Signs Of Where The Market Is Headed In Florida
Some housing bubble reports out of Florida. “Midtown Miami, the massive mixed-use residential development is up for sale. Real estate broker Edie Laquer said they always planned to sell after construction started. But market watchers immediately questioned whether this is another example of a residential developer trying to limit risk at a time when the housing market has cooled.”
“‘This is another sign of where this market might be headed,’ said Jay Massirman,with real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis in Miami. ‘It says to me that they’re worried about the market.’”
The St. Petersburg Times. “How long can a house fail to sell and still be called ‘Simply Irresistible?’ There may be no better illustration of the real estate glut than a 2,800-square-foot house, which debuted at $710,000 in December. The house’s price tag recently was cut to $675,000. But after more than 200 days on the market, the listing, and its signs, persist, raising doubts about the home’s compulsive appeal.”
“Delays are hitting a few of the region’s major condominium projects, but not every developer is blaming high construction costs. Nautico, what will become part of St. Petersburg’s ‘Aquaplex’ district, was supposed to have broken ground last March. The earliest ground will likely break now is March 2007, and it could be 2008 before anyone is living there, said Frank Maggio, CEO.”
“‘Long gone are the days when you could put up a circus tent, have a couple people juggling balls and some expensive hors d’oeuvres, and walk away with $20 million worth of presales,’ Maggio said. Nautico was expected to hit its presale threshold to begin building by this month, but he said potential homebuyer traffic is only a third of what was projected.”
“Nautico isn’t the only property affected. ‘Any project that requires presales is hindered,’ Maggio said. ‘I’m hearing that everywhere.’”
“Foreclosure paperwork began on 156 homes along the Treasure Coast last month. In St. Lucie County, 77 homes were in foreclosure proceedings in June, the most on the Treasure Coast. Martin County had 47 properties registered.”
“Jerry Mabus, president of the Realtors Association of St. Lucie County, said, ‘Some speculators came in with the intent of flipping, but now they are just walking away from them.’”
“Brad Hunter of Metrostudy, said the report is a reflection of the creative financing made available to those who over stretched themselves financially and bought a house in late 2005. ‘This upward trend of foreclosures is occurring because some people bought homes they had no business buying,’ Hunter said. ‘People that bought near the peak of the market on an adjustable rate (mortgage) are getting squeezed out of their homes now.’”
“Foreclosure filings in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties jumped in June as rising mortgage costs and skyrocketing insurance rates combined to squeeze homeowners’ wallets. Palm Beach County also is notorious for overzealous homeowner associations, Jim Sahnger said. ‘In some cases, I have seen up to 35 percent of some properties being foreclosed on by the homeowner association,’ Sahnger said. ‘Many of them have pretty short fuses.’”
From Florida Today. “Holiday Builders has cut jobs, and Mercedes Homes indicated it is considering it, as Brevard County’s two largest homebuilders move to contain costs amid a slowing housing market.”
“Industry officials are bracing for an impact. ‘New construction for 2006 is leveling off from the boom in recent years,’ said Jade Bulecza, a spokeswoman for the Florida Home Builders Association in Tallahassee. ‘The real estate market is going to come in for a landing. It’s just a question of whether it’s going to be bumpy or soft.’”
Thanks to the readers who contributed to this post. Here is an interview at the Naples News:
‘ Daily News reporter Gina Edwards spoke with Brenda Talbert, director of the 1,400-member Collier Building Industry Association. ‘Q: What are the biggest issues facing the industry right now? A:The bigger-picture issue is the economy’s changing…We’re not getting those fast sales that we saw, that pace that we saw in the last couple of years. If you’re sitting there with a lot of inventory and you have to hold it for 18 months, that could really affect how you run your business and the profitability of that business. So we’re very concerned where the market is going. We’ve seen bubbles in the economy before. We’ve seen things really die off bad and a lot of people get hurt from it. We’ve also seen very, very good times. So we’re not sure where we’re at — if we’re in, ‘Oh great,’ to, ‘Oh isschh, we got a problem here.’
‘So we’re not sure where we’re at — if we’re in, ‘Oh great,’ to, ‘Oh isschh, we got a problem here.’
Brenda, here is a hint to help you figure out where you’re at. Were you engaged in this bout of hand wringing six months ago?
“How long can a house fail to sell and still be called ‘Simply Irresistible?’”
How long can a house fail to sell and still be called correctly priced?
I wish they had a picture of it. The comments by readers under the story are kind of sad. Denial still in full swing.
“Orange County Foreclosures Rise Sharply” (as predicted) http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/homepage/article_1214173.php
Latest Palm Beach County numbers out.
More inventory + less sales= ?
Now that summer is here and the buying season is over until the fall, things should start to accelerate. There are almost 900 foreclosures in PB county, or 1 for every 600 houses. Florida is now #3 in the nation in foreclosures. In Broward there are almost 2000 foreclosures!!! Wait until mortgage rates hit 7%.
http://iprecom.tempdomainname.com/trendg/images/palsld.PNG
When exactly is the “buying season” in FL? In the winter when sales started to slow, the “industry was spouting “spring rally and strong summer before school starts.” Now that sales have by all accounts tanked for both spring and summer, it’s “wait until snowbird season when everyone comes down to buy $400K/1000sqft ‘retirement condos.’” Here in Tampa, there is no “snowbird season” as far as I can tell. Just a bunch of working folks still stupidly paying these preposterously overinflated prices–just at a far lesser rate than they were last year. Price reductions are happening, but not fast enough or big enough to make up for the ridiculous starting prices. I will be renting until the street crews manage to get all the blood off the streets, because the crash will be bad here.
I actually thought that the number of for sale/for rent signs in South Tampa was diminishing, but something must have happened recently, because there has been an explosion in the last two weeks, especially along the “s__tbox row” of South MacDill condos and townhouses. I happen to know someone trying to sell one of these places. He bought last summer and is trying to peddle his place for a $45,000 gain. Good luck with that.
I sold and now successfully rent in Tampa. Couldn’t be happier. Ahh the freedom with renting trumps anyone who touts the freedom of owning. If the price drops, then you are a prisoner in your own sh*tbox.
Hi TampaEsq,
Could you tell me how the market is in Tampa area for experienced paralegals? I am relocating there with my wife to be near her family - (we have a little nest egg from selling our home in NY but will be renting until we can get nice SFR in 200K range) I have looked at the Florida CFR and it looks almost identical to NY CPLR. Any comments would help.
What are the Florida “CFR” and the NY “CPLR” ? Some use of words instead of acronyms would help stimulate comments, I’ll bet…
Hi Buddhaman,
I am not sure how the market is–I work in gov’t. I do know that the cost of living here is pretty high given salaries, but there is a lot of legal work to be found. There are a bunch of legal placement firms, which cater especially to seasoned professionals. I would think that with experience, you would easily find something, even if temporary until you find a permanent position. The other nice thing about Tampa is that it’s not DC, NYC, or Chicago. With a few exceptions, most of my private-firm acquaintances work 8-5 with very few weekends, and the local bar is pretty small and friendly.
My advice for finding a good place to rent is to drive around the neighborhoods you like, because there are tons of places for rent, and the “unlisted” ones are more reasonably priced and the owners are more open to negotiation. Good luck with your move!
From the article:
“One out of every 1,517 Orange County households entered some stage of foreclosure, higher than Los Angeles County’s rate for the first time this year. Los Angeles County’s rate was one out of 1,856 households”
Seems strange to me; I guess OC folks aren’t as sophisticated as I thought. Then again, is it here that I read BK is the new black?
the bit about the “simply irresistable” house that buyers are apparently resisting, or at least are resisting the price puts me in mind of another question. What do agents mean by “rare offering”? Often applied to fairly ordinary-looking houses. Maybe they mean it in the culinary sense: an undercooked house.
LOL. The houses just turned to toast ,(burnt toast ).
Ryland Homes is reporting 2q earnings tomorrow AM - they have already taken a severe beating and their stock is down again this morning, i’m sure in anticipation of the bad news.
Up until a week and a half ago, you could look on their website and watch the ever growing list of inventory homes in Tampa area. There were 22 in Water’s Edge, a community i’ve been following and probably over a hundred over all. Now they redesigned their website and the inventory homes are nowhere to be found - they are probably trying to hide the bad news from potential buyers who might be scared away from living in ghost town (Water’s Edge also has at least 30 homes on the MLS from stuck flippers - prices are just starting to be reduced, looks like nothing is selling for them either)
Ryland has not lowered prices at all after raising them 10- 15K every 3 months for the last year and a half - they are offering some paltry incentives like upgraded kitchen and “free” homesite - but it looks like no one is buying and I think this earnings report might be a killer. I was going to buy one of their homes, but can’t in this environment. It’s obvious they are getting killed - why don’t they just lower their prices?
Not sure about Ryland in particular in the area you’re talking about, but don’t underestimate the value of a “Free homesite” vs. what builders USED TO ask for homesite premiums. It was customary when my wife and I shopped for our current home (in 2003, new construction, Southeast FL) to see premiums running from $20,000 on up to $80,000 (for “preserve” and/or lake views on larger than average lots). Don’t get me wrong — these premiums were NEVER really “worth” that much. But if RYL is offering them for free now, it’s possible that’s a list price cut of $40,000 or higher.
Offer on website says up to 15K value - but they ran the prices on these homes up over 60K since development started 12 mos earlier - so it’s hardly a retreat.
We had a Ryland home in Westchase. I’ve been watching the Ryland market for quite some time, as we’d like to build the same house. Unless the numbers were inaccurate on their website for the past couple of years, they didn’t seem to run up their prices as much as the other builders I’ve looked at. Nohl Crest, mercedes, David Weekly(insane)….. I bought a St. Charles in Westchase for $290 in 1998. They don’t seem to be building that floorplan anymore. Too bad! Anyway, the LaSalle II could be built on a golf course with minimal upgrades(back then, most of us folks didn’t put a ton of upgrades in, maybe wood floors, extra tile….) for a little over $300K It appears that you can build the same house in Waters Edge for $478K. Not quite double what it was 8 years ago. Of course, I’m not sure what the lot premiums are…… Back then it was $20-40K for a golf course, I’m sure that’s what a standard costs now….. I would say go in and offer them asking price for a house with a pool, premium lot, wood, granite, upgraded tile, upgraded appliances….. see what you get. If not, Give them your number and wait for them to call you in a few months when they need you. I would say $480K for a Lasalle II home is pretty fair even in a crumbling market. It’s a lot of house! Oh, and if you buy a Ryland, make sure they have two separate air conditioning units. I think it’s standard now, but back then it wasn’t. Also hire someone to inspect it through the building process……. Good luck.
I just noticed your price range on an earlier post. Just a piece of advice if you have kids, you want a minimum of 2400 sq ft. Remember you won’t have a basement like up north and if your family is growing, toys….. will make the walls shrink in on you. Trust me, I have three kids and we’re renting right now in approx. 2500 sq ft. In this market, you don’t want to have to move again in a few years. Don’t want to sound like a mortgage broker/realtor, but if you can spend a little more, I would. Back in 1998, you could get a 2400 sq. foot home for around $200k standard everything…..
I have friends in WestChase who bought on the cheap! It’s amazing to see how much prices have risen there. If you are a first time home buyer, forget it.
Lizzie or anyone,
Westchase caused a big ruckus because they harassed some lady about a support our troops sign. It was NOT ALLOWED by the HOA. For more informtation, check out this news report on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvDf90_WLYo&search=Westchase
information ACK!
Yeah! That was ridiculous! Of course you didn’t read about the neighborhood uproar over that! Everyone was so angry! A few years back the daycare center was whacked for having a purple dinosaur slide. They had to change it to green. All over the papers too! It is so embarrassing to the majority of the residents. That’s what puckered, have nothing to do with my time, let’s make our neighbors as puckered and miserable as us HOA’s do! Still, push comes to shove, it’s the best community to live in! Wish the high school were better! We’d be staying!
Eh private schools
Hi,
We exchanged a bit a on here couple months ago about Tampa?Pasco - thanks for the advice - A Lasalle at Waters Edge would be around 600K - they had one or two on their inventory list before they whacked the list. Anyway - I agree about size - we have one child and may have one more so something 2000 - 2500 sq would be nice - but that was going to cost way over 300K + … I would rather wait this burst out - I see prices starting to come down already, albeit slowly. I looked at Westchase since you mentioned it a while back and it does look nice & central located but very expensive - again, prices are starting to come down but anything under 300K is under 1800 Sq. ft. on small lots.
I am already confident I can get something new over 2000sq. for under 300K - they are starting to pop up in my searches more and more - am a little afraid of getting into a ghost town with dropping values and possible issues of their being very few owners and hoa fees spiking to cover expenses.
From my research it looks like new homes were $100 per sq. ft. just a couple years ago and with over 50,000 homes in Tampa on Zip Realty right now, I think it is inevitable that these prices will return.
Of all the builders I saw though, Ryland really was one of the more reasonable, and very nice layouts and touches - although I know they had problems with water penetrating the stucco in hurricanes -
anyway, I want to preserve the money I have and will wait until I find something where I feel like i’m getting a bargain rather than stretching myself thin - i might as well stay in NY and buy a 450-600K sh*tbox and keep my high paying high stress job rather than pay that much in Tampa.
Watching the listings change every day down there, I can feel the pressure on the prices. This thing has a way to unwind.
APB: Refinancing in Florida-
Is there a tax similar to an excise tax (for selling) for residents who refinance in Florida? Inquiring minds would like to know.
Thanks!
In Florida, we have a two part tax on mortgage loans. It works out to be .55% of the loan amount. This means on a $100k loan, the state gets $550. The state has made out quite handsomely the last 3-4 years off of the mortgage tax and their .70% of all purchase prices.
One thing that I recently noticed in the latest Real Estate Guides down here in Central Florida : The number of Realtor(tm) GlamShots(tm) in the ads are down.
Used to be that about one of every two ads had a picture of the Realtor(tm), now I would guesstimate that about 1 in 7 has a GlamShot(tm).
It’s getting tight down here….+ $ 3.00 gallon gas and associated FB’s and flipper panic is definitely starting to get into full swing. I am seeing lots of boats, Harleys, and SUV For Sale on McMansion front lawns. Funny thing about boats, you usually see them up for sale in the winter around Christmas/IRS/Property tax time….after the summer boating season. They are fro sale everywhere and its only midsummer……
“In some cases, I have seen up to 35 percent of some properties being foreclosed on by the homeowner association,” Sahnger said. “Many of them have pretty short fuses.”
Ok, now someone please remind me why anyone would consider buying a home in a develpment burdened by an HOA. Also, doesn’t it seem that lenders would look askance at properties that are at risk from loose-cannon HOAs?
Don’t they have a new law in California that a HOA can’t foreclose on a property for lack of payment on the homeowners ,(you can put a lien the house and that’s it )?
Anyway , I’m sure in many states the HOA still has the power to foreclose for lack of payment on dues/fees . If you have 35% not paying you got a tract of unqualified buyers or flipper city .This is were the insolvent flippers and FB’s can ruin the value for the other buyers . I’m sure the flippers said they were going to owner-occupy.. That’s why you have to watch out when you purchase in more ways than just price .
Amen to that. What’s happened in our South Florida neighborhood (we’ve been here 10 years) is that as the values have gone crazy, so have some of the people living here, especially the homeowner’s board. Nice easygoing people when their homes were $300K, they became Nazi’s when the homes hit $700+. Since everyone takes very good care of their homes and property, people are going for what they think is perfection. Some actually believe that if our mailbox poles aren’t perfectly vertical, or we leave our portable basketball goals out in the driveway (many children in the neighborhood), or someone puts in the wrong size bushes or the wrong color flowers, it will decrease property values or keep them from increasing. People actually patrol the neighborhood looking for violations. We live on a cul-de-sac, and there’s no reason for them to come down here. If I’m outside and I see them coming, I hit tennis balls at them. We used to have big friendly neighborhood parties, now everyone hates each other. Anyone else with this issue?
Yes, happened in my old neighborhood. Swingsets, basketball hoops, garage doors…. Neighbors reporting neighbors… People fed up started running for the HOA board to get rid of some of the puckered people. We’ve moved around quite a bit and every neighborhood HOA board is always the most puckered, have an agenda kind of people! The laid back folks don’t have the time!
On the flip side, drive through neighborhoods without deed restrictions and check out how the houses look. It’s a damned if you have them(deed restrictions)/damned if you don’t situation!
I like your idea of hitting tennis balls at the nazi’s!!!!!!!
Live in certain neighborhoods in South Tampa without HOA’s and they look damn nice
But all the homes are over a cool million too.
It’s pretty much a given if you spend 1-10 million on a house, you can pretty much either afford or appear to afford the landscapers to take care of your yard. Go a block or two over and under a million and you have yourself a lovely dump! All for the bargain price of $500K Lovely three bedroom, 2 bath, no garage….. green appliances….But, you don’t have to worry about leaving the Little Tykes toys all over the yard. It’s a trade off. More house, less money, new neighborhood with HOA. Lots MORE money, more house, Bayshore area. More Money, tiny little house, south tampa, No HOA. It’s all a matter of preference.
What the nazis don’t realize is that our neighborhood is less in demand because people hear about the in-fighting. And for whatever reason, the neighborhoods nearby without associations are just as nicely kept. My wife and I feel the change for the worse in our neighborhood started when some people began viewing their homes more as an investment and less a place to live. In fact, we can’t think of a single positive thing the run-up in prices and tax revenues has given us personally here in South Palm Beach County. Schools still lousy, no new or better parks or recreation areas for the kids, more crowding and traffic, worse service in the restaurants and stores, etc. The last two years they dumped the hurricane refuse on the kid’s soccer fields (ending the season), guess everyplace else has been sold to build condos and townhouses.
I think lenders would prefer HOA’s as they do help retain property values. HOA’s get out of control when you get a group of idiots to change the restrictions and or go overboard as the case has been in many neighborhoods I’ve lived in. The only lien put on a property in one of my old neighborhoods was a family from India that refused to weed/mow. The weeds were three feet tall. After months and months of lawyer intervention, the neighborhood did put a lien on their mortgage. At that point the people finally hired a lawn service. Of course it ended up costing them more than it would have if they did it in the first place. I personally was glad to see the mess fixed.
Most new neighborhoods have HOA’s. The only way to avoid HOA’s is to move to an older neighborhood. HOA”s are Not good for the investor though. If they have to maintain the lawn in addition to the mortgage, taxes, insurance….. Too bad! Should have thought of that before they bought. That’s probably why you are seeing the increase in HOA’s foreclosing all the empty specuvestors homes that have been sitting empty, not cared for.
People on the Wet Coast are having a very hard time making mortgage payments. In Orange County, CA there was a 60% rise in foreclosures from May ‘06 to June ‘06. This is just the beginning. Yes, the overall number is actually quite low, however, a 60% rise in a small number each month will quickly grow. Here’s the article http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/money/yourcounty/article_1214173.php
‘MANATEE - The development company slated to build several Anna Maria housing projects has sought bankruptcy protection. GSR Development LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Thursday in federal bankruptcy court in Tampa. According to its filing, GSR has between 100 and 199 estimated creditors, who are owed between $10 million and $50 million. Court documents indicate the company owes millions to secured creditors like Horizon Bank. GSR planned to build the Rosa Del Mar condominiums in Bradenton Beach, a stalled project that has spurred its own recent litigation involving the company’s expired building permits and alleged code enforcement issues. The development company was also slated to build Villa Rosa, a gated community of single-family homes in Anna Maria.’
Just went to Anna Maria Island on Friday. Tons of houses for sale! Lots of tear downs that were rebuilt. Every other house for sale. They definately don’t need those condominiums!!!!!!!
How can they be bankrupt so quickly after this boom? Probably the first of many builders to close shop………
My guess … and this is just a guess … is that real, coastal property — especially barrier island property like Anna Maria on the west coast or Hutchinson Island here on the east coast –could really suffer in this downturn. The reason: The insurance/carrying costs are literally off the charts. A lot of these people are second home owners, so they don’t qualify for a homestead exemption like those of us who live in our homes. Their taxes have been surging 10%, 15% or more per year as a result (Save Our Homes/homestead exemption caps you at 3% yearly increase and gives you $25,000 cut in assessed value). Then there’s the insurance component. Insurance costs are literally going up more than 100% per year in areas of FL thanks to the recent hurricanes. Coastal areas are the worst because you need both homeowners coverage and a separate windstorm policy. On a 2,000 sq ft. house, you might be talking about $5,000 or more in YEARLY insurance. Throw in thousands and thousands more in taxes and I’m betting a lot of people are saying “to hell with it.”
I used to live there too! No surprise there, especially at the north end of the island where everything has been rebuilt!
I lived in Jensen Beach from 1981-1985.
They had a condo bust out on Hutchinson Island and you could pickup a 2bdr/2ba condo oceanside for $ 70,000 - $85,000. Not bad, even in 1980’s money.
I was a poor surfer college student living in a 2bdr/2ba condo at Island Beach Resort on Hutchinson Island….my rent was $ 650.00/mo which I split with a roomate…..
It took them YEARS to sell all the condos that they built in the early 80’s.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ulrichp/1362599/
Oh, the Huge Manatee!
“compulsive appeal”…..I guess that’s how we got to where we are today in RE!
“the report is a reflection of the creative financing made available to those who over stretched themselves financially and bought a house in late 2005. ‘This upward trend of foreclosures is occurring because some people bought homes they had no business buying,’ Hunter said. ‘People that bought near the peak of the market on an adjustable rate (mortgage) are getting squeezed out of their homes now.’”
Hey Brad, guess what? After we clear out those who bought in 2005 we’ll be hitting those that bought in 2004 and you can use this statement again but just change the year….
“The development company slated to build several Anna Maria housing projects has sought bankruptcy protection.”
Now this is the start of some good news. MSM is going to find it harder to ignore with more data like this.
(Tampa, FL) - Last night I sat by a couple real estate jackoffs at the bar. They were talking about how nothing has sold and they are tired of getting new listings from frustrated sellers (read=greedy sellers) who don’t sell after a 6 month listing contract and then expect a different realtor to sell it within days at the same inflated price.
Every street corner has 10-15 ‘for-sale’ signs on the weekends. The only thing that will save this region is a hurricane that wipes out 50% of the housing stock.
There may be no better illustration of the real estate glut than a 2,800-square-foot house, which debuted at $710,000 in December. The house’s price tag recently was cut to $675,000. But after more than 200 days on the market, the listing, and its signs, persist, raising doubts about the home’s compulsive appeal.”
Wow!!! that is some price reduction. How could anybody resist that deal? I mean they lopped an entire 5% off the asking price. Where’s my checkbook?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvDf90_WLYo&search=Westchase on the neighborhood in West Chase.
That was so funny! Embarrassing too! You made my day!
Not sure if my comments were added? I live in North Bay village Fl a short 2 miles from Miami Beach. This area has seen some of the highest appreciation rates in the country. I sold my home a few years back and when I started looking again after renting for a few years I was sticker shocked at the prices for condos at over $200,000.00 ( yeah I know it looks so inexpensive now, I owned my town house for 12 years in South Miami and sold it in 1999 for a mere $10,000.00 profit at $87.000.00).
Last year my building was featered on the front page of the Miami Herald as one of the most damaged buildings in Miami after hurricance Wilma paid us a visit. A few hundred sliding doors were torn out, in some units connecting walls “disappeared” and it took until this weekend to have our pool fixed. Yes I am renting in the building for a mere $1,150.00 p/m from my landlord. Last year prices had skyrocketed from the low 200s to the high 200s and300rds. I decided to wait due to all the hype about the bubble.
So far this year 10 units were sold and at a higher price than similar units were sold for last year say September.I am really worried, there are many price reductions but they don’t mean anything. It is like selling a pencil for $100,00 and than reducing the rate 3 times until you get to $49.00 still way overpriced.
Dont’t get me wrong I ,and others like me, have been priced out ofthe market. Miami’s incomes do not by any means support these prices and I don’t know what will come of this..
Sounds like you have a good thing going. If you bought, you’d spend more on insurance, taxes and maintenance alone than you pay now.
Yvonne,
Calm down, prices will come back to earth. The economy is about to enter a period of stagflation -inflation( read high interest rates) and low or no growth. Lots of bankruptcies and foreclosures are on the horizon. Also, I counted 17 condo towers under construction in downtown miami alone. Lots of supply comming online. It will be a blood bath here in miami. Things take time to unwind.
Thanks, I do see the logic in this happening also but it is amazing how much of their paycheck people are able to spend on their monthly mortgage/HOA/taxes.. I remember when $200,000.00 for a 1000 sq ft condo was considered almost out of reach. The higher the prices climbed the more eager people became to put themselves even more in debt..
When looking at the affordability of a property most people seem to ignore the taxes part. They’ll say e.g. that the $1,600.00 mortgage payments are not that much higher than the rent. Well they are if you add the 2.57% in property taxes and the HOA to the calculation..