“Land Prices Have Deteriorated” In Florida
The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. “Plans to sell the historic Gulfstream Polo Club to housing developers have collapsed. Westbrooke Homes terminated its contract to buy 221 acres for $66.5 million. Land speculator Brian Tuttle also wants to back away from buying another 212 acres of Gulfstream horse farms at prices negotiated before the downturn in the housing market began.”
“‘We’re renegotiating our whole idea because of the housing market and Westbrooke not closing on its land,’ Tuttle confirmed last week. ‘Land prices have deteriorated.’”
The News Press. “Page Mobile Village sits vacant and bedraggled, now the owners have put the Fort Myers landmark up for sale. Cornerstone representatives had discussions with city officials about building a town-home project on the property but there hasn’t been any progress lately, said Maureen Lund, the city’s development services manager. ‘It looks like they went away’ before getting permission to build the community.”
“Tom Birch of Birch Co., which is marketing the property, said Cornerstone’s original plans were a victim of the downturn in the demand for housing. ‘With the change in the residential market the way it is, that’s not salable and they’ve changed direction,’ he said.”
From TC Palm. “Indian River County commissioners opened a public hearing on Tuesday on the 462-acre Sexton family ranch. The county’s proposed purchase would buy the owners’ rights to develop the land for non-agricultural operations such as housing developments.”
“The county’s appraisals are a year old, created at a time of escalated property values. Now development has slowed, potentially affecting the appraisals, said Commissioner Joseph Flescher. The appraisals said the property was worth $22.19 million, or $48,000 an acre last year. The development rights were worth $19.87 million, or $43,000 an acre, said Chief County Environmental Planner Roland DeBlois.”
“The Sexton family’s own appraisal is $14 million for the development rights, said family member Sean Sexton.”
“The county and Sexton family negotiated the price of $12 million. Sexton wouldn’t comment on whether the family would settle for less. ‘We would have to talk about that,’ he said. ‘I can’t speak for everyone.’”
The Tallahassee Democrat. “The St. Joe Co. called it reorganization, but to about 50 Tallahassee employees, it felt like being fired when the office was closed abruptly around mid-day Tuesday.”
“‘A very talented group of people were let go today by a good company,’ said Erin Ennis, who until Tuesday was a St. Joe Co. vice president in Tallahassee.”
“‘I think they overbuilt,’ Tallahassee Mayor John Marks said, referring to the SouthWood development.”
The Sun Sentinel. “The honeymoon may be over for retailers in South Florida, thanks to the slow housing market. The National Retail Federation’s chief economist, Rosalind Wells, said the tides may have changed for South Florida. ‘It can’t boom forever,’ Wells said. ‘Maybe it’s going through a correction.’”
“Sales of existing single-family homes in Broward County dropped 23 percent compared with November 2005, according the most recent figures by the Florida Association of Realtors. In neighboring Palm Beach County, sales were down 45 percent in the same period.”
“The slowdown in the national housing market will undoubtedly continue to have an impact on furniture and home improvement stores, Wells said, noting those retailers are ‘at the mercy of the cycle.’”
The Herald Tribune. “Facing mounting debts, vicious overseas competition and a downturn in the residential housing market, one of Southwest Florida’s largest manufacturers appears to have melted down.”
“With debts of nearly $5 million, CFI Manufacturing-Carter Grandle Furniture last week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors. It has shed all but eight of its more than 100 workers.”
“The last year, the already embattled industry was hit by the precipitous slowdown in new home construction, a key source of demand. ‘It is usually the first to be impacted after a housing industry slowdown, and that’s one of the triggering factors in this case,’ said Benjamin Martin, the bankruptcy attorney for Carter Grandle.”
“CFI might be a poster child for how fast things can change in the global economy. Just last year economic development gurus in Manatee County were pointing to it as a prototype for type of industries they wanted to lure to Southwest Florida.”
The Associated Press. “Tourism experts say many of these snowbirds are shortening their stays. Rental rates have risen to keep up with spiraling property insurance rates from recent hurricanes, pricing some retirees out of the market.”
“‘We’re 98 percent booked for February and March, but booked about 75 percent for January, which is very unusual,’ said Lisa Durgin, a Cocoa Beach-based Realtor who rents to snowbirds. Durgin said this January is among the slowest she has seen.”
“In Brevard County, for example, a study found that the number of snowbirds fell nearly 9 percent to 27,600 in 2005 from 30,300 in 2003. Abraham Pizam, dean of the Rosen School of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida, said that snowbirds have been stricken with ‘Florida fatigue.’”
“Business are feeling the crunch, said Rob Varley, executive director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism. ‘The season is shorter, and the part-time residents are not coming as soon, either,’ Varley said.”
‘Centex Corp and KB Home said a slumping U.S. housing market forced them to write down a combined $793 million of property. The majority of Centex’s land write-downs were in markets that had the most price appreciation in recent years, such as Florida, California and Washington, D.C., Ken Smalling, a spokesman for Centex, said in an e-mail.’
‘Skyrocketing taxes and insurance, a lack of skilled labor and difficulty recruiting workers has propelled a Hialeah Gardens printing company to move to Greenville, S.C. ‘I really don’t want to go, but I have no choice,’ said Kudeviz, who will relocate from Coral Springs. Genesis is just the latest manufacturer to decide to pick up and look for a better quality of life away from South Florida.’
‘South Florida’s rising costs have spilled over to Kudeviz’s ability to recruit and keep highly skilled workers. In the past year, Genesis has lost four employees who handled printing, prepress digital and binding. And it can’t attract replacements due to the high housing costs.’
‘Over the past 18 months, condos have gone from the hottest sector in the real estate market to the coldest. But bad news for the condo market, it turns out, can be good news for the people who make the miniature scale models used to sell them. Since summer, when condo sales fell dramatically, the modelmakers’ business has grown as developers become desperate to sell their properties. And in today’s nightmarish condo market, this is an essential part of selling the condo dream.’
‘Skyrocketing taxes and insurance, a lack of skilled labor and difficulty recruiting workers has propelled a Hialeah Gardens printing company to move to Greenville, S.C. ‘I really don’t want to go, but I have no choice,’ said Kudeviz, who will relocate from Coral Springs.
But that will open the Window of Glut another bit wider! How can he do that? This is not allowed because RE always goes up in Florida. This businessman is trying to violate the laws of Real Estate physics. Where did I put my Time2Buy Button blast gun personally autographed by David Lereah, Pat Vroom-Vroom Combs, Leslie Appleton-Young and David Wluka?!! I’ll show Kudeviz!
Realtors wearing those buttons are going to get fingered.
FL is the new CA!!!
It just took them a while to catch up. SOH=prop13.
They shall reap the whirlwind.
Ben,
The latest weekly numbers are out for Miami. Another sizable drop in median price.
http://www.housingtracker.net/old_housingtracker/location/Florida/Miami/?state=Florida&city=Miami
That and other useful information on my blog.
thanks
People are still asking pie in the sky prices in Miami. Be nice to know what the average discount(including incentives) from asking price is.
Well they will soon have to settle for crumbs.
As they say in the South “Askin’ Ain’t Gettin”.”
LOL. This morning I was having some medical work done here in Orlando and I heard a strong drawl from a man who was part of the process. I said, “You must be from around here.” He replied, “Oh, no, I’m from Mississippi.” I said, “That’s what I meant.”
Don’t make me cry !
lots on ebay look to be going for 25% of peak
…”and those signs in the front yard are like red flags to retail sales”
http://tinyurl.com/3abwrt
And yet, they’re still predicting a 4.8% increase in retail sales, which is larger than the growth in GDP or the growth in most people’s salaries. Apparently, they’re unhappy that people are going further into debt but not going further into debt fast enough.
“Wallets Predicted to Snap Shut” pretty much sums it up.
Anyone have info on Flagler Estates, a big development inland from Daytone/St. Augustine?
One of the guys here at work “invested” in several lots there some time back, and he’s crowing about how his land has gone from $12,000/acre to $35,000/acre. Seems to me that there are way too many lots lingering for sale there at peak prices — and even more are on sale for less than peak, so the prices must be dropping like a rock.
However, I’ve been too lazy to dig up the actual transaction/sales data, which is what would really tell. And he has no intention of looking that up — lest it destroy his dreams of easy profit!
I live near there and it seems to me that lately people would rather have herpes than vacant lots here. Tons of ‘new listings’ in the RE section of the latest Pennysaver.
Thanks! Your comparison says it all — though perhaps I might not tell him that exact quote! Hee hee. (Gotta keep peace in the office, you know.) Sure does sound like the market has turned south in that area. Wow.
And he was banking on those lots as part of his funds for his retirement planning. I hope he at least breaks even, but… if he waits too long, he might not even do that. Lucky for him, he wasn’t able to buy the “waterfront” lots for his collection; those appeared to be on a drainage canal and were covered with palmettos and cypress knees! I told him that flora like that mean it’s usually a bad place to build a house.
from: http://www.sunshinelots.com/showregion.cfm?region_ID=9
There is no time frame restrictions on building. Large pavement projects are under way and will not require any additional fees from lot owners.
Close to Jacksonville and Gainesville, Flagler Estates is also very close to I-95 and the beaches. These lots are all 1 1/4 acre, making them very desirable, as you can build a large house and still have alot of space. This is one of the fastest growing areas in the country, now is the time to buy.
“…flora like that mean it’s usually a bad place to build a house.”
Naaah…used to be bad, until hunting gators became legal again. Gator tail is pretty good eating and it’s way easier than hunting deer. The bonus: you can pretend you’re the Tabasco sauce guy and try to zap the zillions of mosquitoes that come with the property.
Tourism experts say many of these snowbirds are shortening their stays. Rental rates have risen to keep up with spiraling property insurance rates from recent hurricanes, pricing some retirees out of the market.
You mean all retirees are not millionaires with a bucket of cash and a box of stupid? You mean that the housing prices/rent prices are actually causing people not to come to our wonderful beaches? What about our sunshine and wonderful way of life? I95 traffic, I thought snowbirds loved that!
Damn it, AZ must be correct, they are getting all the retirees! Stupid competition, and I though that S. FL was working off a totally new economic model, which was supported by the influx of massively wealthy retirees?
all I know is someone is beating the hell out of florida with a stick of smart.
WHAT wealthy retirees? Where are they in AZ? I’m not seeing many of them here in Tucson. And where did our snowbirds go this winter? Not seeing many of them either.
“We’re 98 percent booked for February and March, but booked about 75 percent for January, which is very unusual,’ said Lisa Durgin, a Cocoa Beach-based Realtor who rents to snowbirds. Durgin said this January is among the slowest she has seen.”
_________________________________________________________
True.
Tourism is down and I am seeing it all around me.
Co-workers went over to Pinellas last weekend on a whim and decided to try and book a Mom and Pop near-the-beach cheap hotel at the last minute…the weather has been wonderful.
They were able to choose from 4-5 different hotels within 2-3 miles of both the Indian Rocks Beach and Johns Pass areas…..one innkeeper offered them a 2bdrm efficency across the street from the beach for $ 85/ night….Remember that this last weekend ( MLK weekend ) was a three-day weekend for many people as well…
This is almost unheard of during this time of year; those are summer doldrums rates.
The snowbirds have not flocked to Florida like they used to for the last couple of years…..
I wonder if the unseasonably warm weather in the north east has delayed the migration ???
I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the cause. Not much point in going to FL when it was 70 degrees in NY …
If you ask the people in Florida, they will point to that. I’ve been going to Florida for a few weeks every year since 1964. We go elsewhere even though we have a lot of family in Florida because “been there, done that.” It’s just gotten old.
No. Lack of money. In the north taxes and inflation are going up too, not just in the US.
CONGRATS BEN ON THE REBA AWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Indeed!
Ben I realize you’re a modest guy, but it won’t hurt to have a separate post on the REBA awards so we can flog the topic in there, not just about this blog but other winners as well.
I know, this is Florida, but there were 170 comments on the one for California.
Here are updated charts for Southern California real estate sales:
DataQuick on Housing
“In Brevard County, for example, a study found that the number of snowbirds fell nearly 9 percent to 27,600 in 2005 from 30,300 in 2003. Abraham Pizam, dean of the Rosen School of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida, said that snowbirds have been stricken with ‘Florida fatigue.’”
Makes you wonder how many Florida snowbird migrations in recent years were funded out of liberated home equity?
Um, all of them?
Not quite all of them. My Parents head to inland Florida each winter for 10-12 weeks. My Dad is an avid (lake) fisherman, as are a lot of his friends from all over the country. They were staying on Lake Ochechobee (sp?) for years, but then the huricanes destroyed the fishing there. My parents have switched to other, smaller lakes, but fewer and fewer of their friends are making the trips the last couple of winters, due to the poor fishing conditions.
I’m sure many other niche groups of visiters are declining in numbers due to all the events of the past 5 years.
Hurricanes are a yearly event in Florida….So, what is it exactly that recent hurricanes have done to the lakes to destroy the fishery ???
Lake Ochechobie is by far the largest lake, and it does not get hit every year, not even every decade. 2 years ago it took a direct hit. The lakes are very shallow (most of lake about 6′ deep). Apparently the huricanes cause the water to be pushed to one end of a lake, exposing the bare bottom, then churning up the bottom when the water returns. Also, most of the lakes are heavily vegitated, both in the water and along the shores. Much of that vegitation is destroyed. So you end up with a terribly muddy lake that has no vegitation for the newborn fish to feast on and hide in. It takes years for Lake Och. to clear after a huricane.
Then the lake took a direct hit the following year. Fishing will be poor for another 3-4 years.
Thanks…..
The hurricane danger isn’t just to recreational fishing; it’s to many people who live nearby. In 1928 a storm-driven surge off Lake Okeechobee killed more than 2,000 people. There now is a levee there which has been described as an “accident waiting to happen.”
http://tinyurl.com/35xm6c
http://tinyurl.com/klm8o
Hurricanes are not a yearly event in FL. I have lived here (Treasure Coast) for 43 years and, prior to 2004, we experienced one - Hurricane David in 79 or 80. It was a Cat. 1. Everybody needs to calm down about the hurricanes.
As for Lake Okeechobee, the fishing is going down hill b/c the powers that be keep raising the level of the lake. It is largely driven by big sugar money - there are vast miles and miles of sugar cane around Lake Okeechobee. Higher lake levels mean less vegitation can grown b/c the water is too deep and not enough sun light reaches the bottom of the lake. No grass/vegitation, no fish. It has nothing to do w/ hurricanes.
Snowbirds all missed the lack of snow in the Northeast and came to Colorado to ski this year. Resort visits are up 7% according to Rocky Mountain News. Don’t know how they measure this - probably another made up statistic.
BTW, they’re not buying homes while here. October sales of new homes in Northern Colorado (Larimer Cty) - down 51% YOY, November - down 55%. So much freakin’ snow on the ground, I’m sure December, January and February will be the same. No one is cutting prices though - how long can they feed the interest beast??
Went to an Economic Forecast yesterday and for the first time in memory (maybe ever), they are actually predicting more pain in both residential and commercial RE in 2007 and 2008 + weaker consumer spending - ya think?
Makes me wonder how bad it will really be!
Oh, I can believe 7%. The ski areas should be able to track the number of lift tickets they’ve sold precisely, and there are only a couple dozen of them. A master planned resort such as Vail or Breckenridge should even be able to track zip codes from credit card use and condo rentals and compare those to historical numbers. Florida, OTOH… who knows what’s going on statewide.
ISTR last year was a very low snow year for CO, or at least what snow did fall was back-loaded. Heavy Dec/Jan storms in the Front Range are relatively uncommon, right?
I guess Europe and Northern Rockies are light on snow too. With U.S.$ so cheap, the Euros are coming here to ski.
Normal snowfall on Front Range is 2-5 inches at a time and gone by same or next day. Resort areas had pretty good snow all last year - this year it is marginal.
IMHO Colorado hardpack is still a thousand times better than east coast rocks and ice…to me skiing is more fun than sex.
What’s “sex”?
Bingo !
Winter residents are feeling “Florida fatigue” from bubble-driven tacky sprawl, high costs of living, and competing with unsustainable poser lifestyles. That’s a good one. Imagine how it feels to those of us who chose to make our homes here before much of this happened.
There are times when I feel that one more bad hurricane season will turn parts of this state into the sunbelt equivalent of Buffalo, only with more golf courses.
Speaking of Centex Corp, they are selling new construction in West Palm Beach for $225,900. Other homes in the same development are running about $100/square foot. Those speculators can’t keep up with builders giving homes away like that! We’ve got a long way to go down folks!
I forgot to mention that these are single family homes.
Wow…! Any links
Here in the suburbs of phoenix the new home builders are cutting prices by tens of thousands.Lots more homes being planned too.I see the scrapers, dozers and blades forming the foundations and roads of many more new houses.There are some benifets of buying an existing home but the builders are the best price for sure.I would estimate it is at least 25000 cheaper to buy a new home around here.
Welcome to Tombstone City.
Speaking of Centex Corp, they are selling new construction in West Palm Beach for $225,900. Other homes in the same development are running about $100/square foot.
Umm… Wow! I know many on this board predicted this… but that price difference is a wow!
And so it begins…
Got popcorn?
Neil
Subdivision is called Sun Terra (sp?). You can easily link to it from their homepage. We bought in December from a desparate seller, but compared to this it’s not a really good deal. These are 2002/2003 prices for sure!
$100/square foot….Wow….Thats gotta be below replacement ??
Replacement cost typically runs $95 - $125/square foot on average. Those numbers will likely drop as builders and tradesmen have less business. The one thing we can’t change is the cost of building materials. Raw materials can run anywhere between $45 and $80 per square foot depending on where you’re buying your supplies. A lot of wholesalers are clearing inventory.
Did I miss understand the comment by Neil ?? I thought it implied $100. per ft including the land ??
When I think replacement cost, I think structure alone. These homes I’m referring to include the homesite. If you’re buying right now it’s like getting a free homesite in my opinion.
Two comments: (1) The sqft cost of a house *should* go down over time, at least in real terms, becuase all manmade things age and depreciate. (2) The cost of building materials such as lumber, concrete and copper most certainly does fluctuate due to demand; you can trade lumber and cotton futures for example.
True “replacement” cost will never go down…or if it does just slightly. The actual cash value of the materials in your home will go down, however for insurance and rebuilding purposes replacement cost is the cost to build new of like kind and quality.
Yeah it’s cheap. In Strasbourg, France it’s 1500 euros for one square meter. 3 f x 3 f approx. And in Paris it’s 3000 euros. One euro is worth 1,30 US approx. It’s cheap. But is it worth it ? That is the question ….
“Speaking of Centex Corp, they are selling new construction in West Palm Beach for $225,900. Other homes in the same development are running about $100/square foot.”
$100/sq ft is what we paid for our new Sarasota 4/3 home in 2002. That included tile floors everywhere except the bedrooms, plus a moderate amount of other upgrades. Sold the house in 2005 for just over $180/sq ft.
Looks like the builders are getting back to 2002 prices, which means homeowners who must sell now are in a world of hurt.
P.S. Unlike the stories you hear about the crappy construction and numerous defects of recent Florida homes, we were impressed with our home’s workmanship. The “punchlist” was short, and we never had any problems with it afterwards.
Bill - Who was your builder? Centex? Thanks!
A moderate-sized independent builder named, as I recall, “Medallion Homes of Sarasota.”
Actually, you guys are mistaken. The houses being offered at $226,9990 are about 1,600 square feet. THAT’S $141 a square foot — before upgrades. And it’s in a shakey area WEST of West Palm Beach.
Heard on the radio this morning that gulf temperatures are unusually high this winter, if they stay elevated into summer could be another nasty hurricane season.
I’ve heard mixed reports. Some say El Nino will remain in effect and counteract hurricane development in the upper atmosphere. Saw a recent report that indicated El Nino appeared to be abating. So who knows.
Last year I believe set records for ocean temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the hurricane season was a non-event. I’m not sure ocean temperature always predicts hurricane severity.
Local Florida RE sinkholes are turning into a statewide MONSTER QUAGMIRE..Again !
Another psychological landmark. The HBs are now “victims” of the downturn. We know where this is headed; hold on to your wallets. Worse; expect next municipalities to discover operating deficits due to unexpected revenue declines. They will have “no choice” but to raise taxes. And municipalities insure too. They’ve been able to cover up some because most contract out multiyear or join pools but eventually (soon) they will be getting their new rate schedules and again have no choice but to raise taxes on a declining base.
I have been contemplating the same thing Robert…I have watched the value of real estate around here go vertical along with the reassessment of each…The increase in revenue to the municipalities has been HUGE given the fact that prop #13 insulated all these properties….That along with the new construction has been a windfall of tax revenue…Where the hell has all the money gone ??
At least locally and in CA I know but it would take weeks to explain. I was talking bout Florida where they basically repeated the Cali experience of the last two run ups. It was the ‘73-’80 era that caused Prop 13. What happen in CA and now FL is that windfalls were invested in things with ongoing obligations not least of which was/is employee beneifts which now commonly far outstrip private compensation packages.
Yep….My buddy the “Meter Reader” gets $40.+ per hour…
“Worse; expect next municipalities to discover operating deficits due to unexpected revenue declines. They will have “no choice” but to raise taxes.”
I recently had lunch with a county treasurer in Southern California (sorry I need to be vague). He told me their revenues are up over 30%, but the county commissioners find ways to spend it faster than it comes in.
You gotta “vaguer” than that. There’s only 3 worth having lunch with and the noorthernmost didn’t say anything last time we talked so it’s a 50:50 guess at this point.
Anyway, yeah spending is the problem not revenues. Even with VenCo median prices down 5.6% for last year revenue is up something like 12% and is gauranteed to go up a similar amount this year. So many homes selling for 8-20x their tax basis. In late 2005 my neighbor went from ~$1800/yr to $22,000, ouch. This is absolutely free money. Better than free money as people with kids in public school are replaced by rich who if they have kids send them to private school. These people don’t call the police, use any social services, etc. That’s just residential.
neighbor went from ~$1800/yr to $22,000
Exactly my point !!! A municipal job now is like hitting a small lotto….
–
I listened to the CEO of a public company in “Floride,” St. Joe, more than a year ago. He said: We have land inventory to last three more lifetimes. He said that the company bought land for $1 an acre during 1930s and sells a fraction during every boom.
I think that this time around the company got into trouble by getting into the building game, maybe a bit late. I don’t follow the company or the stock.
In US, there is enough land for many lifetimes and all the claims of limited supply of land are bogus. If one area gets crowded over time people move to less crowded areas. Yes, it takes time and some areas do experience rapid price gains for a period. Long-term things tend to balance out.
Jas
Same thing with the Collier companies in Naples. Not an accident it is in Collier county.
In reference to the lead article from West Palm Beach about the Gulfstream Polo Club cancelled sale, that property was about the last undeveloped large tract east of US 441 with a Lake Worth address. The property was purchased back in the 1940’s by a group of rich polo enthusiasts from up north and really never had more than a few houses from workers. It was set up in such a way that none of the 30 or so owners could individually sell their interest, so now almost all of the owners are 3rd generation, don’t have polo ponies and could care less about the property.
When the club was set up, this area was considered to be far out in the country. Now it is surrounded by middle class and McMansion subdivisions. Lake Worth Road, which was a dirt road way back then, is now a six lane busy road.
I’m glad this fell thru. The sellers were just cashing out their grandparents legacy and the developer would have just put up 5 or 600 more boxes and added 4 or 5 thousand more vehicle trips on the main road every day
A Southern Mtg Wholesaler is at an all time low - HMB. Business must not be good in the south?
HomeBanc Corp is a Georgia corporation formed in March 2004 to: become the parent holding company of HBMC, a residential mortgage lender that originates loans through a retail network of stores and strategic marketing alliances ‘SMAs’, and hold a leveraged portfolio of prime adjustable-rate mortgage loans. The Company’s business is founded upon what it calls the ‘Five Ps’ strategy-People, Process, Product offerings, Purchase money mortgage originations and Profitability. The Company offers a variety of fixed- and adjustable-rate residential mortgage loan products to meet its different market and customer needs.
HomeBanc Mortgage Named to FORTUNE Magazine’s 2007 ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ List for Fourth Year in a Row
This may be the WPB homes referred to above. by Bad Andy Just wish it were in a better area..
http://www.centexhomes.com/Southeast-Florida/N46185.asp
Areas don’t seem to make a difference in this crazy market. There are old subdivisions from the 1960’s that are littered with crime and mess with 3/1 homes at 950 square feet and people were getting $250K easily. Those days are gone.
Posted at the bottom of the page:
Centex will only sell a home to an individual that intends to use the home as a primary or secondary residence. While Centex appreciates our previous investor participation in our communities, the new investor policy is in effect as of June 1, 2004.
That property was formerly a par 3 golf course and driving range. The subdivision immediately east can best be described as lower middle class with an above norm crime element. It is also directly on the flight path for the Palm Beach International Airport and about a mile from the end of the main runway. The really should call it “Flight Path Acres”
All true statements, but take a look at Black Diamond and other newer developments in a 3 or 4 mile radius. Terracina is right in the flight path of PBIA as well as right next to the Turnpike. Last I checked those were still selling in the $420’s on up.
Andy, you are correct. I thought of Terracina when I wrote the prior post, but the name escaped me.
The problem with the SunTerra thing is it’s right next to Lake Belvedere Estates and adjacent to “Fruity Acres” (named so because the streets are all citrus fruits, not the other kind) on the Southern Blvd.
By the way, it’s not Black Diamond on the flight path (that’s closer to Forest Hill Blvd) but the gated subdivision across from the Wal Mart Supercenter and the fairgrounds on SR7. I moved away a year ago and the name escapes me right now.
This should wreak havoc on the comparables.
The Sun Sentinel. “The honeymoon may be over for retailers in South Florida, thanks to the slow housing market. The National Retail Federation’s chief economist, Rosalind Wells, said the tides may have changed for South Florida. ‘It can’t boom forever,’ Wells said. ‘Maybe it’s going through a correction.’”
Yes, they are going to go through a ‘correction’ just like the home building industry is going through a ‘correction’. I am sure the St. Joe’s employees in Tallahassee don’t consider this just a ‘correction’. I have decided that some of the talking heads will never bring themselves to say anything but the word ‘correction’. Not only is it just a ‘correction’ its just for south florida, not the rest of the country. In about six months they will start saying that some areas many be correcting but it should not be national. Then in a year or two they will say its a national retail correction that looks to be at the bottom. Blahblahblah!!!!!
OT, but you guys should appreciate this
http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthread.php?t=817
Its only a “heads up” warning for the real report coming out in a couple of weeks. Just a Teaser for us bubble watchers. Can’t wait to read the full report.
Take that Nevada - you bunch of wannabes! We’re number 1 again!!! Colorado has regained its title and leads nation in foreclosures again (# per household).
But, from what I see on this blog - several states will be making a strong run in 2007.
Neil, I got your popcorn.
From today’s WSJ, page D3:
“Americans rank North Carolina and Virginia as the top two desirable states in which to live, while foreigners choose Florida and California, according to a poll by Anholt State Brands.”
See, sometimes Americans are actually smarter than them furriners. Looks like FL was still in the top five among Americans, as was Colorado.
“CFI might be a poster child for how fast things can change in the global economy.”
poster child for how fast the bubble economy can change things.
Florida’s population is now decreasing due to high housing costs. More people moved out of Florida than moved to the state in 2006. So 1,000 people were moving there a week, but more than 1,000 were moving out. The ones moving out are the middle class families who can no longer afford to live there. Thanks alot housing bubble.
http://tinyurl.com/2p8t4c
You see, in Charlotte NC, Land is less than 10% the cost of the finished house. Of course if land doubles in price, builders automagically fluff up the house, so houses cost double. And the Sheeple are too stupid to see that and used to buy overpriced crap … and when builders say … well land costs more here … they swallow it.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.