April 2006, Denver hasn’t drawn the number of people looking to flip that markets such as Florida and Las Vegas have.”

“‘In certain areas, it’s almost a profession,” said Randy Nichols, who is developing a 41-story downtown building that will include 503 residences priced from $200,000 to just over $1 million. ‘Fortunately, Denver hasn’t gotten to that stage.’”

“‘It’s good that it hasn’t. If it’s all investors, you haven’t gained anything. You sell all your units and the next day, 70 percent go back on the market,’ he said.”

“‘This investor flip is going to balance itself out,’ said Tami Door, CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership Inc. ‘When you look over a downtown area and you know that X number of units have been sold, but there are no lights on in the development, that’s a problem. But I don’t think that’s the case here.’”

“Despite the number of resale units available at Glass House, East West is moving forward with a similar project called City House, a 23-story tower expected to break ground later this year.”

The Rocky Mountain News from Colorado. “While downtown Denver home sales are strong, the overall metro market continues to suffer, according to DataQuick and local experts.”

“In the first five months of the year, there were 24,258 new and resale home sales, a 9.4 percent drop from the 26,559 during the same period in 2006.”

“May marked the 12th consecutive month in which total home sales have fallen from the same month a year earlier, according to DataQuick. The median price paid per square foot fell 4.2 percent in May from May 2006, the 10th consecutive month of a year-over-year drop. The price declines have ranged from 1.8 percent to 6.4 percent.”

“Sales of new homes led the decline in May, falling 36 percent from a year ago. ‘I think it is painfully obvious…that we are in a buyer’s market,’ said Roger Reinhardt, executive VP of the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Denver.”

“He added that home builders aren’t competing with each other but with the resale market. About 20 percent of new-home sales collapse because buyers can’t sell their home, he said.”

“‘Next year won’t be any worse, but it won’t be any better, either,’ Reinhardt said. ‘There is no quick turnaround.’”

“The market, he said, is plagued by rising foreclosures on the low end; a meltdown in the subprime mortgage market; a huge inventory of unsold resale homes; not enough new, high-paying jobs; and a nationwide housing sales slump.”

“‘Someone recently asked me if we are a slumping market with pockets of strength,’ Reinhardt said. ‘I wouldn’t even say that. It’s more like pockets of strength inside of larger pockets, where the market is still weak.’”

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. CNN Money, “Existing home sales are likely to see more declines in coming months as a key reading of pending deals fell to nearly a six-year low in May, a real estate group said Tuesday. The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales, which reflects homes under contract, sank to 97.7 in May from 101.2 in April. The latest reading is 13.3 percent lower than May 2006.”

“Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ senior economist, said home sales continue to be hit by tighter lending criteria… and a lack of buyer confidence in the market. ‘Some transactions are being postponed from mortgage market disruptions,’ he said in the group’s report. ‘But better supervised lending will put housing in a fundamentally healthier state over the long term.’”

“The Pending Home Sales Index in the West was 13.7 percent below a year ago. In the Northeast, the index is 9.6 percent lower than May 2006. The index in the South fell 15.4 percent below a year ago. In the Midwest, the index dropped 11.7 percent below May 2006.”

From Bloomberg. “Today’s report showed that the May reading was the lowest level since September 2001, when the economy was in the midst of the last recession. April pending home resales were revised to a decline of 3.5 percent.”

“‘Housing has yet to find a bottom,’ said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York, whose forecast was closest to the May reading.”

From CNBC. “A really interesting report out from Karen Weaver, et al, at Deutsche Bank does a great job of showing how the national home price ‘decline’ number means absolutely nothing to the greater housing market. This report shows how local large MSA’s (metropolitan statistical areas) are ground zero for price corrections thanks to a change in the profile of the subprime borrower.”

“‘The subprime mortgage borrower was really the marginal buyer, and…the marginal buyer is the one who very much set prices so this borrower was the marginal buyer of real estate,’ says Weaver. ‘Last year for example, subprime and Alt-A was about 40% of all purchases. Now the marginal buyer, the subprime guy is running into a lot of trouble. We see foreclosures rising rapidly in that subset and that marginal buyer is now becoming the marginal seller, and that’s enough to re-price the whole housing market.’”

“These, not surprisingly, are the cities seeing some of the steepest price declines, from 8-15%, forget that 1-3% national price drop we all keep hyping.”

The Associated Press. “Here’s a scary thought about the housing market: Things may be far worse than what’s already being revealed by the troubling government and industry statistics.”

“At issue is what goes into sales price data and what does not. When those numbers are crunched, many of the incentives that sellers are using to lure buyers, including cash rebates, aren’t being included. That suggests prices may be falling faster in many markets than is now being reported.”

“Miami-based Lennar Corp., for instance, has offered to purchase furniture for buyers. Sales incentives at Lennar, one of the nation’s biggest home builders, averaged $43,700 a home in its second fiscal quarter, up from $24,700 in the similar quarter last year.”

“And it isn’t just builders piling on the incentives. It’s spilling over to the existing-home and foreclosure market, too. In Miami Shores last year a seller promised a Jaguar X-Type 3.0 sports car to anyone who would take his asking price.”

“John Devaney, who invests in subprime mortgage bonds, restricted redemptions to protect some of his Horizon Strategy hedge funds from being forced to sell assets.”

“It’s ‘a defensive move because we had an unusually high number of redemption requests and we didn’t want to be a forced seller in this market,’ Michael Gregory, a spokesman for Devaney’s United Capital Markets Holdings Inc. said yesterday.”

“One investor who wanted to withdraw accounted for about 25 percent of the funds’ money, he said. United Capital, based in Key Biscayne, Florida, oversaw $620 million in its fund group as of March 31 and $266 million in its money-losing Horizon ABS funds, an April investor letter said.”

“Assets managed by hedge funds globally more than doubled in the past five years to almost $1.6 trillion as of the first quarter, according to Hedge Fund Research.”

“While securities backed by risky loans were bought ‘by a wide range of smaller banks, pension funds, insurance companies, hedge funds, other funds and even individuals,’ hedge funds might be the ‘most exposed,’ the Bank for International Settlements said in its annual report dated June 24.”

“‘Who now holds these risks, and can they manage them adequately?’ the Basel, Switzerland-based BIS asked. ‘The honest answer is that we do not know.’”

The Seattle Times. “In April, as he shut down the 300-employee mortgage business he’d built from scratch, Layne Sapp said he hoped to find a buyer who would resuscitate MILA.”

“Instead, the Mountlake Terrace firm Monday asked the federal bankruptcy court to protect it from its creditors, joining scores of other lenders felled by the subprime-mortgage implosion.”

“Some $76 million in unsecured debt was claimed by some of the nation’s biggest lenders. Among them are Bear Stearns, with a $21 million claim; GMAC/RFC, $10.5 million; and Goldman Sachs Mortgage, $6.8 million.”

“Others with multimillion-dollar claims include Wachovia Mortgage, Deutsche Bank, Countrywide Home Loans and Indymac Bank. All have asked Mortgage Investment Lending Associates (MILA) to buy back mortgages that presumably did not meet their standards.”

“Late payments on home equity loans climbed to a 1 1/2-year high in the opening quarter of this year. The American Bankers Association reported Tuesday that late payments on home equity loans rose to 2.15 percent in the January-to-March quarter. That was up sharply from 1.92 percent in the final quarter of last year and was the highest since the late summer of 2005.”

“‘There are still signs of consumer financial distress, which will continue throughout most of this year as the worst of the housing problem works its way through the economy,’ said James Chessen, the association’s chief economist.”

The Financial Post. “Just a few weeks ago it was all sunny skies amid galloping global growth. The warnings are now flowing thick and fast.”

“Donald Coxe, global portfolio strategist for BMO Financial Group believes the market for fiendishly clever debt instruments will implode like all previous financial fashions from Third World bank loans to derivatives dreamt up by Nobel laureates.”

“‘In this decade it is collateralized debt products that seek to make risk disappear from cash markets into a tower inhabited by investment banks and hedge funds in which the shared language is algorithms,’ he wrote in his recent publication Basic Points. ‘Like all past Babels, this one will, at some point, self-destruct.’”

“Bear Stearns, and other CDO players with subprime exposure are hedged largely against the ABX index, a synthetic financial security used by investors to specifically hedge subprime risk, said Dominic Konstam, head of the interest rate group at Credit Suisse First Boston.”

“This does not mean however, that a financial institution or two may not take a hit or that the recoil in the market won’t hit investor sentiment, Mr. Konstam said.”

“The latest buzzword floating around bond desks? ‘Crediteering’ as in, ‘There will be a lot more crediteering going on,’ or more selective choice of credit.”

“‘From the Fed’s perspective that’s okay,’ he said ‘In the extreme that becomes a market failure but in its own right that’s quite healthy.’”

From Reuters. “Fidelity fund manager Anthony Bolton has likened the market in collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) to the controversial split-capital trust sector, and warned on the methods used by some activist hedge funds.”

“Bolton, one of the UK’s most respected managers, said while the development of packages of debt such as CDOs has helped spread risk, they nevertheless pose a large investment risk. ‘I still think there are major risks with these — CDOs, CLOs (collaterised loan obligations),’ he said.”

“‘They are basically based on a model, which is based on a set of assumptions. It’s very difficult to say ‘it’s always like this.’ If something goes wrong with the assumptions, it changes the model,’ he said.”

“‘It reminds me a lot of split-level investment trusts. They were based on models and assumptions, and it turned out the models were wrong and that led to the collapses. I think what will happen is that the prime brokers won’t allow valuations based on models. They will require valuations based on the market and that will be a mechanism leading to more reality,’”

“U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Monday the U.S. housing market correction was ‘at or near the bottom’ although it could be some time before an upturn.”

“‘No one is forecasting when, with any degree of clarity, that the upturn is going to come other than it’s at or near the bottom,’ he said.’We are making this transition successfully (from) a growth rate that wasn’t sustainable to one that is sustainable,’ Paulson said.”

“Paulson, who was chairman of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. before taking the top Treasury post last year, said he monitored financial markets closely, and aside from the subprime situation, they remained healthy. ‘Markets are volatile,’ he said. ‘I haven’t seen a single thing that surprises me; it’s hard to surprise me.’”

The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. “Overall the news for Central Florida underscored a trend that began in about 2005, when high insurance and unbridled property taxes curbed buyers’ appetite for coastal properties. ‘Coastal areas are where we’re seeing the lowest of the lows,’ said Volusia County Property Appraiser Morgan Gilreath. ‘The market extended itself out the furthest. You can only pull a rubber band so far before it snaps back.’”

“Next year, eight major condominium projects will come on line, but condo prices could suffer, Property Appraiser Bill Donegan said. ‘The condo market is one that I think that you’re going to see somewhat of a price break because so many were bought by investors,’ Donegan said. ‘People said: ‘I’ll buy it and flip it tomorrow.’ So many of them bought it and they can’t flip it.’”

“Seminole County Property Appraiser David Johnson said he has seen prices soften in new subdivisions. Particularly in new neighborhoods with prices from $350,000 to $500,000, builders are offering buyers incentives and sometimes discounting prices 20 percent.”

“Investors who purchased new houses before construction are trying to sell and recoup their money. That all forces homeowners trying to sell in those newer areas to drop their prices, he said.”

“Throughout Seminole, the demand for condominiums in the mid-$100,000s price range has dropped enough that prices are down about 10 percent, Johnson said.”

“‘We’re at the tail end of that boom period. We hear all the time that the market is down. It’s down. It’s down. And it is down as far as the number of houses that are selling and the amount of time they are on the market, but prices are not dropping on house resalesm” said Frank Royce, chief deputy in the county Property Appraiser’s Office.”

“Meanwhile, Royce estimated that the number of foreclosures quadrupled in Lake during the past year.”

The News Press. “Single-family-home permits issued in Cape Coral fell to 69, down from 77 this past month, the lowest since the same number were issued in February 1996.”

“In December 2005 at the height of the bull market that prevailed in 2004 and 2005, the median Realtor-assisted sale of an existing single-family home was $322,300, and 1,084 houses were sold that month in all of Lee County, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.”

“By May, the median price was $281,500 and only 575 houses were sold. There are about 15,000 houses for sale, about four times the number at the height of the market.”

From NBC 2. “The growing number of kitchen arsons is putting lives and homes in danger. Officials say the number of suspicious fires in Lee County has skyrocketed. Officials with the State Fire Marshal’s Office say that sometimes, homeowners purposely started their own home on fire.”

“Local firefighters say they have seen similar situations take place because the homeowner was just looking to collect the insurance money.”

“‘If I just leave something on the stove burning, say I have to go to the store, maybe I can get some money out of it,’ said Patrick Comer, of Lehigh Acres Fire.”

“So far this year, they’ve fought 18 fires and 10 of those were thought to be suspicious. ‘We got double those numbers in the first five months of the year and our population did not double,’ said Comer.”

“‘Are they behind on their mortgage payments and they’re trying to get out of a bad house deal? We’ve seen a lot of foreclosures, does that figure into it?’ said Comer.”

From Florida Today. “Anyone banking on a quick end to the slow housing market is likely to be disappointed. Housing experts say it might be months, a year, or more before sales pick up, and they’re just giving their best guess.”

“Meanwhile, buyers continue to balk at prices that don’t reflect the current economic situation. Brevard County’s 483 home sales in May were down 26 percent compared to May 2006.”

“The median price fell 16 percent to $190,400 over the same time, the Florida Association of Realtors says.”

“As Jonathan Krauser with RE/MAX Surfside Properties in Cape Canaveral says, properties must be ‘priced correctly for market conditions’ to sell.”

“Sure, it’s disappointing to sellers to know they missed the market peak. But sales go hot and cold and always have.”

The Herald Tribune . “In a bankruptcy case flanked by flying civil suits, Construction Compliance Inc. of St. Petersburg, filed its reorganization in Tampa’s federal bankruptcy court.”

“After grossing $36.4 million in 2004 and $63 million in 2005, CCI owes less than $400,000 to secured creditors but owes $10.6 million to unsecured creditors.”

“Many of those were home buyers who signed up with CCI for lot-plus-home deals in North Port. Many now have an uncompleted home that cannot be legally occupied, or nothing more than a vacant lot with a bit of site work.”

“To some degree, those home buyers already have given up hope of collecting. Within the past month, dozens of them have filed suits against the lender who forwarded money in their name to CCI for work which never got done, Bradenton-based Coast Financial Holdings Inc.”

“The bank made construction loans with a face value of $110 million to 482 customers of CCI. Roughly $66 million of that total already has disbursed to CCI.”

“For example, in one of the new suits, Michael J. and Telma L. Dorcey of Tarzana, Calif., said that they took out a loan of $228,600 from Coast to build a CCI home in North Port. Coast disbursed $83,055 to CCI, but the company did no work on the Dorceys’ lot, the suit claims.”

“So the buyers find themselves indebted to Coast Bank for a house that never got started, they allege.”

“Coast acted in collaboration with American Mortgage Link, a mortgage brokerage company, Tannenbaum alleges in the Dorcey suit.”

“AML, in turn, came up with an enticing marketing ploy: the buyer could pick up a lot and home package with the promise of no money down, and with the builder absorbing the interest on the construction loan, ‘all with the intent that the completed package would be sold at a substantial profit before the issuance of the certificate of occupancy for the home,’ the Dorceys’ suit states.”

From Multi Housing News. “Over the last 35 years, Stuart Saft, a partner at an international law firm based in New York, has prepared many condominium offering plans and dealt extensively with condo workouts.”

“In an interview with MHN, Saft recalled that this is the fourth downturn he has been through in the real estate market.”

“‘I didn’t ever expect to see it again because I thought developers would act in a businesslike fashion, lenders would be more careful and Congress would be more aware of the potential damage they can cause, like they did with the Tax Reform Act of 1986,’ he notes. ‘Real estate is cyclical–it always has been and always will be.’”

“MHN: Which markets do you think are the hardest hit right now? Saft: ‘Miami is incredibly overbuilt at the moment. People were selling on views, and views were being taken away by the next building. Properties may have to be repriced, developers may need to put in more equity and/or lenders may have to review the situation.’”

The Miami Herald. “Macy’s Florida Chairman Julie Greiner walks out the door of her downtown Miami store to find homeless people and abandoned, boarded-up buildings ‘infested with rats and mold.’”

“One of Greiner’s employees was recently attacked by a homeless man on his way to work, just outside the employee entrance to the Flagler Street store that also serves as Macy’s Florida’s corporate headquarters.”

“She took the region to task in her speech, contrasting Miami’s building boom on Biscayne Boulevard and Brickell Avenue with the ‘broken curbs, collapsed sidewalks and garbage-strewn empty lots’ a few blocks away in downtown.”

“When it comes to recruiting ‘talented people,’ Greiner says she finds they want three things: ‘good public schools, affordable housing and an acceptable amount of time commuting by car.’ ‘In baseball terms, we are zero for three,’ said Greiner.”

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