The Problem Is, Florida Home Prices Are Too High
The Sun Sentinel reports on affordable housing measures. “After the county’s voluntary affordable housing program failed to lure many developers, Palm Beach County commissioners in March decided to make it mandatory. That means as much as 20 percent of new neighborhoods could be reserved for affordable housing, despite developers’ opposition.”
“Reduced price homes are planned next door to Alejandro Manzano, but he said they would not come fast enough to keep him in Palm Beach County. After failing to find a larger house he can afford, Manzano said he and his wife plan to move to Iowa to start a family. ‘Prices are just unbelievable,’ Manzano said. ‘It is not affordable here. Too much.’”
The writer of a letter to the editor has a different solution. “Taxpayers to subsidize housing market speculators?”
“Say that again? Did I read that our leaders in Tallahassee, in the name of ‘trying to ease the housing affordability crisis in Florida,’ want to use taxpayer money to essentially subsidize and prop up the insane level of housing prices? Has there ever been a bigger crock in state political history?”
“Let me see, we’re going to give taxpayer money to certain selected professions (police, firemen and teachers, because they only make around $60K), in order to afford a house ‘at the current prices.’”
“Secondly, who are you kidding? The problem of overinflated housing prices was caused by greedy speculators and developers that have made millions over the last four years. So now we’re going to prop up housing prices with taxpayer money, so that those who are responsible for these insane prices don’t have to fear losing anything if prices begin to fall? Is it any wonder that a ‘coalition of builders’ is behind this bill?”
“The problem is that prices are too high, period. The current prices are unsustainable, and need to come down, a lot, a whole lot.”
“The answer is to seek ways to bring the prices back down to reasonable and sustainable levels, not to prop them up with taxpayer subsidies. Yes, if prices fall, some people stand to lose some money, most of whom either deserve it for feeding this frenzy, or who will still see a profit but only a lesser amount, or who have already made a killing and are way overdue for a significant correction in their investments.”
Hmm, was that letter written by one of the Housing Bubble Blog’s regulars? : )
It’s government subsidizing and meddling that aided and abetted this bubble to begin with. To say the solution to the housing crisis is more subsidizing is like saying the way to cure a hangover is with more booze. Sheesh!
just look at the Netherlands: probably the most insane home subsidizing systems of the entire world (50% HMD; revenue from home sales is taxfree while much of the cost is tax deductible; huge subsidies for property developers, renters, starters in the housing market and all kinds of other ‘disadvantaged’ buyers; etc. etc.).
As a result, it is a very unaffordable and extremely overvalued market, with price gains of 600-1000% over the last 15 years…
No worries, the bubble has popped. Then, after 5 years of down cycle, housing will become affordable once again in 2010. Enjoy the ride.
maybe in the US, not in Europe .. after a 15 year climb, there is no sign that the EU housing bubble is popping, on the contrary - it’s accelerating again in some countries.
And after it finally tops (maybe in a few years?) the downward slope will probably take 10-15 years as well, including some false ‘bottoms’.
Here’s another letter to the Sentinel on this topic.
It drives me crazy that the Sentinel and all other local media doesn’t raise these questions themselves and doesn’t report the bubble. Why is the media so complicit and part of the problem.
As pathetic as it is I now fully expect lies, deceit, and omissions from the real estate/mortage industry and my government….. but the journalists? PLEASE!
“Better pay needed
Amy Letter
Fort Lauderdale
Posted April 20 2006
I guess “raises commensurate with the cost of living” never came up as a solution? So instead they jumped right to “housing projects for the people who keep our society functioning, for skilled, qualified, capable, and educated citizens who devote their lives and energies to making the rest of us safer and more prosperous”? Absurd.
Who decided that putting teachers and firemen in housing projects was “reasonable,” “acceptable,” or anything other than repugnant and offensive to everything that good people value? That person should be given paltry pay and told where to live.
Giving regular raises to the people charged with protecting our children, our property and our lives is not only moral and right, it is also in all of our best interests. Never has an issue been more clear.”
I agree, and this is a slippery slope anyway. Who says what is a necessary profession? What about the street cleaners and roofers (Very valuable in South Florida)? I even know plenty of six-figure professionals getting priced out of all the desirable neighborhoods in South Florida.
“Let me see, we’re going to give taxpayer money to certain selected professions (police, firemen and teachers, because they only make around $60K), in order to afford a house ‘at the current prices.”
———————————————————-
Uhh…guess again.
Here in Polk County, just outside Orlando, sworn officers start out at around 33K. Same thing for teachers. Most nurses are starting a little higher at around 40-45K and peak out in 3-4 years at around 60K or so.
Maybe in Palm Beach they get 60K…but I seriously doubt it.
they do this in some UK and Dutch cities; very nice idea, because as a result other professions get priced out, so you can make incentives for them the next year. Everybody with a government job gets a chance to buy a home at greatly reduced price thanks to taxpayer money. Always great to work for the government, isn’t it?
and of course it is a sure way to drive up home prices to even more insane levels and government likes that as well.
They did this in Santa Barbara when I lived there, did absolutely nothing to reduce overall home prices and actually made the situation worse for those “wealthy” middle class people just above the limit to get subsidized housing. It further punishes your productive higher earning citizens and causes them to move. To top it off, they forced this on the rental community as well. In the complex we rented in, they had a number of units reserved for “affordable housing.” It was terrible, because our rents were higher to support the cost of the reduced units. Untolerable.
We’re now in Orange County, which still has ridiculous prices, but fortunately rational affordable housing plans. We rent in South County in a much better neighboorhood than in OC for less cost than we paid in 2004.
I meant to say “We rent in South County in a much better neighboorhood than in Santa Barbara here in the OC for less cost than we paid in 2004
Very true. I am a college professor in Florida, and I do not make anywhere near $60k.
And, contrary to popular misconception, teachers do not get paid in the summer. We work a nine-month contract for which we get twelve paychecks, but we are not paid for those times when we are not teaching.
lots of people working 50 weeks a year don’t make 60k
how about their subsidy ?
the whole idea of teaching is to get summers off to do something else
Actually, the whole idea of teaching is to spend one’s life helping people and adding to the body of knowledge of one’s chosen field. Anyone who does it for other reasons, like getting some time off in the summer, is going to be lousy at it.
Besides, most of us end up teaching all summer so that we can pay the bills.
12 paychecks so you cannot apply for unemployment over the summer
Not sure who wrote the letter, but they hit the nail on the head here in Palm Beach County. Bravo!!! We will see a day of reckoning here soon. Inventory is climbings, sales are tanking, and our median price is down 7.3% from the peak in 11/05. I suspect to see YoY median declines in July and possible double digit median declines by November. Our economy is good, but it doesn’t produce (nor will it ever) enough high paying jobs to support the insane prices.
“So now we’re going to prop up housing prices with taxpayer money, so that those who are responsible for these insane prices don’t have to fear losing anything if prices begin to fall? Is it any wonder that a “coalition of builders” is behind this bill?”
This seems like a great political scam: Claim that the bill serves a good cause by helping public servants afford housing while adding to the bottom line of greedy developers who provide fat campaign contributions.
yes, they do this all the time in my country and politicians never fail to mention how great this is for everybody (except they don’t mention the fat profits for the developers - the only group who REALLY gets rich quick from this).
“yes, they do this all the time in my country and politicians never fail to mention how great this is for everybody (except they don’t mention the fat profits for the developers - the only group who REALLY gets rich quick from this).”
Or to mention that the money they (politicians) receive as “campaign comtributions” comes from the very same subsidies they give to their “contributors” (developers). It’s a closed circle of subsidies, kickbacks and bribery, and nothing is done to stop it. It’s rampant in all 50 states here, and probably in most Western countries.
yes, it’s rampant in Europe as well, although direct campaign contributions are not a primary way of bribery over here.
In my country, it’s mostly arranged by giving politicians irrelevant jobs at the biggest companies (banks, insurance, property developers, other multinationals) with paychecks that are at least 10 times the median salary - as a reward for what they have done in office for their big business friends.
It’s disgusting but even though most people see it, it just continues.
That happened here with Neil Bush (the President’s brother) and a savings & loan institution in the 1980s. He was put on the board of directors or whatever and paid a bundle, but actually did nothing and had no say in anything. However, when the institution went belly-up, he got a lot of the blame. Yet, he’s still selling his name to coorporations, so I guess some fools never learn.
“did nothing and had no say in anything”. Sounds like President Regan “i don’t know what Oliver North is doing in his office in the White house”
I saw an article about Bend Oregon the other day. They’re talking about an affordable housing plan there, too. You know something is wrong when people start talking that talk.
Michael Anderson,
Good Lord…….. If ever there was a place that smacks of speculation that place has to be Bend, OR. Even though it’s just a short drive my wife and I refuse to even stop there. It’s a mess. EVERYONE is either a realtor, builder, appraiser etc. etc. Now after all of this mania they want an “affordable” housing plan? I got yer plan right here. Ready? Move to Prineville! Please don’t tell me that Prineville is having a bubble too! I’ve always wanted to work in a tire re-tread shop!
Looks like Prineville is in a bigger bubble than Bend to me…
http://www.edforco.org/COFacts/housing/
Cheaper, but higher rate of median house increase.
As we all know here, this RE market is on the verge of imploding; rising inventory IS a precursor to falling prices. All bubbles (tulips, .com, RE) reverse to the mean (or lower), given time and non-meddling by the government.
CA uses tax-payers’ money to subsidize housing for selected low-income families. rather than giving permits to build more houses and converting those vaccant offices to housing transfer money from those who work hard to builders! people should complain.
>>people should complain.
People should, but California is in the steel-fingered grip of unions and special interests.
Yes, and that is why California now has a STRUCTURAL deficit of nearly $4 Billion a year and growing. They are doing their best to rid themselves of 20-30% of productive people who pay nearly all the taxes for the other 70-80%. We are growing tired, I am hopeful for reform, but if things continue, it is likely that we will join others in the educated California exodus.
How to fix California is a big issue and housing is a part of that, but the lack of agreement on basic terms seems to be a big part of this. The structural deficit in California is closer to the $6-8 billion range depending on how one does the math, nearly double what you are claiming. Ordinary folks do not like to pay taxes, so California has chosen a tax structure where the vast majority of revenue comes from income tax on people who make over $200k a year. There is large scale demographic churn in California, but so far not much evidence that the upper level earners are fleeing. The big problem with people that make over $200k a year is they typically have a huge amount of discretion in exactly how and when they take that compensation which makes the California government revenue stream extremely chaotic.
Certainly there are huge problems here, but fudging the numbers and blaming someone else is the kind of moral and intellectual bankruptcy that got us here. When people complain about unions and special interests that usually means they are conservatives who are put off by basic things like worker safety and women and gays in the workplace alongside them.
Every state has the “right” to be what it wants to be, within the confines of Federal laws. Variety is one of the advantages of the US. Travel the country–you’ll probably find one place or another that appeals to you tastes and beliefs.
The problem comes when a state does things that shoot itself in the foot. If you try to fund your grand goals by taxing a slice of the population, you have to be prepared to adapt when those people fight back or flee.
At one point, according to a famous story (which may be apocryphal–I don’t know), the Swedish pop group Abba made so much money that they owed more in taxes than they made. As long as people have the option of fleeing, you really can’t let your state (or your counry) get too far from reality without things going to hell.
At some point, you either go broke, or accept that you may have to prioritize your desires.
The trick is always how to figure out to be pro-business enough to pay for your social programs.
MoleMan, I am sure you are well meaning, but your judgements about those that have differing viewpoints place you in the category of bigot
Main Entry: big·ot
Pronunciation: ‘bi-g&t
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, hypocrite, bigot
: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices
Often time people hate in other people that which they themselves are guilty of. Your comment and presumptions that anyone who disagrees with you is a “conservative” who hates women and gays is facile and specious.
Blind loyalty to any group or institution (Political parties, unions, social groups, etc) only serves to imprison you in a ridgid and narrow mindset.
I would ask that in civil discourse, you listen and dialogue rather than bait and demogouge those with whom you disagree with.
It is ok to disagree with someone without personally attacking the “moral” character of another person.
OCMetro - yo, kettle! Way to call that pot black.
Betamax, no not really, since I am not beholden to one political philosophy, I object to be labled a “conservative” by someone who neither knows me or my values, but felt self-righteous enough to judge my moral fiber. I did not attack Mole personally, but pointed out that their comment was by definition bigoted.
If all the able bodied are leaving, then why are housing prices so high? Something doesn’t make sense.
teachers and other gov workers apparently more GOD like than the rest of us
Isn’t it the most insulting thing, I mean, most people are hard working, yet gov workers, who already have it easy with virtually riskless employment, are given subsidies for everything.
The worst is if you are in that vaunted “upper middle class” which is a floating zone, but usually considered more than 80-90K a year. They qualify for none of these plans, pay much more in taxes, and can not begin to afford prices in most major metro areas now. Any sympathy there, nope, which is why they move, and those communities expereince decline. Keep punishing your best and brightest!
Taxing people who make money is not PUNISHMENT. I’m sorry that you believe this to be the truth, but people in general and the wealthy in particular receive significant benefits from society. I generally agree with your opinion about gov’t workers and the free ride they get along with virtually riskless employment, but let’s try and write as precisely as possible.
LaLawyer, I agree, if we taxed people a bit more fairly, but there is a huge disparity in our tax system and those who are described as “rich” usually making over 100K a year are punished. After it is all said and done, the person who makes 100K probably takes home about 25K more than the person who makes 50K. Twice as much, half as far.
How about tax consumption, then the real rich would pay far more of their share instead of using esoteric tax shelters to avoid paying their due.
In general, I like the European model of a VAT in addition to high net worth individuals being taxed on their income. Simplifies the tax system, works based upon what you USE rather than what you earn. Fairer and simpler with less ways for the very wealthy to avoid tax. Imagine buying the house, yacht, Ferrari or whatever the uber-weathly comsume in vastly greater quantities and not able to deduct for “business use”. I work in the area of tax planning and although my clients utilize legal techniques for tax avoidance (differenent that tax dodging) I would very STRONGLY favor a system that encouraged lessened consumption.
I agree regarding the VAT principle. However, I’m afraid a lot of very wealthy EU people have no problem deducting most of their private purchases as ‘business expenses’, so they hardly pay any VAT (difficult to avoid it for groceries etc., but that hardly counts for them).
Most of the really wealthy hardly pay income or inheritance taxes either because they use special tax structures that are not affordable for normal citizens - and of course because they use subsidies like the HMD to the max.
And I’m not even talking about all the black money sloshing around in the banks in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland etc. The EU recently introduced a tax on interest income for savings accounts where the owner is unknown to the tax offices. However, this only applies to savings accounts and not for stocks etc. - most of the really wealthy don’t have their millions on a savings account yielding 2% yoy I guess …
I don’t know what government your talking about.
My husband works for the State of Nevada. On average he has gotten a raise of about 1% a year. Not 1% above inflation, 1%. And just like any other job, if he failed to do his job he could lose it. The state has also laid people off in the past. We get no perks when it comes to affordable housing or any other special favors. Unless you count the hundreds we pay out every month for health insurance that doesn’t seem to cover anything.
We’ll see how the Florida housing market looks after another decade of Katrina-Rita-Wilma level hurricane activity. Already, most home insurers have pulled out of Florida altogether.
It won’t take another decade. Most insureres have left due to the 2004 hurricane damage. I am not sure if we have gotten through the 2005 damage. The 2006 hurricane season is right around the corner and it is expected to be very active. If this season is bad, I think many will do everything they can to get out of here. I know I am.
Why is it surprising to everyone that taxpayor money might be used to subsidize housing? It is currently going on to to a big degree - and I mean the mortgage interest deduction and the capital gains exemption. Does anyone think that housing would be up as much if you actually had to pay taxes on the gains?
This is true. You add that to rampant speculation and suicide financing schemes and you get…………well our current problem. Home prices need to come down, plain and simple. What if they tweak the mortgage interest deduction and stretch the capital gains from 2 years to say 5 years? How much would this help the situation? I am no expert on either so any input is welcomed.
It can get worse: the Netherlands has a 50% HMD. The primary tax here is income tax, and you can fully deduct your mortgage from your pretax income. This means that for the more wealthy people 50% (= income tax rate) of their home is paid by the tax office; HMD was even 70% 15 years ago!
The result is a big win for wealthy homeowners, because the price of their home rises into the stratosphere while their cost is mostly paid by non-homeowners. And gains from home sales are tax free (irrespective of the value of the home, size of the gains etc.).
And what is even better: home sales (both turnover and prices) are now picking up steam again here thanks to the ‘H-word’ (H = HMD). There is a rumour that maybe next year the HMD will be reduced so all the sheeple are now hurrying to buy an extremely overpriced home while the 50% tax subsidy lasts. The RE mob is extremely good at promoting this kind of idiot behaviour.
Probably no one understands that if this HMD is ever reduced or abolished, home prices will adjust accordingly (at least).
OT:
euro investing
The yield for euro deposits in everbank is a measly 1.25% that is at least 3.5% less than safe yield on dollar now a days..
even if euro goes up to 1.30, not a biggie..
it is only when euro goes to 1.4 and beyond, it would be a good bet
no chance for euro above 1.30; Trichet will print the euro into oblivion long before that. He has publicly stated that inflation is no longer a policy issue so be assured, the euro will get just as worthless as the US dollar.
I don’t get the article. If they say that taxpayer subsides are used, then I agree that is bad. But where did they say that?
They talk about “affordable housing”? What does that mean? To me, it means small houses, like townhomes or something. Or they could force developers to “sell” 20% of their houses at cheap prices. That would hurt land values more than anything. You’d have to wonder how they allocate those “cheap houses”…there would be a line for them. But I don’t think it would require taxpayer money. It would basically be a loss coming from the housing developers. In the future, land in Fla. wouldn’t be worth quite as much to developers b/c they couldn’t make as much profit from it. If they tried, by raising prices of non-”affordable” homes, then people would just leave the state, as they are doing now.
I can assure you from vast experience with ‘affordable housing’ in my country that it basically means huge subsidies for developers to build ‘affordable’ luxury homes that are way out of reach for even median citizens.
No government is going to provide ‘cheap’ housing nowadays, because that would threaten the very basics of the bubble. Everything they do will be geared toward expanding the bubble.
Affordable housing= the govt is the next greater fool
New York Offers Housing Subsidy as Teacher Lure
“New York City will offer housing subsidies of up to $14,600 to entice
new math, science and special education teachers to work in the city’s most challenging schools, in one of the most aggressive housing
incentive programs in the nation to address a chronic shortage of
qualified educators in these specialties…
“Under terms of the program, negotiated with the city teachers’ union, the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will pay as much as $5,000 up front to the recruits for housing expenses, including the cost of moving to the New York area, a down payment on buying a home, or broker fees and security deposits for renters.
“The program will also pay a $400 monthly housing stipend for two
years. Teachers can live wherever they want within the metropolitan region but must commit to work for three years in one of New York City’s toughest middle schools or high schools. The city’s effort comes as the nation faces a chronic shortage of math, science and special education teachers that has sparked heavy competition to court such educators.”
“New York City will offer housing subsidies of up to $14,600 to entice
new math, science and special education teachers to work in the city’s most challenging schools, in one of the most aggressive housing
incentive programs in the nation to address a chronic shortage of
qualified educators in these specialties…
The system’s broke…and your not gonna fix it for a crummy $15k.
My brother’s wife is teaching in an inner city private Catholic school in Patterson NJ. She says the kids are essentially incorrigible (and this in a private school!!!), and as soon as her certification is completed she is right the f*ck out.
The major US cities are toast…Please flush twice.
Similar subsidies have been offered in inner cities for years. It’s the only way some schools can attract teachers.
California high prices chased my wife and self out. We were the type of middle class earning too much for ’subsidy’ and not enough to buy without a suicide loan. So, we left. Hope to see this place go into the toilet. When all that is left is very low income and the ultra rich, then nobody left to run the economy (police, fire, teachers, etc). The rich might then think they have a problem when the low income gang members start stealing everything (avoiding any reference to ethnicity of any kind). This is an economic issue. Ciao.
I agree - it’s a Very Bad Thing when an area has no middle class. After all, the very foundation of democracy is the existence of a strong, majority middle class.
Not to mention - teaching, firefighting, police, nursing - those are essential professions. You can get along without middle managers but not without teachers and police.
I hope to be able to leave CA one day - family obligations and school keep me here for now - partly because it seems to be degenerating into a banana republic.
Let me see, we’re going to give taxpayer money to certain selected professions (police, firemen and teachers, because they only make around $60K), in order to afford a house ‘at the current prices.’”
Well sir, here in Ted Kennedy country you got cops makin’ $160k and elementary ed teachers with double masters degrees pullin’ in $100k. That’s in addition to paid health care, dental coverage, sick time and six weeks vacation.
hehehe…and the government thinks they’re are entitled to more, because Easy Al f*cked it all up.
Your right Hot74man . I have alot of teacher friends that make that kind of money in California . In fact, most the teachers I know are big real estate investors .
I know teachers in SoCal that are making 100K too. Of course, these are experienced teachers, not newbies fresh out of college.
I think all the teachers and police should just move away. Watch what happens to property values when there are no more cops, teachers, or nurses.
That’s brilliant, actually.
The rich folk won’t care. They’ll keep sending their kids to private schools and living in their gated communities patroled by rent-a-cops.
You’re exactly right.
The very rich have divorced themselves from America. They don’t care if the schools suck, because they send their kids to the likes of Andover. They don’t care if crime is a problem, because they have private security. They don’t care if air travel is hazardous, because they have their own jets. They don’t care if the working-class gets screwed, because they were born rich. And so on.
Pshaw. This is same as it ever was. The very rich have always done that.
Depends what you mean by rich. There are many of us who make above the median income but can’t afford to buy a house and we are taxed to death.
I don’t get tax breaks becuase I’m single and don’t have a deduction for mortgage interest.
I’m not complaining because I’m very fortunate, but I hate to see these loaded terms, and any time anyone argues that taxes should be raised on the “rich,” I know they’re talking about me even though I have a high income but very little wealth.
Additionally, the finger should be pointed at the retirees and boomers as well who have engineered massive generational wealth transfers through Ponzi schemes such as social security, pesions that companies can’t afford to pay for, and health care Ponzi schemes like medicaire and medicaid.
and for sure, it’s exactly the same in some EU countries like UK, Netherlands etc.
A very small group (just 1-2% of population) is getting extremely wealthy, a huge group gets almost anything for free even if they don’t work and most of the middle class is slowly eliminated (many who are relatively wealthy and well-educated emigrate if they have the chance).
Many of us “boomers” have no pensions, have only poorly-matched 401ks, and are looking forward to working at least part time until we expire. We feel disenfranchised as well. Social Security is not a guarantee, nor an adequate retirement when one considers the “real” rate of inflation oft-discussed on this blog. We don’t feel secure, either. However, we only own one home. The one that we live in. We have been, and are, well-taxed.
There are a lot of single boomers who share your frustration. We are the highest taxed bunch of them all and most of us can’t afford to buy a house because we don’t earn enough. I know many people earning over $100K a year who couldn’t qualify for a mortgage in SoCal. (Of course, that was before they started loosening up the requirements…) It kills me that people who make twice what I make pay 1/20th of what I do in taxes.
When the special interests start petitioning the government to either require or prohibit extreme prices, you know that every single free-market angle has been exhausted.
Reason number ??? (somewhere in the three-digit range) that we’re provably and irrevocably past the peak of the bubble.
If these communities really want to avoid losing teachers, policeman and firemen due to high housing costs, they should just put their money where their mouth is and pay them more. If they are unwilling to do this, but instead favor huge corporate tax breaks, it clearly shows where their priorities lie, and they should not blame the housing market when their communities fall apart.
Ok so the single family homes are not affordable. I am not art all in favor of the inflated home prices and the increased tax and insurance costs, however there are those thousands of condo conversions and affordable townhomes that can be supported by a $60k salary. There not always in the best neighborhood or school zone but they exist. So why do we need taxpayer dollars to go to affordable housing?
We don’t. Further, “affordable housing” schemes hurt low income people more than they help, just like raising the minimum wage and rent controls.
Furthermore, would we be doing the police, nurses, teachers, etc. a favor by getting them in a house at this point? Then they can watch its value tank along with all the other homeowners who bought in at the peark. Let’s do ‘em a favor and encourage any newcomer to rent for a few years…..
Housing subsidies suck and make it worse (unless you are the lucky recipient). Answer is to move where it is more affordable, and let the other areas disintegrate - such as is happening all over CA and other coastal areas. The person that get no education living there will soon start stealing from the few rich that are there. No iron bars will be strong enough to hold back the rent-a-cops from a hungry mob, who will be targeting those areas. In fact, the rent-a-cops will be a part of that mass, as they too are underpaid and living in a refrigerator box.
Sounds like the French Revolution
For FL, bring on the Hurricanes. (and not the Miami football team).
If the hurricanes don’t do the trick, high homeowners insurance and high gas prices will…………
FL stats for March in Greater West Palm Beach, appear to be posted now at: http://iprecom.tempdomainname.com/trendg/images/palsld.png
It looks to me like we now have more than 13 months of supply at the current sales pace, IF I’m reading the incredibly small numbers on this chart correct. Also looks like a 30%+ YOY decline in transactions against a 192% increase in inventory. Gotta love those “soft landings”