The Scott Daniels Real Estate Group is Proud to Present:.
25 (1/4) Acre Buildable Lots For Sale located in Ocala @ Sliver Springs!
These lots are zoned R-1. We have 100 Lots available at special discount Prices to our Investors. Lots are priced at $32,000!
Financing is available.$500 Deposit required!Receive $700 towards closing costs on each lot!Low Density Land usuage allows up to 5 dwelling units per acre! Can be Single Family,Townhomes or Duplexes. Either attached or detached.
Marion County is among Florida's most populous counties, but it is also the state's fifth largest in terms of size. Employment figures paint an accurate picture of the diverse economic base. Service and manufacturing provide the majority of employment opportunities, although agriculture is also important to the area.The horse farms of Ocala feature more horses than any other county in the nation, including any in the famed Bluegrass state and was named Horse Capital of the U.S. by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Tourism, anchored by the famous Silver Springs and its glass bottomed boats, contributes to the local economic base.This diversification along with a central location, mild climate, close proximity to universities and international airports and an available workforce are all factors which have contributed to the expansion and attraction of new businesses continue to grow each year.Marion County’s mild climate allow businesses and schools experience a minimum of lost productivity due to inclement weather. The summer days average 90º, and the other six months of the year average a very pleasant 53º. The warmth and sunshine also allow residents to enjoy outdoor activities all year round.
Contact our office @954-680-4404 or scott@preconstructioninflorida.com
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Citizens Property may stop issuing policies for homes worth more than $1 million.
Citizens Property may stop issuing policies for homes worth more than $1 million.
By Kathy Bushouse South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted January 31 2006
ORLANDO -- Legislators would be asked to keep owners of coastal homes valued at more than $1 million from getting homeowner insurance coverage from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. as part of a series of recommendations being weighed by a statewide insurance task force.The $1 million cap on insured value is one of a number of sweeping recommendations in a 28-page draft report to overhaul Florida's troubled insurance market.
Give some Citizens policyholders three to five years to retrofit their homes so they can find insurance policies from private companies.Create grants and low-interest loans that people can tap to fortify their homes to prevent hurricane damage.Delay a state mandate to shift Citizens' wind-only coverage from Interstate 95 to a point farther east, which would move thousands of policies out of the high-risk category.Study the impact of reducing eligibility for Citizens coverage to homes with insured value of less than $500,000.Require a 25 percent rapid-cash buildup for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which is starting 2006 with a low balance, to help insurers pay claims should another hurricane hit. Insurance companies pay this initially but pass the cost onto their customers.The state's Task Force on Long-Term Solutions to Florida's Hurricane Insurance Market convened Monday at the University of Central Florida in Orlando for two days of debate on its draft report, which should be completed next month and sent to the Legislature. The group includes state officials, insurance experts and industry representatives."I think the Legislature is very serious about reducing Citizens' exposure," said Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, the task force's chairman.Cutting the number of homes it insures for more than $1 million would help, said Susanne Murphy, Citizens' corporate counsel. The company has more than 6,000 homes insured for more than $1 million, and shifting those policies to private insurers would reduce Citizens' exposure by $900 million, Murphy said.Ultimately, that could mean the company would be able cover its losses without assessing all of Florida's policyholders. A $516 million shortfall in Citizens' high-risk account after the 2004 hurricane season meant that all policyholders in the state paid to make up the company's losses.That assessment was an additional $68 for every $1,000 of premium homeowners pay to insure their homes.The task force hasn't stipulated whether condo units would also be affected by the limit.Task force members said that people with million-dollar policies should be able to find coverage from the surplus lines market, which charges rates that are not regulated by the state. But the state should ensure there are willing takers in the surplus lines market before limiting coverage, said Steve Burgess, the state's insurance consumer advocate and a task force member."We have to make sure that the people in this circumstance have some access," Burgess said.At Monday's meeting, the group also discussed the possibility of using sales tax money to help deflect possible future Citizens assessments and to help shore up the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.The task force is expected to discuss building codes at today's meeting, and could also vote to finalize their recommendations to the Legislature.While making changes to state-backed Citizens is a large part of the group's charge, the group's ultimate goal is to get more insurers to issue policies for Florida's homes, making it easier and perhaps even cheaper for people to get insurance coverage.
By Kathy Bushouse South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted January 31 2006
ORLANDO -- Legislators would be asked to keep owners of coastal homes valued at more than $1 million from getting homeowner insurance coverage from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. as part of a series of recommendations being weighed by a statewide insurance task force.The $1 million cap on insured value is one of a number of sweeping recommendations in a 28-page draft report to overhaul Florida's troubled insurance market.
Give some Citizens policyholders three to five years to retrofit their homes so they can find insurance policies from private companies.Create grants and low-interest loans that people can tap to fortify their homes to prevent hurricane damage.Delay a state mandate to shift Citizens' wind-only coverage from Interstate 95 to a point farther east, which would move thousands of policies out of the high-risk category.Study the impact of reducing eligibility for Citizens coverage to homes with insured value of less than $500,000.Require a 25 percent rapid-cash buildup for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which is starting 2006 with a low balance, to help insurers pay claims should another hurricane hit. Insurance companies pay this initially but pass the cost onto their customers.The state's Task Force on Long-Term Solutions to Florida's Hurricane Insurance Market convened Monday at the University of Central Florida in Orlando for two days of debate on its draft report, which should be completed next month and sent to the Legislature. The group includes state officials, insurance experts and industry representatives."I think the Legislature is very serious about reducing Citizens' exposure," said Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, the task force's chairman.Cutting the number of homes it insures for more than $1 million would help, said Susanne Murphy, Citizens' corporate counsel. The company has more than 6,000 homes insured for more than $1 million, and shifting those policies to private insurers would reduce Citizens' exposure by $900 million, Murphy said.Ultimately, that could mean the company would be able cover its losses without assessing all of Florida's policyholders. A $516 million shortfall in Citizens' high-risk account after the 2004 hurricane season meant that all policyholders in the state paid to make up the company's losses.That assessment was an additional $68 for every $1,000 of premium homeowners pay to insure their homes.The task force hasn't stipulated whether condo units would also be affected by the limit.Task force members said that people with million-dollar policies should be able to find coverage from the surplus lines market, which charges rates that are not regulated by the state. But the state should ensure there are willing takers in the surplus lines market before limiting coverage, said Steve Burgess, the state's insurance consumer advocate and a task force member."We have to make sure that the people in this circumstance have some access," Burgess said.At Monday's meeting, the group also discussed the possibility of using sales tax money to help deflect possible future Citizens assessments and to help shore up the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.The task force is expected to discuss building codes at today's meeting, and could also vote to finalize their recommendations to the Legislature.While making changes to state-backed Citizens is a large part of the group's charge, the group's ultimate goal is to get more insurers to issue policies for Florida's homes, making it easier and perhaps even cheaper for people to get insurance coverage.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Land Still King In Fla.
North Port lots sell high, go fast
After a slow start, 1,085 lots sell for $29million in the first phase.
By ERIN BRYCE
erin.bryce@heraldtribune.comNORTH PORT -- Maybe the sizzling land market in Southwest Florida hasn't cooled off after all.The largest government land sale in Sarasota County's history raked in more than $29 million Thursday after the first phase of a public tax-delinquency auction came to a close.Of the 1,085 lots sold, many were in remote areas without sewer and other services. But the land market in North Port has become so hot that the lots, most of which had been abandoned for years, fetched as much as $76,000 for a quarter-acre.When the final bell for the first phase of the auction rang at 3:50 p.m. Thursday, only 70 lots remained unsold. More than 9,500 bids were cast from fewer than 380 registered bidders."Our goal is to sell them all, and to sell them all for the most that we possibly can and to make sure that they close," said Louis Fisher III, the chief executive officer of Fisher Auction Company, which was hired by the city and county to sell the lots.Revenue from the sale will be shared between North Port and Sarasota County, with the city getting 55 percent. Officials are hoping to generate between $50 million and $70 million.Fisher said he hopes the county and city will meet that goal."I'm not in the predicting business," he said. "Hopefully, we'll stay on track."With more than 1,000 lots left to sell and the market clearly gaining momentum, land brokers said that reaching at least $50 million in sales appears attainable.The county will use its share on an affordable housing project. The city has discussed using its share on road improvements.Real estate agents said there wasn't much difference between what the auction sold and market price."I thought it was amazing," said Bill Diekman, manager of a Coldwell Banker office in North Port.Diekman's sentiments were echoed among many land brokers at Thursday's end. The auction had started out very slow, raising some minor concerns among area land brokers whether the majority of the lots would sell during the first auction phase.Shannon Moore, a real estate agent for Prudential Village Realty, said many of her clients weren't even intending to place bids Thursday. Instead, she said, they were planning to wait until the unsold lots were auctioned in blocks live at the end of February, in hopes to get them at a cheaper rate. Moore said she now doubts there will be any left over now for that live auction.
After a slow start, 1,085 lots sell for $29million in the first phase.
By ERIN BRYCE
erin.bryce@heraldtribune.comNORTH PORT -- Maybe the sizzling land market in Southwest Florida hasn't cooled off after all.The largest government land sale in Sarasota County's history raked in more than $29 million Thursday after the first phase of a public tax-delinquency auction came to a close.Of the 1,085 lots sold, many were in remote areas without sewer and other services. But the land market in North Port has become so hot that the lots, most of which had been abandoned for years, fetched as much as $76,000 for a quarter-acre.When the final bell for the first phase of the auction rang at 3:50 p.m. Thursday, only 70 lots remained unsold. More than 9,500 bids were cast from fewer than 380 registered bidders."Our goal is to sell them all, and to sell them all for the most that we possibly can and to make sure that they close," said Louis Fisher III, the chief executive officer of Fisher Auction Company, which was hired by the city and county to sell the lots.Revenue from the sale will be shared between North Port and Sarasota County, with the city getting 55 percent. Officials are hoping to generate between $50 million and $70 million.Fisher said he hopes the county and city will meet that goal."I'm not in the predicting business," he said. "Hopefully, we'll stay on track."With more than 1,000 lots left to sell and the market clearly gaining momentum, land brokers said that reaching at least $50 million in sales appears attainable.The county will use its share on an affordable housing project. The city has discussed using its share on road improvements.Real estate agents said there wasn't much difference between what the auction sold and market price."I thought it was amazing," said Bill Diekman, manager of a Coldwell Banker office in North Port.Diekman's sentiments were echoed among many land brokers at Thursday's end. The auction had started out very slow, raising some minor concerns among area land brokers whether the majority of the lots would sell during the first auction phase.Shannon Moore, a real estate agent for Prudential Village Realty, said many of her clients weren't even intending to place bids Thursday. Instead, she said, they were planning to wait until the unsold lots were auctioned in blocks live at the end of February, in hopes to get them at a cheaper rate. Moore said she now doubts there will be any left over now for that live auction.
Riviera Beach..
RIVIERA BEACH -- For years, a few residents in a Riviera Beach waterfront neighborhood have railed against the city on national television, in newspapers and during countless City Council meetings.The local government, they said, intended to force them from their homes either through eminent domain or with its threat.
Then along came Wayne Huizenga Jr. with visions of a mega-yacht building business where the homes stand. And in the end, there was no long legal battle. No eminent domain. No protests of unfairness.Just the quiet sound of a pen, swooshing across a real-estate contract."The new boy in town is Wayne Huizenga [Jr.], and he's coming through with practically a blank check book," said Martha Babson, one of the chief critics of the city's redevelopment efforts.A Huizenga-owned company bought prime property along Riviera Beach's commercial waterfront earlier this month, records show. Now, residents say his representatives have been approaching residents whose homes border that land and asking them a simple question: "How much?""They bought the entire street and they bought the street north of me," Babson said. "They are out all day making people offers."They are paying money nobody ever expected to see."Babson said she would close on her two-bedroom, aqua-colored house on Tuesday. The price? Well, she wouldn't say exactly, except that it was upward of three times the appraised value of $202,454."These people will go for the right price," said Elizabeth Wade, chairman of the Riviera Beach City Council, which also acts as the city's Community Redevelopment Agency Board.Riviera Beach's CRA has one of the most ambitious redevelopment plans in recent memory, property rights experts say. Technically, all of the estimated 5,100 residents and more than 300 business in the CRA's boundaries are at risk for eminent domain proceedings.But for nearly as long as residents have complained about living under that threat, Wade has said that the CRA would use eminent domain sparingly -- if at all. Offers from developers will prove too lucrative to resist, she said. With some of the CRA's biggest critics accepting offers, Wade acknowledged that her prediction, for now, seems accurate."I would not call it vindication," she said. "I would call it a great gratification."No sale has been finalized, said Alex Muxo, a senior vice president with Huizenga Holdings Inc. Muxo also wouldn't say how many homes the company wanted to acquire in the area. But he confirmed it had made a number of offers along East 21st and East 22nd streets in a block bordered by Broadway and the Intracoastal Waterway.Standing in her driveway Friday, Jacquie Loriol said she and her husband decided to sell. A sign calling for the end of eminent domain abuse stood in her front yard."It's pretty hard to say no at this point," she said.Loriol said that Huizenga employees had found them a new home in Jupiter Farms.She will no longer have a view of the Intracoastal Waterway, but they'll have a pond in the back yard, she said.Loriol would not say what the couple received because she did not want to jeopardize the deal, she said.The city's redevelopment boundary encompasses 858 acres and plans call for new hotels, condominiums, marinas and shops, and re-routing U.S. 1 to make room for a new harbor. City leaders have said they will use the power of eminent domain if necessary.Babson said she is not through fighting eminent domain. "I made a deal with God," she said. "I said if you could give me that much money I promise I will use it for the rest of my life to be in service to other people."Babson, who recently appeared on the Fox News Channel to speak about eminent domain, said she would try to find support for a change to the state constitution prohibiting the use of eminent domain for private development.Both she and Loriol said they had grown tired living under the threat of the city's extraordinary power.To stay and fight for their homes was no longer worth the effort, they said. They had forgone making repairs because they didn't know if the CRA would seize their homes. "Why stay here and wait for the gavel to drop?" Babson asked.Recently, she received 250 signs from the Institute for Justice, a national legal organization that helps individuals protect property rights. The signs were meant to show solidarity."I'm stuck with these signs that say this place is not for sale," she said.
Then along came Wayne Huizenga Jr. with visions of a mega-yacht building business where the homes stand. And in the end, there was no long legal battle. No eminent domain. No protests of unfairness.Just the quiet sound of a pen, swooshing across a real-estate contract."The new boy in town is Wayne Huizenga [Jr.], and he's coming through with practically a blank check book," said Martha Babson, one of the chief critics of the city's redevelopment efforts.A Huizenga-owned company bought prime property along Riviera Beach's commercial waterfront earlier this month, records show. Now, residents say his representatives have been approaching residents whose homes border that land and asking them a simple question: "How much?""They bought the entire street and they bought the street north of me," Babson said. "They are out all day making people offers."They are paying money nobody ever expected to see."Babson said she would close on her two-bedroom, aqua-colored house on Tuesday. The price? Well, she wouldn't say exactly, except that it was upward of three times the appraised value of $202,454."These people will go for the right price," said Elizabeth Wade, chairman of the Riviera Beach City Council, which also acts as the city's Community Redevelopment Agency Board.Riviera Beach's CRA has one of the most ambitious redevelopment plans in recent memory, property rights experts say. Technically, all of the estimated 5,100 residents and more than 300 business in the CRA's boundaries are at risk for eminent domain proceedings.But for nearly as long as residents have complained about living under that threat, Wade has said that the CRA would use eminent domain sparingly -- if at all. Offers from developers will prove too lucrative to resist, she said. With some of the CRA's biggest critics accepting offers, Wade acknowledged that her prediction, for now, seems accurate."I would not call it vindication," she said. "I would call it a great gratification."No sale has been finalized, said Alex Muxo, a senior vice president with Huizenga Holdings Inc. Muxo also wouldn't say how many homes the company wanted to acquire in the area. But he confirmed it had made a number of offers along East 21st and East 22nd streets in a block bordered by Broadway and the Intracoastal Waterway.Standing in her driveway Friday, Jacquie Loriol said she and her husband decided to sell. A sign calling for the end of eminent domain abuse stood in her front yard."It's pretty hard to say no at this point," she said.Loriol said that Huizenga employees had found them a new home in Jupiter Farms.She will no longer have a view of the Intracoastal Waterway, but they'll have a pond in the back yard, she said.Loriol would not say what the couple received because she did not want to jeopardize the deal, she said.The city's redevelopment boundary encompasses 858 acres and plans call for new hotels, condominiums, marinas and shops, and re-routing U.S. 1 to make room for a new harbor. City leaders have said they will use the power of eminent domain if necessary.Babson said she is not through fighting eminent domain. "I made a deal with God," she said. "I said if you could give me that much money I promise I will use it for the rest of my life to be in service to other people."Babson, who recently appeared on the Fox News Channel to speak about eminent domain, said she would try to find support for a change to the state constitution prohibiting the use of eminent domain for private development.Both she and Loriol said they had grown tired living under the threat of the city's extraordinary power.To stay and fight for their homes was no longer worth the effort, they said. They had forgone making repairs because they didn't know if the CRA would seize their homes. "Why stay here and wait for the gavel to drop?" Babson asked.Recently, she received 250 signs from the Institute for Justice, a national legal organization that helps individuals protect property rights. The signs were meant to show solidarity."I'm stuck with these signs that say this place is not for sale," she said.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Median price increased from $302,800 to $369,000
Broward County home sales dropped 41 percent, while the median price increased from $302,800 to $369,000.Nationally, purchases declined to a 6.6 million annual rate from November's 7 million. Sales, which have been slowing from the record monthly pace reached in June, still finished 2005 at an all-time high.While economists forecast a gradual decline in sales, December's slump raises the risk the slowdown could accelerate and become an even bigger drag on the economy this year.
The drop puts Federal Reserve policymakers on notice that more interest rate increases may not be necessary, according to Christopher Low."Higher rates at this point risk turning the gentle decline of the second half of 2005 into a housing rout in 2006," said Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York. Recent housing reports "make the most compelling argument for the Fed to stop raising the overnight rate."
A rise in the supply of homes relative to sales, less home price appreciation and higher mortgage rates also limit may refinancing, which has helped drive spending and economic growth, economists said.— Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
The drop puts Federal Reserve policymakers on notice that more interest rate increases may not be necessary, according to Christopher Low."Higher rates at this point risk turning the gentle decline of the second half of 2005 into a housing rout in 2006," said Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York. Recent housing reports "make the most compelling argument for the Fed to stop raising the overnight rate."
A rise in the supply of homes relative to sales, less home price appreciation and higher mortgage rates also limit may refinancing, which has helped drive spending and economic growth, economists said.— Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Selling a home? Be prepared to wait months, not days, for a buyer!
Selling a home? Be prepared to wait months, not days, for a buyer.
By Paul Owers South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted January 26 2006
Fred Stokes just listed his three-bedroom lakefront home in Boca Raton for $439,900, and interest from buyers has been slow so far. Last year, his daughter sold her home nearby in a week for more than she was asking, but he realizes the real estate market has changed."The way I look at it is, I live in paradise," said Stokes, 60, a grandfather of eight who has no immediate plans to cut his asking price. "If I have patience, I'll eventually make money on the house."
Patience is the new buzzword for sellers in South Florida as the once-hot housing market cools off.The Florida Association of Realtors said Wednesday that median sales prices of existing homes rose across South Florida in December compared with the figures a year ago, but prices have essentially remained flat during the past six months."In today's market, [rapid] appreciation can't be counted on like it was a year or two ago," said David Dabby, a Coral Gables-based real estate analyst. "If you're buying a home for that reason, don't buy it."The December median -- half the homes sold for more, half for less -- rose 22 percent, to $369,000, in Broward. It rose 20 percent to $408,200 in Palm Beach County, and 27 percent to $377,700 in Miami-Dade.But from July to December, median prices declined in Broward and increased slightly in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.The number of home sales also has dropped steadily across the region -- by about 40 percent in December, compared with the year-ago period. Agents attribute the decline to rising prices and interest rates and to the lingering effects of Hurricane Wilma, which hit South Florida on Oct. 24."There's more looking than there are [contracts]," said Fort Lauderdale agent Marilynn Obrig, a spokeswoman for the Broward Master Brokers Forum. "There's a change in the level of excitement or motivation to buy right now. It's not quite as frenzied."Nationally, home sales fell 5.7 percent last month, to a 6.6 million annual rate, their lowest level since March 2004, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales still finished 2005 at an all-time high of 7.072 million.Florida also enjoyed a record year for closings (248,565) and median price ($235,100).Overall in 2005, median prices increased 29 percent, to $361,100, in Broward and 30 percent, to $390,100, in Palm Beach County, compared with 2004. Miami-Dade's median rose 28 percent, to $351,200. Existing home sales fell across all three counties in 2005.The Florida statistics reflect only single-family houses, but the national numbers include townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.While the South Florida market remains strong, it's clearly in transition, agents say.It used to be that homes selling for less than $1 million had multiple offers and were scooped up in two to 10 days, said Scott Agran, president of Lang Realty in Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens. Now those multiple offers have mostly dried up, and sellers have to wait two months or more before getting sales contracts."Buyers are more methodical and not as quick to pull the trigger," Agran said. "After the [tourist] season, I think we could see things lean more to the buyer's side."Greg Silva, 54, has tried to sell his home in Lighthouse Point, originally listed at $2.6 million, since March but the luxury market has lagged. He finally signed a contract for $200,000 less than he had asked and hopes to close next month.Silva, the chief executive of a martial arts management firm, wants to see the housing market shift so young people and middle-class consumers can afford to buy. His 27-year-old daughter hopes to live in Delray Beach, where prices of townhomes start in the mid-$300,000 range, he said."Where do they come up with the down payment?" Silva said. "It's tough for young people to get started with prices the way they are."And that's exactly why the market needs to correct itself, said Mike Dooley, a Jupiter Island agent and newly installed president of the Orlando-based Florida Association of Realtors. Despite the slowing trend, Dooley expects the market to remain solid in 2006."To go from a red-hot market to a hot market is not a negative comment," he said. "Thirty to 40 percent price appreciations? That's not a healthy market."I think this is a period where we're going to have a balancing, if you will. And that's good.
By Paul Owers South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted January 26 2006
Fred Stokes just listed his three-bedroom lakefront home in Boca Raton for $439,900, and interest from buyers has been slow so far. Last year, his daughter sold her home nearby in a week for more than she was asking, but he realizes the real estate market has changed."The way I look at it is, I live in paradise," said Stokes, 60, a grandfather of eight who has no immediate plans to cut his asking price. "If I have patience, I'll eventually make money on the house."
Patience is the new buzzword for sellers in South Florida as the once-hot housing market cools off.The Florida Association of Realtors said Wednesday that median sales prices of existing homes rose across South Florida in December compared with the figures a year ago, but prices have essentially remained flat during the past six months."In today's market, [rapid] appreciation can't be counted on like it was a year or two ago," said David Dabby, a Coral Gables-based real estate analyst. "If you're buying a home for that reason, don't buy it."The December median -- half the homes sold for more, half for less -- rose 22 percent, to $369,000, in Broward. It rose 20 percent to $408,200 in Palm Beach County, and 27 percent to $377,700 in Miami-Dade.But from July to December, median prices declined in Broward and increased slightly in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.The number of home sales also has dropped steadily across the region -- by about 40 percent in December, compared with the year-ago period. Agents attribute the decline to rising prices and interest rates and to the lingering effects of Hurricane Wilma, which hit South Florida on Oct. 24."There's more looking than there are [contracts]," said Fort Lauderdale agent Marilynn Obrig, a spokeswoman for the Broward Master Brokers Forum. "There's a change in the level of excitement or motivation to buy right now. It's not quite as frenzied."Nationally, home sales fell 5.7 percent last month, to a 6.6 million annual rate, their lowest level since March 2004, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales still finished 2005 at an all-time high of 7.072 million.Florida also enjoyed a record year for closings (248,565) and median price ($235,100).Overall in 2005, median prices increased 29 percent, to $361,100, in Broward and 30 percent, to $390,100, in Palm Beach County, compared with 2004. Miami-Dade's median rose 28 percent, to $351,200. Existing home sales fell across all three counties in 2005.The Florida statistics reflect only single-family houses, but the national numbers include townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.While the South Florida market remains strong, it's clearly in transition, agents say.It used to be that homes selling for less than $1 million had multiple offers and were scooped up in two to 10 days, said Scott Agran, president of Lang Realty in Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens. Now those multiple offers have mostly dried up, and sellers have to wait two months or more before getting sales contracts."Buyers are more methodical and not as quick to pull the trigger," Agran said. "After the [tourist] season, I think we could see things lean more to the buyer's side."Greg Silva, 54, has tried to sell his home in Lighthouse Point, originally listed at $2.6 million, since March but the luxury market has lagged. He finally signed a contract for $200,000 less than he had asked and hopes to close next month.Silva, the chief executive of a martial arts management firm, wants to see the housing market shift so young people and middle-class consumers can afford to buy. His 27-year-old daughter hopes to live in Delray Beach, where prices of townhomes start in the mid-$300,000 range, he said."Where do they come up with the down payment?" Silva said. "It's tough for young people to get started with prices the way they are."And that's exactly why the market needs to correct itself, said Mike Dooley, a Jupiter Island agent and newly installed president of the Orlando-based Florida Association of Realtors. Despite the slowing trend, Dooley expects the market to remain solid in 2006."To go from a red-hot market to a hot market is not a negative comment," he said. "Thirty to 40 percent price appreciations? That's not a healthy market."I think this is a period where we're going to have a balancing, if you will. And that's good.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Palm Beach County may buy Lake Worth apartments for affordable housing
Palm Beach County may buy Lake Worth apartments for affordable housing.
By Anthony Man Staff writer Posted January 25 2006
Bemoaning the lack of affordable housing, listening to status reports, and vowing to take action has become a ritual for Palm Beach County commissioners.Tuesday's talk was accompanied by something that might ultimately turn into something definitive: Commissioners said they wanted to explore a proposal to buy an old apartment complex near Lake Worth for $15 million to help preserve a small amount of affordable housing.
The idea was presented last week in a letter from a representative of Willow Lake Apartments. The letter said the owner -- prominent developer and political insider E. Llwyd Ecclestone -- was expecting an offer on the property, but instead would consider a deal with the county.Commissioner Karen Marcus said the idea has merit. "To me the price seemed kind of right," she said. She said investing $15 million for 240 units is a good deal.Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti agreed the deal "in today's market is a bargain" -- unless fixing up the property would require another $15 million. "We don't know what the maintenance is. We don't know what the history of the building [is]."He said the proposal could be a real estate agent's gambit: tell someone another offer is looming to generate interest and bid up the price of the property. The letter arrived in county offices last week with a 10-day time frame.Commissioner Burt Aaronson said he didn't like the idea of a quick deadline. "We deserve the time to look over something and not be pushed into something real fast or faster than we can absorb it."Commissioners told County Administrator Bob Weisman to explore the idea. They also segued into their regular discussion about the lack of affordable housing. After years of such discussions, Commissioner Jeff Koons said the county was now in "crisis mode."Deputy County Administrator Verdenia Baker said that the commission may be presented with a package of proposals next month that would include requiring 10 to 20 percent of the units in a new project to be affordable, might allow increased density for projects, and could impose new fees on commercial and luxury home development.Masilotti warned that those solutions could fail because property owners would simply get their land annexed into cities that don't have affordable housing requirements.Commissioner Mary McCarty has been sounding the alarm about conversions of rental properties into condominiums. Rather than buy apartments, she said the county might be better off taking an approach used in San Francisco, which limits how many conversions can take place each year.McCarty offered another twist on the idea of buying apartments, suggesting the county could buy a complex, add a deed restriction requiring the property to remain rental in perpetuity, and sell it.Masilotti again raised the idea of developing the vast agricultural lands between Wellington and Belle Glade.At three houses per acre, he said a developer could make a profit selling each for $225,000. He said whenever the idea is raised, environmental groups criticize it as "urban sprawl."Aaronson said environmental negatives of developing habitat for people are overstated. "I like birds and I like trees, but I like people more," he said.
By Anthony Man Staff writer Posted January 25 2006
Bemoaning the lack of affordable housing, listening to status reports, and vowing to take action has become a ritual for Palm Beach County commissioners.Tuesday's talk was accompanied by something that might ultimately turn into something definitive: Commissioners said they wanted to explore a proposal to buy an old apartment complex near Lake Worth for $15 million to help preserve a small amount of affordable housing.
The idea was presented last week in a letter from a representative of Willow Lake Apartments. The letter said the owner -- prominent developer and political insider E. Llwyd Ecclestone -- was expecting an offer on the property, but instead would consider a deal with the county.Commissioner Karen Marcus said the idea has merit. "To me the price seemed kind of right," she said. She said investing $15 million for 240 units is a good deal.Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti agreed the deal "in today's market is a bargain" -- unless fixing up the property would require another $15 million. "We don't know what the maintenance is. We don't know what the history of the building [is]."He said the proposal could be a real estate agent's gambit: tell someone another offer is looming to generate interest and bid up the price of the property. The letter arrived in county offices last week with a 10-day time frame.Commissioner Burt Aaronson said he didn't like the idea of a quick deadline. "We deserve the time to look over something and not be pushed into something real fast or faster than we can absorb it."Commissioners told County Administrator Bob Weisman to explore the idea. They also segued into their regular discussion about the lack of affordable housing. After years of such discussions, Commissioner Jeff Koons said the county was now in "crisis mode."Deputy County Administrator Verdenia Baker said that the commission may be presented with a package of proposals next month that would include requiring 10 to 20 percent of the units in a new project to be affordable, might allow increased density for projects, and could impose new fees on commercial and luxury home development.Masilotti warned that those solutions could fail because property owners would simply get their land annexed into cities that don't have affordable housing requirements.Commissioner Mary McCarty has been sounding the alarm about conversions of rental properties into condominiums. Rather than buy apartments, she said the county might be better off taking an approach used in San Francisco, which limits how many conversions can take place each year.McCarty offered another twist on the idea of buying apartments, suggesting the county could buy a complex, add a deed restriction requiring the property to remain rental in perpetuity, and sell it.Masilotti again raised the idea of developing the vast agricultural lands between Wellington and Belle Glade.At three houses per acre, he said a developer could make a profit selling each for $225,000. He said whenever the idea is raised, environmental groups criticize it as "urban sprawl."Aaronson said environmental negatives of developing habitat for people are overstated. "I like birds and I like trees, but I like people more," he said.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
In Broward, you'll need $100,000 a year!
Want to buy an average home? In Broward, you'll need $100,000 a year.
Scott Wyman Staff writer Posted January 24 2006
Nurses, teachers, waiters, cashiers beware. Broward County's housing crisis is so bad that only someone making almost $100,000 a year can afford the median home now on the market.And the problem is likely going to get worse. About 90,000 homes must be built during the next six years to keep pace with the area's job growth.
The preliminary findings of a comprehensive study of affordable housing in Broward show the problem to be more dire than expected. Until now, little was known on how much more affordable housing is needed or how wide the gap is between what's on the market and what most can afford."I don't know how anybody in their 20s and 30s can afford housing here right now," said County Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger said after hearing the findings Monday. "They would have to be making six figures. That's just not realistic."The root of the problem is that the median price -- the point at which half the homes on the market are priced higher and half are priced lower -- of an existing single-family home is almost $400,000, while the median income among the largest job sectors of the local economy is $26,000. That encompasses people who work in retail stores, hotels, restaurants, health care and administrative support.According to the study by Ned Murray of Florida International University's Metropolitan Center, the gap between what a prospective homebuyer can afford and what is available is about $92,000. It's the most extreme in Fort Lauderdale, where the median sales price is $452,000 but the average worker can afford to spend only $172,000.Murray said that while other areas have grappled with rapidly escalating real estate prices, what makes Broward's situation bad is the low incomes of most workers. Only 15 percent of the work force earn the $98,000 necessary to pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance owed on the median home for sale."The gap between jobs and affordable housing is so extreme that the ripples will continue across the economy for some time and could affect job growth if nothing is done," Murray said. "What really has happened in the housing market is so explosive, we are just beginning to see those ripples."The Broward Housing Partnership, a coalition of developers, bankers and large employers, sought the study and expects to receive a final report later this month. Although Murray presented his findings at the first meeting of the County Commission's affordable housing task force, the Housing Partnership refused to provide the public and media with a printed version until the report is finalized.To tackle the problem, county officials are looking at everything from increasing subsidies for affordable housing projects to imposing zoning requirements that any housing development include some units affordable to the average worker.Murray's study showed that housing prices have jumped 65 percent in two years and that now almost a third of area families are spending more than they should for housing expenses.Financial planners recommend no more than a third of a household's income be devoted to those costs.Murray analyzed the extent of the housing crisis for a variety of professions as well as different sections of the county.Nurses in Broward, for example, earn a median of $50,000 a year and thus could afford a $193,000 home, leaving a gap of $198,000 based on current sales prices. Elementary school teachers have a median salary of $40,000 and could afford a $149,000 home, meaning a $242,000 shortfall.And while the problem is worst in Fort Lauderdale, other communities also have wide differences between pay and housing prices. The study found the gap in Miramar to be $170,000 and in Hollywood to be $109,000.Based on projections that 135,000 new jobs will be created by 2012, the report concluded that the county needs 90,000 additional homes. Of those, 51,000 will be needed for people earning less than $42,000 a year.
Scott Wyman Staff writer Posted January 24 2006
Nurses, teachers, waiters, cashiers beware. Broward County's housing crisis is so bad that only someone making almost $100,000 a year can afford the median home now on the market.And the problem is likely going to get worse. About 90,000 homes must be built during the next six years to keep pace with the area's job growth.
The preliminary findings of a comprehensive study of affordable housing in Broward show the problem to be more dire than expected. Until now, little was known on how much more affordable housing is needed or how wide the gap is between what's on the market and what most can afford."I don't know how anybody in their 20s and 30s can afford housing here right now," said County Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger said after hearing the findings Monday. "They would have to be making six figures. That's just not realistic."The root of the problem is that the median price -- the point at which half the homes on the market are priced higher and half are priced lower -- of an existing single-family home is almost $400,000, while the median income among the largest job sectors of the local economy is $26,000. That encompasses people who work in retail stores, hotels, restaurants, health care and administrative support.According to the study by Ned Murray of Florida International University's Metropolitan Center, the gap between what a prospective homebuyer can afford and what is available is about $92,000. It's the most extreme in Fort Lauderdale, where the median sales price is $452,000 but the average worker can afford to spend only $172,000.Murray said that while other areas have grappled with rapidly escalating real estate prices, what makes Broward's situation bad is the low incomes of most workers. Only 15 percent of the work force earn the $98,000 necessary to pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance owed on the median home for sale."The gap between jobs and affordable housing is so extreme that the ripples will continue across the economy for some time and could affect job growth if nothing is done," Murray said. "What really has happened in the housing market is so explosive, we are just beginning to see those ripples."The Broward Housing Partnership, a coalition of developers, bankers and large employers, sought the study and expects to receive a final report later this month. Although Murray presented his findings at the first meeting of the County Commission's affordable housing task force, the Housing Partnership refused to provide the public and media with a printed version until the report is finalized.To tackle the problem, county officials are looking at everything from increasing subsidies for affordable housing projects to imposing zoning requirements that any housing development include some units affordable to the average worker.Murray's study showed that housing prices have jumped 65 percent in two years and that now almost a third of area families are spending more than they should for housing expenses.Financial planners recommend no more than a third of a household's income be devoted to those costs.Murray analyzed the extent of the housing crisis for a variety of professions as well as different sections of the county.Nurses in Broward, for example, earn a median of $50,000 a year and thus could afford a $193,000 home, leaving a gap of $198,000 based on current sales prices. Elementary school teachers have a median salary of $40,000 and could afford a $149,000 home, meaning a $242,000 shortfall.And while the problem is worst in Fort Lauderdale, other communities also have wide differences between pay and housing prices. The study found the gap in Miramar to be $170,000 and in Hollywood to be $109,000.Based on projections that 135,000 new jobs will be created by 2012, the report concluded that the county needs 90,000 additional homes. Of those, 51,000 will be needed for people earning less than $42,000 a year.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Marina space dwindling in hot spots around the country.
Marina space dwindling in hot spots around the country.
By JOHN PAIN.
It's a life that's given him adventure, freedom and a way to experience the best of South Florida without the soaring prices of its red-hot real estate market.
"Where else can you get living on a waterfront property, you know, some of the best climates in the world?" said the 60-year-old manufacturing engineer.
But Quinlivan's slip fees have jumped $200 a month over the past two years, and he and other boaters are finding out the hard way that the real estate boom isn't limited to dry land. Public places to dock are getting harder to come by as developers buy up marinas to convert them into private slips for luxury condominiums in popular areas such as Florida and California.
According to the Boat Owners Association of the United States, the pressures of development are a real concern for the nation's estimated 13,000 public marinas, 11,000 of which are "mom-and-pop" family owned operations.
"These owners have put a lot of sweat equity into their facilities. They're getting up there in years and a developer comes along and offers them a big check, and it's attractive," said Scott Croft, a spokesman for the Alexandria, Va.-based association.
The real estate boom in prime waterfront areas has been accompanied by a surge in boat ownership. While the 12.79 million boats registered in U.S. in 2003 was down slightly from a peak of 12.87 million in 2001, top-ranked California and third-ranked Florida saw their numbers increase by 84,660 from 2002 to 2003, the Coast Guard said.
Pineda Point Marina in Melbourne on Florida's central Atlantic coast has witnessed the boom since the family owned business started about 15 years ago. The marina's 100 slips are always full, and manager Scott Jordan said developers have casually asked his father, the owner, about selling.
"I'm not saying that we're going to stay here no matter what," he said. "If someone was to come around and offered the kind of money that was a ridiculously high price ..."
He said rising insurance rates and property taxes that accompany the real estate boom have also made the marina less profitable. Property taxes alone jumped 28 percent last year, from $11,713 annually to more than $15,000.
Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a state agency that handles boating access, is concerned about the marina situation and is awaiting the results of a study that will gauge the exact number of facilities lost to development.
"There is, at this point, little that we can do," said commission spokesman Willie Puz. "Because it's private property, we can't regulate it."
Lawmakers plan to introduce a bill in the Florida Legislature this year that would encourage local governments to preserve public marinas, Florida Association of Counties spokeswoman Kriss Vallese said. Some counties are also taking steps to keep marinas open - Palm Beach County recently approved $15 million to preserve one of its marinas.
Developers say the shortage of marina space is simply another part of the real estate boom.
"In a state like Florida, we have people moving into the state and one of the main draws is the water. That's a diminishing percentage of land as opposed to the number of people coming in. The one thing we can't grow is beachfront," said Jim Cohen, a principal with Boca Developers.
He said developers are also providing a service by modernizing some public marinas that have fallen into disrepair. His company, based in Deerfield Beach, also has set aside about 10 percent of the marina space at one of its properties for public use.
But for some boaters, that isn't enough. Jim Edwards, 39, originally from Florence, Ala., lives on his 41-foot sailboat with girlfriend and travels around the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Since leaving land 10 years ago, he said he has seen Florida change from an affordable place for boaters.
"It's a place for the wealthy who have the money to enjoy the waterfront," Edwards said. "If you don't have, you know, a big boat and a lot of money, they don't really want you."
By JOHN PAIN.
It's a life that's given him adventure, freedom and a way to experience the best of South Florida without the soaring prices of its red-hot real estate market.
"Where else can you get living on a waterfront property, you know, some of the best climates in the world?" said the 60-year-old manufacturing engineer.
But Quinlivan's slip fees have jumped $200 a month over the past two years, and he and other boaters are finding out the hard way that the real estate boom isn't limited to dry land. Public places to dock are getting harder to come by as developers buy up marinas to convert them into private slips for luxury condominiums in popular areas such as Florida and California.
According to the Boat Owners Association of the United States, the pressures of development are a real concern for the nation's estimated 13,000 public marinas, 11,000 of which are "mom-and-pop" family owned operations.
"These owners have put a lot of sweat equity into their facilities. They're getting up there in years and a developer comes along and offers them a big check, and it's attractive," said Scott Croft, a spokesman for the Alexandria, Va.-based association.
The real estate boom in prime waterfront areas has been accompanied by a surge in boat ownership. While the 12.79 million boats registered in U.S. in 2003 was down slightly from a peak of 12.87 million in 2001, top-ranked California and third-ranked Florida saw their numbers increase by 84,660 from 2002 to 2003, the Coast Guard said.
Pineda Point Marina in Melbourne on Florida's central Atlantic coast has witnessed the boom since the family owned business started about 15 years ago. The marina's 100 slips are always full, and manager Scott Jordan said developers have casually asked his father, the owner, about selling.
"I'm not saying that we're going to stay here no matter what," he said. "If someone was to come around and offered the kind of money that was a ridiculously high price ..."
He said rising insurance rates and property taxes that accompany the real estate boom have also made the marina less profitable. Property taxes alone jumped 28 percent last year, from $11,713 annually to more than $15,000.
Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a state agency that handles boating access, is concerned about the marina situation and is awaiting the results of a study that will gauge the exact number of facilities lost to development.
"There is, at this point, little that we can do," said commission spokesman Willie Puz. "Because it's private property, we can't regulate it."
Lawmakers plan to introduce a bill in the Florida Legislature this year that would encourage local governments to preserve public marinas, Florida Association of Counties spokeswoman Kriss Vallese said. Some counties are also taking steps to keep marinas open - Palm Beach County recently approved $15 million to preserve one of its marinas.
Developers say the shortage of marina space is simply another part of the real estate boom.
"In a state like Florida, we have people moving into the state and one of the main draws is the water. That's a diminishing percentage of land as opposed to the number of people coming in. The one thing we can't grow is beachfront," said Jim Cohen, a principal with Boca Developers.
He said developers are also providing a service by modernizing some public marinas that have fallen into disrepair. His company, based in Deerfield Beach, also has set aside about 10 percent of the marina space at one of its properties for public use.
But for some boaters, that isn't enough. Jim Edwards, 39, originally from Florence, Ala., lives on his 41-foot sailboat with girlfriend and travels around the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Since leaving land 10 years ago, he said he has seen Florida change from an affordable place for boaters.
"It's a place for the wealthy who have the money to enjoy the waterfront," Edwards said. "If you don't have, you know, a big boat and a lot of money, they don't really want you."
Sunday, January 22, 2006
New Construction in San Carlos Area.
Condos are appearing west of U.S. 41 in San Carlos Park, where single-family homes and mobile homes have been most common.Gulf Hideaway, a community of 40 Mediterranean-style luxury coach homes on Park Road, is almost done. And Adrian Builders plans to build up to 300 condos south of Alico Road.Gulf Hideaway I LLC began construction of three-bedroom, two bathroom condominiums in mid-2004.
Each building has four condos. Six of the buildings are finished, and the other four should be completed by the end of February and the units closed by mid-March.All 40 units sold by February 2005. They initially sold for $219,000 for a downstairs unit and $229,000 for an upstairs unit, but are currently priced around $300,000 and $320,000.
"No other condos were really being built in the San Carlos area," said Jennifer Oyster, assistant to Charles P. T. Phoenix, the developer. "That was one of the reasons that it was appealing.
Each building has four condos. Six of the buildings are finished, and the other four should be completed by the end of February and the units closed by mid-March.All 40 units sold by February 2005. They initially sold for $219,000 for a downstairs unit and $229,000 for an upstairs unit, but are currently priced around $300,000 and $320,000.
"No other condos were really being built in the San Carlos area," said Jennifer Oyster, assistant to Charles P. T. Phoenix, the developer. "That was one of the reasons that it was appealing.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Manatee County stands on the brink of tremendous growth
As northern Manatee County stands on the brink of tremendous growth, 26 major developers are trying to work together to anticipate the need for future roads, parks and schools.
"They want to provide an organized infrastructure mechanism similar to what Lakewood Ranch did in south county," said Ron Getman, chairman of the Manatee County Commission.
Two developer groups are working with county officials to provide infrastructure for an estimated 30,000 new homes from Port Manatee on the extreme west to U.S. 301 near the Hillsborough County line to the east.
The groups, fearful a possible building moratorium could hamper their plans unless school sites are dedicated, roads are built and utility lines paid for, have indicated a willingness to help build infrastructure.
"There are those who will say we are in league with the developers and usually, we are always at odds," Getman said. "But this is an attempt to bring us together for the benefit of the public. It is no more than working as a group to have an organized approach to north county development."
North County Developers Group, which opened its initial bank account several months ago under the name The White Hats, now consists of eight members who are willing to help pay for infrastructure if the county can provide a mechanism to benefit all parties, said local attorney Hugh McGuire, a North County member who is also group spokesman.
That mechanism could include impact fee credits.
McGuire's group is mainly focused on the area east of Interstate 75 and north of Parrish.
Although eight or more additional members are expected to join the organization in the next few months, bringing the total to about 16, current members include John Falkner, Pat Neal, Britt Williams, Sonny Vergara, David Wick, Bruce Williams and Carlos Beruff, McGuire said.
"We're a group of developers who realize the situation we are in," McGuire said. "What we want is to learn the mechanisms so that we can do a private-public partnership where developers can pay for some of this and eventually get paid back the money we put out."
North County Developers Group was spawned by a speech Getman gave at a Manatee Homebuilders Association meeting this fall.
Developers at the meeting told Getman they were concerned about a possible countywide building moratorium due to the lack of school sites, roads and parks.
Getman proposed they get together as one voice.
"Schroeder-Manatee Ranch provided the roads and school sites to provide for the growth it created in Lakewood Ranch," Getman said. "But north of the river you have 40 different developers, each with different ideas. I told them if we could work with one master planning entity, one voice representing all the others, it would be more effective."
Widening U.S. 301 from Erie Road north through Parrish is a top priority if the area is to keep up with growth, McGuire said.
Improving the overall road grid in north county, including seeking more north-south roads, is another key, McGuire said.
"What we want to know is, 'Is there an opportunity to move quicker if a developer gets involved?' " McGuire said.
In order for it to come to the county as a single voice, North County Developers Group hired Robert Sheets, chief executive officer of Government Service Solutions, a Tallahassee consulting firm.
Reached by phone Tuesday in Tallahassee, Sheets said that in his 30 years of consulting he has never worked with 16 developers on one project.
The first phase of Sheets' work will be submitting a concept document by Feb. 28, he said.
"Our first task, working with all these different developers, all with different projects in different stages of permitting, is to put together a single database with a matrix that shows where there is a need for schools, parks, water, sewer and roads," Sheets said. "Once we get this matrix together, then we will discuss concepts like how will we fund this major arterial road, how will regional and neighborhood parks be funded, how will maintenance be sustained."
A second organization, called The Buckeye Road Group, consists of principals from 10 proposed subdivisions in the area north of Moccasin Wallow Road around Buckeye Road, said Sarasota attorney Bill Merrill, who represents the group.
The Buckeye Road Group includes Curiosity Creek (Centrum), Newport Isles (Ryland Homes), Sweetwater Preserve (Lerian Developments), Artisan Lakes (Taylor Woodrow), Wellington Lakes and Stone Dam Preserve (Hofnanian Windward Homes), and four others.
"This is a rather unique situation," Merrill said. "You have 10 developers all cooperating and going in together to bring water and sewer lines to the north area, working things out to get right of way," Merrill said. "The goal is to see what it would it take to create fully sustainable communities."
The 10 subdivisions are all in different phases of pre-groundbreaking, but the developers are working with the county to plan libraries, parks, schools, roads and other infrastructure, Merrill said.
Although they are working in the same relative area, the two groups have no plans to join, Merrill said.
"The North County Developers Group is interested in developing land further east than we are," Merrill said.
The Buckeye Road Group plans to deliver a preview of its ideas to commissioners on Jan. 24, Merrill said.
Road needs
Without developer assistance, Getman painted a bleak picture of the county's ability to keep up with roads, the most pressing offshoot of growth.
The county will need $2 billion to create the road grid needed by 2030, Getman said.
Right now, Manatee and Sarasota counties share $8 million to $10 million annually from the state for transportation needs, Getman said.
Manatee County also gets an estimated $7 million yearly in gasoline sales tax revenue, of which $4 million goes to pay back a bond debt, Getman said.
"That leaves only $3 million a year from the gas tax plus our split with Sarasota," Getman said. "Just to realign the southern portion of 43rd Street West and Cortez Road cost us more than $3 million."
"They want to provide an organized infrastructure mechanism similar to what Lakewood Ranch did in south county," said Ron Getman, chairman of the Manatee County Commission.
Two developer groups are working with county officials to provide infrastructure for an estimated 30,000 new homes from Port Manatee on the extreme west to U.S. 301 near the Hillsborough County line to the east.
The groups, fearful a possible building moratorium could hamper their plans unless school sites are dedicated, roads are built and utility lines paid for, have indicated a willingness to help build infrastructure.
"There are those who will say we are in league with the developers and usually, we are always at odds," Getman said. "But this is an attempt to bring us together for the benefit of the public. It is no more than working as a group to have an organized approach to north county development."
North County Developers Group, which opened its initial bank account several months ago under the name The White Hats, now consists of eight members who are willing to help pay for infrastructure if the county can provide a mechanism to benefit all parties, said local attorney Hugh McGuire, a North County member who is also group spokesman.
That mechanism could include impact fee credits.
McGuire's group is mainly focused on the area east of Interstate 75 and north of Parrish.
Although eight or more additional members are expected to join the organization in the next few months, bringing the total to about 16, current members include John Falkner, Pat Neal, Britt Williams, Sonny Vergara, David Wick, Bruce Williams and Carlos Beruff, McGuire said.
"We're a group of developers who realize the situation we are in," McGuire said. "What we want is to learn the mechanisms so that we can do a private-public partnership where developers can pay for some of this and eventually get paid back the money we put out."
North County Developers Group was spawned by a speech Getman gave at a Manatee Homebuilders Association meeting this fall.
Developers at the meeting told Getman they were concerned about a possible countywide building moratorium due to the lack of school sites, roads and parks.
Getman proposed they get together as one voice.
"Schroeder-Manatee Ranch provided the roads and school sites to provide for the growth it created in Lakewood Ranch," Getman said. "But north of the river you have 40 different developers, each with different ideas. I told them if we could work with one master planning entity, one voice representing all the others, it would be more effective."
Widening U.S. 301 from Erie Road north through Parrish is a top priority if the area is to keep up with growth, McGuire said.
Improving the overall road grid in north county, including seeking more north-south roads, is another key, McGuire said.
"What we want to know is, 'Is there an opportunity to move quicker if a developer gets involved?' " McGuire said.
In order for it to come to the county as a single voice, North County Developers Group hired Robert Sheets, chief executive officer of Government Service Solutions, a Tallahassee consulting firm.
Reached by phone Tuesday in Tallahassee, Sheets said that in his 30 years of consulting he has never worked with 16 developers on one project.
The first phase of Sheets' work will be submitting a concept document by Feb. 28, he said.
"Our first task, working with all these different developers, all with different projects in different stages of permitting, is to put together a single database with a matrix that shows where there is a need for schools, parks, water, sewer and roads," Sheets said. "Once we get this matrix together, then we will discuss concepts like how will we fund this major arterial road, how will regional and neighborhood parks be funded, how will maintenance be sustained."
A second organization, called The Buckeye Road Group, consists of principals from 10 proposed subdivisions in the area north of Moccasin Wallow Road around Buckeye Road, said Sarasota attorney Bill Merrill, who represents the group.
The Buckeye Road Group includes Curiosity Creek (Centrum), Newport Isles (Ryland Homes), Sweetwater Preserve (Lerian Developments), Artisan Lakes (Taylor Woodrow), Wellington Lakes and Stone Dam Preserve (Hofnanian Windward Homes), and four others.
"This is a rather unique situation," Merrill said. "You have 10 developers all cooperating and going in together to bring water and sewer lines to the north area, working things out to get right of way," Merrill said. "The goal is to see what it would it take to create fully sustainable communities."
The 10 subdivisions are all in different phases of pre-groundbreaking, but the developers are working with the county to plan libraries, parks, schools, roads and other infrastructure, Merrill said.
Although they are working in the same relative area, the two groups have no plans to join, Merrill said.
"The North County Developers Group is interested in developing land further east than we are," Merrill said.
The Buckeye Road Group plans to deliver a preview of its ideas to commissioners on Jan. 24, Merrill said.
Road needs
Without developer assistance, Getman painted a bleak picture of the county's ability to keep up with roads, the most pressing offshoot of growth.
The county will need $2 billion to create the road grid needed by 2030, Getman said.
Right now, Manatee and Sarasota counties share $8 million to $10 million annually from the state for transportation needs, Getman said.
Manatee County also gets an estimated $7 million yearly in gasoline sales tax revenue, of which $4 million goes to pay back a bond debt, Getman said.
"That leaves only $3 million a year from the gas tax plus our split with Sarasota," Getman said. "Just to realign the southern portion of 43rd Street West and Cortez Road cost us more than $3 million."
Thursday, January 19, 2006
FHA rules streamlined! Much better!
WASHINGTON -- The federal government's biggest home mortgage program streamlined itself at the end of December, and that could be good news for buyers, sellers, realty agents and builders in 2006.
In fact, the Federal Housing Administration's decision to eliminate or soften many onerous rules about property conditions and mandatory repairs should be a stimulant to the entire housing market this year. It could help open low-down-payment mortgages to thousands of first-time, moderate-income purchasers who might have turned to higher-fee subprime alternatives.
Those new buyers, in turn, could give sellers of lower-cost dwellings the cash to move up to more costly properties -- and prompt more sales activity at successive levels up the housing price ladder.
The FHA once dominated the lower-cost segment of the national housing market, and was a crucial entry point for young, minority and lower-income purchasers. But in recent years it has been heavily criticized for enforcing decades-old, overly paternal requirements about property condition and repairs of resale houses. In the boom markets of 2004-2005, realty agents often advised sellers to reject purchase offers that came with FHA mortgage financing contingencies.
Whereas buyers using other forms of financing could buy houses "as is," FHA rules required painting, patching, repairs and inspections before the mortgage could be closed -- even if the defects were minor and did not affect health or safety. FHA-contingent offers were viewed as too troublesome to bother with, and realty agents, lenders and sellers in some urban areas effectively boycotted the program. Meanwhile, FHA's share of the market plummeted to a record-low 3%, down from 11% less than a decade earlier.
Thanks to a clean sweep of its rules last year and revised repair and inspection standards lenders were told about at the end of December, agents and home sellers might begin to take a fresh look at FHA. Buying a house with FHA financing won't put bidders at a competitive disadvantage any longer.
In a Dec. 19 letter to hundreds of lenders across the country, FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery announced that his agency "has shifted from its historical emphasis on the repair of minor property deficiencies and now only requires repairs for those property conditions that rise above cosmetic defects, minor defects and normal wear and tear."
Before the policy overhaul, FHA required repairs on resale homes for defects such as:
Cracked windowpanes.
Leaky faucets.
Soiled or poorly installed carpeting.
Missing handrails.
Cracked or buckled sheetrock or plaster.
Crawl spaces that contained any type of debris or trash.
Flooring finishes that were worn or deteriorated.
Cracked sidewalks.
Though the agency considered its strict standards to be a valuable consumer protection measure, almost everybody else in the market considered them to be needlessly nitpicky. Under the more tolerant standards, minor defects won't have to be repaired before the mortgage closing.
House defects such as structural problems, foundation damage, bad roofing and electrical hazards that pose more serious risks to buyers still will be subject to a mandatory repair rule.
FHA also announced that mandatory inspections for a number of property conditions have been waived, too. These include:
Termite and other insect damage problems, unless there is "evidence of active infestation" or local real estate regulations require inspections.
Septic systems in which there is no evidence of malfunction.
Wells that are functioning normally and show no signs of contamination.
FHA's streamlining of property rules is part of a much broader effort within the agency to regain its role in the national real estate marketplace. Last year Montgomery and federal Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson said they agree with critics who said FHA rules and procedures were out of date. More importantly, said Jackson, FHA had an important traditional mission to uphold to ease the way into homeownership for lower-income and minority renters, through low down payments and generous credit and debt ratio standards.
"We need to reach out" to African-American, Hispanic and other consumers with better loan concepts, less red tape and faster mortgage approvals, he said. Jackson argued that in comparison with most subprime loans, FHA "offers a better deal. We've got a superior product" -- lower interest rates, lower fees, no prepayment penalties and mortgage limits up to $362,790 in high-cost urban areas and $200,160 in others.
The latest rule changes might not get rid of all the boo-birds -- after all, FHA is a government-run insurance program -- but it should get the attention of buyers and sellers in the moderate-cost segments of the market and the realty and lending professionals who work with them.
In fact, the Federal Housing Administration's decision to eliminate or soften many onerous rules about property conditions and mandatory repairs should be a stimulant to the entire housing market this year. It could help open low-down-payment mortgages to thousands of first-time, moderate-income purchasers who might have turned to higher-fee subprime alternatives.
Those new buyers, in turn, could give sellers of lower-cost dwellings the cash to move up to more costly properties -- and prompt more sales activity at successive levels up the housing price ladder.
The FHA once dominated the lower-cost segment of the national housing market, and was a crucial entry point for young, minority and lower-income purchasers. But in recent years it has been heavily criticized for enforcing decades-old, overly paternal requirements about property condition and repairs of resale houses. In the boom markets of 2004-2005, realty agents often advised sellers to reject purchase offers that came with FHA mortgage financing contingencies.
Whereas buyers using other forms of financing could buy houses "as is," FHA rules required painting, patching, repairs and inspections before the mortgage could be closed -- even if the defects were minor and did not affect health or safety. FHA-contingent offers were viewed as too troublesome to bother with, and realty agents, lenders and sellers in some urban areas effectively boycotted the program. Meanwhile, FHA's share of the market plummeted to a record-low 3%, down from 11% less than a decade earlier.
Thanks to a clean sweep of its rules last year and revised repair and inspection standards lenders were told about at the end of December, agents and home sellers might begin to take a fresh look at FHA. Buying a house with FHA financing won't put bidders at a competitive disadvantage any longer.
In a Dec. 19 letter to hundreds of lenders across the country, FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery announced that his agency "has shifted from its historical emphasis on the repair of minor property deficiencies and now only requires repairs for those property conditions that rise above cosmetic defects, minor defects and normal wear and tear."
Before the policy overhaul, FHA required repairs on resale homes for defects such as:
Cracked windowpanes.
Leaky faucets.
Soiled or poorly installed carpeting.
Missing handrails.
Cracked or buckled sheetrock or plaster.
Crawl spaces that contained any type of debris or trash.
Flooring finishes that were worn or deteriorated.
Cracked sidewalks.
Though the agency considered its strict standards to be a valuable consumer protection measure, almost everybody else in the market considered them to be needlessly nitpicky. Under the more tolerant standards, minor defects won't have to be repaired before the mortgage closing.
House defects such as structural problems, foundation damage, bad roofing and electrical hazards that pose more serious risks to buyers still will be subject to a mandatory repair rule.
FHA also announced that mandatory inspections for a number of property conditions have been waived, too. These include:
Termite and other insect damage problems, unless there is "evidence of active infestation" or local real estate regulations require inspections.
Septic systems in which there is no evidence of malfunction.
Wells that are functioning normally and show no signs of contamination.
FHA's streamlining of property rules is part of a much broader effort within the agency to regain its role in the national real estate marketplace. Last year Montgomery and federal Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson said they agree with critics who said FHA rules and procedures were out of date. More importantly, said Jackson, FHA had an important traditional mission to uphold to ease the way into homeownership for lower-income and minority renters, through low down payments and generous credit and debt ratio standards.
"We need to reach out" to African-American, Hispanic and other consumers with better loan concepts, less red tape and faster mortgage approvals, he said. Jackson argued that in comparison with most subprime loans, FHA "offers a better deal. We've got a superior product" -- lower interest rates, lower fees, no prepayment penalties and mortgage limits up to $362,790 in high-cost urban areas and $200,160 in others.
The latest rule changes might not get rid of all the boo-birds -- after all, FHA is a government-run insurance program -- but it should get the attention of buyers and sellers in the moderate-cost segments of the market and the realty and lending professionals who work with them.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Orlando: Rentals are in demand.
Orlando apartment market one of the tightest in the countryAccording to the National Association of Realtors, condo conversions have left some markets, including Orlando with very low vacancy rates of 2.2 percent or less.NAR reports that areas with the lowest apartment vacancies are Los Angeles; Orlando; Newark, N.J.; Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.Condo converters continue to influence multifamily investment across the country, with conversion of apartments into condos accounting for more than half of the dollar volume in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, and more than 40 percent of volume in the Northeast and Midwest. In the last year, approximately 120,000 rental apartments have been removed from the inventory due to conversions.Overall, the apartment rental market – multifamily housing – should see vacancy rates drop to 5.0 percent by the end of 2006, down from 6.2 percent last year. Average rent is projected to increase 3.0 percent in 2006, compared with a 1.5 percent rise in 2004.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
U.S. residential bubble risk limited
U.S. residential bubble risk limited
Thu Jan 12, 2006 By Nick Carey
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The risk of a housing bubble in the U.S. market is highly localized as supply is still catching up with demand in most of the country, U.S. real estate magnate Sam Zell said on Thursday.
"There will be a softer real estate market in some areas as a result, but I keep telling people there is no bubble," Zell told Reuters after an economic conference in Chicago where his headquarters is located.
"The fact remains that even with the gains of the past five years, American residential real estate prices in relative terms are among the cheapest in the world," he said.
Zell said a few areas in the U.S. market are suffering from oversupply, but he did not specify which ones.
House prices on average have surged more than 55 percent over the past five years, according to federal government data.
In some locations, the price gains have been more dramatic, such as California, which has notched price increases of nearly 113 percent over that period. Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada and Washington, D.C., have all seen prices jump more than 90 percent in five years.
"The residential market is going to level out for a while after years of huge gains, but that does not mean there is a bubble," Zell said.
He said U.S. commercial real estate is currently suffering from oversupply that has pushed down prices, but that the market would improve as demand rises to match supply.
In 2000 the funds Zell manages -- Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Equity Residential (EQR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc. (ELS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Capital Trust Inc. (CT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) -- developed 100 million square feet per quarter in the U.S. market.
In 2004 that had fallen to 23 million square feet a quarter and 17 million a quarter in 2005.
"There is oversupply at the moment," Zell said. "But we have lowered supply, and over the next 18 months the situation will get better."
He said barring an economic catastrophe or an attack on the United States, "I see nothing on the horizon that would threaten the U.S. economy."
Zell said the funds under his management -- which control assets in excess of $50 billion -- are still not investing in China due to the risk involved.
He also said they have mostly pulled out of eastern Europe -- in particular Russia -- because the "risk-to-reward ratio is too high."
"It is good to be a developer in those markets, but not good to be an owner because liquidity is too high," he said.
"The best ratio is still to be found in Mexico and the South," he said, reiterating criticism of Mexican legislation for real estate investment trusts (REITs).
He said that a new law on REITs in Mexico was flawed as it treated shares in the trusts as if they were still real estate. "So right now it's still not possible to have a REIT there," Zell said.
Thu Jan 12, 2006 By Nick Carey
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The risk of a housing bubble in the U.S. market is highly localized as supply is still catching up with demand in most of the country, U.S. real estate magnate Sam Zell said on Thursday.
"There will be a softer real estate market in some areas as a result, but I keep telling people there is no bubble," Zell told Reuters after an economic conference in Chicago where his headquarters is located.
"The fact remains that even with the gains of the past five years, American residential real estate prices in relative terms are among the cheapest in the world," he said.
Zell said a few areas in the U.S. market are suffering from oversupply, but he did not specify which ones.
House prices on average have surged more than 55 percent over the past five years, according to federal government data.
In some locations, the price gains have been more dramatic, such as California, which has notched price increases of nearly 113 percent over that period. Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada and Washington, D.C., have all seen prices jump more than 90 percent in five years.
"The residential market is going to level out for a while after years of huge gains, but that does not mean there is a bubble," Zell said.
He said U.S. commercial real estate is currently suffering from oversupply that has pushed down prices, but that the market would improve as demand rises to match supply.
In 2000 the funds Zell manages -- Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Equity Residential (EQR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc. (ELS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Capital Trust Inc. (CT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) -- developed 100 million square feet per quarter in the U.S. market.
In 2004 that had fallen to 23 million square feet a quarter and 17 million a quarter in 2005.
"There is oversupply at the moment," Zell said. "But we have lowered supply, and over the next 18 months the situation will get better."
He said barring an economic catastrophe or an attack on the United States, "I see nothing on the horizon that would threaten the U.S. economy."
Zell said the funds under his management -- which control assets in excess of $50 billion -- are still not investing in China due to the risk involved.
He also said they have mostly pulled out of eastern Europe -- in particular Russia -- because the "risk-to-reward ratio is too high."
"It is good to be a developer in those markets, but not good to be an owner because liquidity is too high," he said.
"The best ratio is still to be found in Mexico and the South," he said, reiterating criticism of Mexican legislation for real estate investment trusts (REITs).
He said that a new law on REITs in Mexico was flawed as it treated shares in the trusts as if they were still real estate. "So right now it's still not possible to have a REIT there," Zell said.
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From Raleigh, North Carolina!The Triangle area of NC is exploding!
New Gated Community with a 345 Acre Lake! Enjoy golfing, swimming,tennis,pool
and beach areas.
Only $2,500 Required! Prices Start @ $149,900 includes 1/4 acre lot! Builder to
Contribute $1,000 Towards closing costs with Perferred Lender.
These are 3bed,2ba,Single Family Homes with 1450 SF under Air!
No Restrictions! Call Today for additional Information @ 954-680-4404.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
55 Acres For Sale:NEAR RALEIGH NORTH CAROLINA.
55 Acres For Sale:NEAR RALEIGH NORTH CAROLINA.
TREMENDOUS DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL! PRELIMINARY PLAT AVAILABLE TO SHOW LOT YIELD OF 50 LOTS. PROPERTY IS ACCESSED BY A 60' WIDE PAVED ROAD BUILT TO STATE SPECS. PARCELS CAN BE SUB-DIVIDED!
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For additional information please contact our office @ 954-680-4404.
TREMENDOUS DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL! PRELIMINARY PLAT AVAILABLE TO SHOW LOT YIELD OF 50 LOTS. PROPERTY IS ACCESSED BY A 60' WIDE PAVED ROAD BUILT TO STATE SPECS. PARCELS CAN BE SUB-DIVIDED!
Great Return on your Investment!
FINANCING AVAILABLE.
ZONED:SINGLE FAMILY.
OFFERED @ $275,000. ($5000 per acre)
For additional information please contact our office @ 954-680-4404.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Fort Myers Townhomes.
McCann Development Series II LLC purchased 28.65 acres at Cypress Lake Drive and Lake McGregor Drive in Fort Myers from Florida Direct Investments LLC for $4,750,000.McCann purchased the property for town home development.
Palm Beach market sales increasing!
After contending with months of low inventory, several Palm Beach brokerages scored new real estate listings recently, good news for agents with prospective buyers in town for the season.
Sotheby's International Realty has a second shot at 101 Dunbar Road, which the firm listed for a previous seller in April 2004. The two-story, 8,705-square-foot Mediterranean-style house was built that year on an oceanfront lot of almost 1 acre, and it sold for $11.52 million. Cristine Condon represents the seller, Michael Rubinoff, who is asking $17.5 million.
Sotheby's also is marketing 200 Kawama Lane, a 5,200-square-foot house built in 1961. The sellers, Lovedy and Ettore Barbatelli, are asking $4.5 million.
Clark Graebner, who has owned 14 Golfview Road since 1994, has it listed with his wife, Patti Graebner, an associate with Brown Harris Stevens. The restored 1928 landmarked house was designed by first-generation Palm Beach architect Marion Sims Wyeth. Situated across the street from portions of the Everglades Club Golf Course — and from Hogarcito, which was built for E.F. Hutton and Marjorie Merriweather Post — the 6,000-square-foot Graebner house is listed for $7.5 million.
On Monday, The Corcoran Group listed a 3,400-square-foot town house at 307 Everglade Ave. for $4.39 million. The four-bedroom layout was built in 1992.
Last summer, Forbes labeled 820 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan as No. 3 in the South among "the most expensive homes in America" on the market in 2005. It was listed for $33 million but was taken off the market. The seller, Sydra Miller of Boca Raton, relisted it Monday with Pat Liguori of Premier Estate Properties. The price just went up to $34.95 million.
The Venetian-style home with eight bedrooms sits on a 2-acre ocean-to-lake spread. There is 225 feet of beachfront, a dock, tennis court, putting green and guesthouse. Once the home of ex-Commissioner Hal Prewitt, the seller paid $6.97 million in 2003.
Illustrated Properties has two new listings on Land's End Road in Manalapan: 1690, on the market for $3.49 million; and 1545, listed at $4.39 million.
Emil Solimine, of the EMAR Group, has owned 8 Lagomar Road in Palm Beach since October 2004, when he bought the lakefront home from NVR Inc. Chairman/CEO Dwight Schar. He paid $6.2 million for the 5,400-square-foot house and recently listed it with broker Lawrence Moens for $8.9 million. The property also has deeded beach access.
Robert Krasnow of Krasnow Media bought 1480 N. Ocean Blvd. in July 2003 for $2.75 million and recently listed it with Moens for $4.95 million. The property has more than 6,000 square feet of living area, and the house sits on a corner lot across the street from radio personality Rush Limbaugh.
The $36 million listing on Veronica Hearst's mansion in Manalapan recently expired, broker Linda Gary said. "It's unknown" whether Hearst wants to take it off the market or change the price, Gary said. Gary has a new listing, 150 Woodbridge Road, which is priced at $5.75 million.
J. Richard Allison & Associates has the listing on 155 Peruvian Ave. The seller, a mobile home park operator in Clermont, is asking $3.95 million.
Martha A. Gottfried also just listed 216 West Indies Drive. The sellers, Susan and William Guttman, are asking $3.25 million. They paid $715,000 in 1995 for the 4,200-square-foot house built in 1961.
Sotheby's International Realty has a second shot at 101 Dunbar Road, which the firm listed for a previous seller in April 2004. The two-story, 8,705-square-foot Mediterranean-style house was built that year on an oceanfront lot of almost 1 acre, and it sold for $11.52 million. Cristine Condon represents the seller, Michael Rubinoff, who is asking $17.5 million.
Sotheby's also is marketing 200 Kawama Lane, a 5,200-square-foot house built in 1961. The sellers, Lovedy and Ettore Barbatelli, are asking $4.5 million.
Clark Graebner, who has owned 14 Golfview Road since 1994, has it listed with his wife, Patti Graebner, an associate with Brown Harris Stevens. The restored 1928 landmarked house was designed by first-generation Palm Beach architect Marion Sims Wyeth. Situated across the street from portions of the Everglades Club Golf Course — and from Hogarcito, which was built for E.F. Hutton and Marjorie Merriweather Post — the 6,000-square-foot Graebner house is listed for $7.5 million.
On Monday, The Corcoran Group listed a 3,400-square-foot town house at 307 Everglade Ave. for $4.39 million. The four-bedroom layout was built in 1992.
Last summer, Forbes labeled 820 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan as No. 3 in the South among "the most expensive homes in America" on the market in 2005. It was listed for $33 million but was taken off the market. The seller, Sydra Miller of Boca Raton, relisted it Monday with Pat Liguori of Premier Estate Properties. The price just went up to $34.95 million.
The Venetian-style home with eight bedrooms sits on a 2-acre ocean-to-lake spread. There is 225 feet of beachfront, a dock, tennis court, putting green and guesthouse. Once the home of ex-Commissioner Hal Prewitt, the seller paid $6.97 million in 2003.
Illustrated Properties has two new listings on Land's End Road in Manalapan: 1690, on the market for $3.49 million; and 1545, listed at $4.39 million.
Emil Solimine, of the EMAR Group, has owned 8 Lagomar Road in Palm Beach since October 2004, when he bought the lakefront home from NVR Inc. Chairman/CEO Dwight Schar. He paid $6.2 million for the 5,400-square-foot house and recently listed it with broker Lawrence Moens for $8.9 million. The property also has deeded beach access.
Robert Krasnow of Krasnow Media bought 1480 N. Ocean Blvd. in July 2003 for $2.75 million and recently listed it with Moens for $4.95 million. The property has more than 6,000 square feet of living area, and the house sits on a corner lot across the street from radio personality Rush Limbaugh.
The $36 million listing on Veronica Hearst's mansion in Manalapan recently expired, broker Linda Gary said. "It's unknown" whether Hearst wants to take it off the market or change the price, Gary said. Gary has a new listing, 150 Woodbridge Road, which is priced at $5.75 million.
J. Richard Allison & Associates has the listing on 155 Peruvian Ave. The seller, a mobile home park operator in Clermont, is asking $3.95 million.
Martha A. Gottfried also just listed 216 West Indies Drive. The sellers, Susan and William Guttman, are asking $3.25 million. They paid $715,000 in 1995 for the 4,200-square-foot house built in 1961.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
FHA 203 Program!
Streamlined FHA 203(k) program enhanced
WASHINGTON -- Jan. 10, 2006 -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has introduced enhancements to the streamlined 203(k) program to facilitate the purchase of property that needs only minor rehab work.
The 203(k) program is the primary FHA program for the rehabilitation and repair of single-family properties. Unlike the basic 203(k) program where funding can be provided for the total reconstruction costs, the new program is intended to provide funding for only basic repairs. Given the fact that the cost of construction materials has risen, one of the primary changes to the program is that the minimum repair cost of $5,000 is eliminated and the ceiling is now raised to $35,000.
For years, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has been a strong supporter of the FHA 203(k) program because it offers a viable source for expanding homeownership and revitalizing neighborhoods, according to NAR officials. The program has allowed many lenders over the years to partner with state and local housing agencies and nonprofit organizations to rehabilitate properties in dire need of repair. The 203(k) program has also been a useful tool in the disposition of the HUD Real Estate Owned (REO) property, especially multiunit properties.
WASHINGTON -- Jan. 10, 2006 -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has introduced enhancements to the streamlined 203(k) program to facilitate the purchase of property that needs only minor rehab work.
The 203(k) program is the primary FHA program for the rehabilitation and repair of single-family properties. Unlike the basic 203(k) program where funding can be provided for the total reconstruction costs, the new program is intended to provide funding for only basic repairs. Given the fact that the cost of construction materials has risen, one of the primary changes to the program is that the minimum repair cost of $5,000 is eliminated and the ceiling is now raised to $35,000.
For years, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has been a strong supporter of the FHA 203(k) program because it offers a viable source for expanding homeownership and revitalizing neighborhoods, according to NAR officials. The program has allowed many lenders over the years to partner with state and local housing agencies and nonprofit organizations to rehabilitate properties in dire need of repair. The 203(k) program has also been a useful tool in the disposition of the HUD Real Estate Owned (REO) property, especially multiunit properties.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Don't expect market to go bust,
A doom-and-gloom report on the real estate industry caught the attention of the national media in early December, forcing down stock prices of major home builders.The report, published by the University of California, Los Angeles -- Anderson Forecast, predicted that the real estate and construction industries are headed for a slowdown that could last several years and result in the loss of 800,000 jobs, 500,000 in construction and 300,000 in financial services."Housing is in a perilous position," concluded UCLA Anderson Forecast Director Edward Leamer, but he added that the downturn in housing won't push the country into recession.Rather than embracing the Anderson Forecast's pessimistic views, however, the seven economists and real estate industry analysts contacted by the Herald-Tribune presented far less dour perspectives.All of them believe the boom that began in 2002, and resulted in 20 to 30 percent annual price increases, is over.Sales of existing homes and new construction are falling and inventories are on the rise. With interest rates expected to ratchet further upward, buyer demand will soften and so will prices.But there won't be a bust."Prices on average will flatten," said Hank Fishkind, an economist with Fishkind & Associates in Orlando. "Some niches, like condos, might see a reduction. But we're not going to see anything that's inconsistent with what Florida has experienced in the past."Here's what the seven experts contacted by the Herald-Tribune had to say:Grant I. Thrall, University of Florida geography professor, real estate market analystThrall believes real estate sales and prices will vary according to location and product type.Coastal areas, which have experienced the greatest appreciation in recent years, will stagnate, while interior areas will experience price increases.Prices in sub-markets, such as Gainesville and DeLand, will start to catch up with major markets, such as Jacksonville and Miami, Thrall said. Floridians will play a part in closing the gaps."People are looking for nontraditional second homes," Thrall said. "They're buying 20-acre horse farms in the Ocala area and cottages overlooking inland rivers.By contrast, Thrall believes the condominium market, especially in southeast Florida, is in for a big hit.
Friday, January 06, 2006
South Florida News..
Miami-based Key International Inc. has obtained $130 million in mortgage financing for construction of The Ivy, a 504-unit condominium project at Southwest Third Street and South Miami Avenue in Miami. Chicago-based Corus Bank provided the financing. Manhasset, N.Y.-based Mida Commons LLC has purchased the Shoppes of Margate, a 53,000-square-foot shopping center at 300-366 S. State Road 7, from Spiegel & Spiegel PA for $7.2 million. The Fort Lauderdale office of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. brokered the deal.
In a project marking its entrance into the Naples market, Boca Raton-based Woolbright Development Inc. has announced plans to build The Collection at Vanderbilt, a 253,000-square-foot shopping center. Construction is slated to begin in mid-January.Miami-based Continental Real Estate Cos. has been hired by 10800 Biscayne LLC to manage and lease Bayshore Executive Plaza, a 97,400-square-foot office building at 10800 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. The owner plans to convert a portion of the building to condominiums.
Boca Raton-based Kaufman Lynn Inc. General Contractors has completed Contractors Business Park, a $16.8 million office/warehouse project at 2701 Vista Parkway in West Palm Beach. The 320,000-square-foot project is owned by CD74 Contractors Business Park Ltd. Davie-based Weitzer/Kislak Sawgrass LLLP has opened an onsite sales office for Tao, a 396-unit condominium project, at 2681 N. Flamingo Road in Sunrise.
In a project marking its entrance into the Naples market, Boca Raton-based Woolbright Development Inc. has announced plans to build The Collection at Vanderbilt, a 253,000-square-foot shopping center. Construction is slated to begin in mid-January.Miami-based Continental Real Estate Cos. has been hired by 10800 Biscayne LLC to manage and lease Bayshore Executive Plaza, a 97,400-square-foot office building at 10800 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. The owner plans to convert a portion of the building to condominiums.
Boca Raton-based Kaufman Lynn Inc. General Contractors has completed Contractors Business Park, a $16.8 million office/warehouse project at 2701 Vista Parkway in West Palm Beach. The 320,000-square-foot project is owned by CD74 Contractors Business Park Ltd. Davie-based Weitzer/Kislak Sawgrass LLLP has opened an onsite sales office for Tao, a 396-unit condominium project, at 2681 N. Flamingo Road in Sunrise.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Englewood Florida:Waterfront Property..
Developer hopes to turn Englewood mobile home park into condominiums
If plans are approved, Shady Haven will become a $100 million waterfront development.
The Shady Haven Mobile Home Park and adjacent 240-slip Royal Palm Marina on the Intracoastal Waterway are under contract with Sarasota developer Mark Flannagan, who plans to turn the 13-acre site into a $100 million marina village.If the plans go through, it'll be one of the largest waterfront developments in Englewood and the second for Flannagan, who is also developing the $35 million Red Fish Key condos on Lemon Bay.That project got under way this week with the demolition of Mad Sam's restaurant on the site at 1375 Beach Road.No paperwork on the Shady Haven project has been filed with Sarasota County, which must first approve the plans and rezoning.Flannagan wouldn't say how much the new condos and town houses will cost or what he's paying for the two properties, but said they'll close the deal early next year.He said that gives the mobile home residents about two years to make other living arrangements."It'll be an upgraded Key West village on the water," Flannagan said about the Shady Haven development, now owned and operated by Klaus and Mary Allseits."We'll have gas, a bait shop, a clothing store and a bar," Flannagan said. "The boating community will be able to pull in" and there will be public access.For residents who live in the park's 106 trailers -- or "can-dominiums" as some residents jokingly call them -- the sale means the loss of a piece of Old Florida paradise on the cheap.Most of the trailers at Shady Haven are too old to move. Some were purchased recently for as little as $700 and as long ago as the 1950s, when the area was part of a fishing village. The park dates back to the 1930s and has had several owners over the years.Dozens of mobile home communities from Pinellas to Charlotte County have shared Shady Haven's fate over the past year, and about 14 more are under contract or about to go under contract.Like most mobile home parks that have given way to million-dollar mansions, Shady Haven residents own their trailers but rent the land for as little as $300 a month.Two narrow streets lined with neat, older-style trailers, many with small gardens and covered patios, lead to a small harbor, where one of the 30 boat slips rents for about $20 a month. South of the park, million-dollar homes share the same view; to the north is Royal Palm Marina."It's too hard to make a living," said John Baiamonte, who has owned the marina.
If plans are approved, Shady Haven will become a $100 million waterfront development.
The Shady Haven Mobile Home Park and adjacent 240-slip Royal Palm Marina on the Intracoastal Waterway are under contract with Sarasota developer Mark Flannagan, who plans to turn the 13-acre site into a $100 million marina village.If the plans go through, it'll be one of the largest waterfront developments in Englewood and the second for Flannagan, who is also developing the $35 million Red Fish Key condos on Lemon Bay.That project got under way this week with the demolition of Mad Sam's restaurant on the site at 1375 Beach Road.No paperwork on the Shady Haven project has been filed with Sarasota County, which must first approve the plans and rezoning.Flannagan wouldn't say how much the new condos and town houses will cost or what he's paying for the two properties, but said they'll close the deal early next year.He said that gives the mobile home residents about two years to make other living arrangements."It'll be an upgraded Key West village on the water," Flannagan said about the Shady Haven development, now owned and operated by Klaus and Mary Allseits."We'll have gas, a bait shop, a clothing store and a bar," Flannagan said. "The boating community will be able to pull in" and there will be public access.For residents who live in the park's 106 trailers -- or "can-dominiums" as some residents jokingly call them -- the sale means the loss of a piece of Old Florida paradise on the cheap.Most of the trailers at Shady Haven are too old to move. Some were purchased recently for as little as $700 and as long ago as the 1950s, when the area was part of a fishing village. The park dates back to the 1930s and has had several owners over the years.Dozens of mobile home communities from Pinellas to Charlotte County have shared Shady Haven's fate over the past year, and about 14 more are under contract or about to go under contract.Like most mobile home parks that have given way to million-dollar mansions, Shady Haven residents own their trailers but rent the land for as little as $300 a month.Two narrow streets lined with neat, older-style trailers, many with small gardens and covered patios, lead to a small harbor, where one of the 30 boat slips rents for about $20 a month. South of the park, million-dollar homes share the same view; to the north is Royal Palm Marina."It's too hard to make a living," said John Baiamonte, who has owned the marina.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Baby Boomers to invade Southwest Florida!
Bracing for the boom'Me' generation's golden years to have big effect on 'us'.
By Betsy Clayton
WHAT'S A BABY BOOMER?Born 1946-1964 • First boomer turns 60 today on New Year's Day • Nicknamed the "Me" generation • Have been hippies and yuppies. Now they're dubbed "abbies": aging baby boomersDid you know?• The word "workaholic" was coined to describe the boomers.• Boomers are enormous in numbers (76 million). They're competitive by nature. The boomers got productivity in the United States to the forefront of the world community.
Pam Uglietta, 53• Occupation: former special education teacher; now part-time employee at nonprofit program for migrant workers' children • Where from: Oklahoma native, lived in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Italy • Residence now: Mediterra, North Naples • Hobbies, interests: Travel, visiting adult children, golf, tennis, pets • What's on her mind: "When i came here, I was struck with 'What do I do now?' I can play tennis and golf, but I needed something worthwhile in my life, something beyond the athletic need and more of an intellectual challenge."
One baby boomer's perspectiveIt’s not just business, organizations and government thinking about the coming wave of boomers. Some Southwest Florida residents are positioning themselves to go with boomer trends.Amelia Gomez (pict. above) was watching a real estate commercial from northwest Arkansas one night — the kind the Natural State uses to lure retiring boomers to the Ozarks — when she decided to check it out. The Cape Coral 45-year-old flew there and snagged good deals. She paid $17,900 for a 100-by-125-foot lot and $27,000 for a 1-acre lot. When she mentioned how she loved real estate as a hobby, the sales staff mentioned they were looking to expand, particularly since Gomez is bilingual and many of their boomer buyers speak Spanish. Now Gomez, who owns and directs a counseling agency that works with the criminal justice system, is pursuing her real estate license in Arkansas via online courses. She plans to commute there on weekends.When the boomer reaches retirement age, she’ll be set financially and also have the lifestyle she wants.“It’s a good combination,” said Gomez. “I’m getting older. I’ll have a nice, pristine place to go in summer months.” Forget waiting until 65 to have the ideal lifestyle — part time in the cool climate, part time in the tropics. Like many boomers, she figures she can get what she wants now.“I’m not waiting,” she said. “If you wait, you’re behind the ball.”— Betsy Clayton
Some thoughts on why people who weren't born between 1946 and 1964 should tune in to the wave of 76 million boomers who will retire across the country and Southwest Florida in the coming decades:"It's going to take leaders who have vision because they'll have to step out and do more for the coming years — even more so than what they've been doing for normal growth."— Teri Hansen, Fort Myers native and marketing company owner"Community leaders need to see who is moving there and what their interests are and figure out how to continue to attract these people. You can't do anything about hurricanes, but you can focus on the amenities you have."— Gene Warren, president of Thomas, Warren & Associates of Phoenix— Compiled by Betsy Clayton
Southwest Florida's older population potentially could double as aging baby boomers begin to retire.Today marks the 60th birthday for the first of the generation that was born in the prosperous post-World War II years and went on to become hippies and then yuppies.For the next 25 years, boomers will come to Lee County, already growing by 25,000 people a year.
When they do, they will change the face of Southwest Florida.Conservative estimates show that 54,000 people ages 65 to 69 will live in Lee County by 2030. That's an increase of 20,000 for that age group alone.
Altogether, about 4 million baby boomers are expected to pull up stakes and move to the Sunshine State when they retire. That's double the percentage of their parents' generation.Retiring boomers will clog Southwest Florida's roads, tax its health-care services, continue to drive up home prices and force employers to simultaneously grapple with growth and workforce shortages.More than half of employers surveyed are not prepared for the boomer brain drain.
But the flood of boomers also will create new business niches, build an armada of community volunteers, energize college classrooms and bring liveliness to areas such as the arts and culture scene, whose leaders have started tailoring programs to a generation younger than their traditional audience.
Will Southwest Florida grow even faster than predicted as boomers arrive? No one knows for sure. Is the region bracing for the boom? Ask 10 people, get 10 different answers."Florida is ahead of things. They're looking at changes already — it's already happening — where other communities are saying, 'It's going to happen,'" said Cam Marston, a North Carolina-based work-force dynamics consultant, speaker and author.
Some local leaders agree.They point to evidence around the region already — housing developments that cater to the crowd born between 1946 and 1964, for example. And early-retiree boomer presence in organizations such as the United Way, where boomers are fundraising and volunteering.
"We can readily see their beneficial influence upon our economy, the design of master-planned communities and even into the civic fabric of our community," said Jerry Starkey, president and chief executive officer of Bonita Springs-based WCI Communities Inc., which sells luxury homes in gated communities."You would be hard-pressed to identify another location anywhere in the United States in which the baby boom population is playing such a pervasive role," said Starkey, who started noting boomers' impact in the 1990s.
WHAT THEY WANT
Some well-heeled boomers are already part of Lee County's growing newcomer population. These are the men and women who were business travelers, luxury vacationers and eco-tourists. They moved around for jobs and quality-of-life experiences.They became second-home owners here.
Southwest Florida has what aging boomers want — health-care services, a bustling airport, colleges and a university, malls and ritzy retail shops, outdoor recreation and upscale housing in communities with fitness centers, nature trails, movie theaters and concierge-like services.It's no wonder a boom is expected here.
Past generations saw 10 percent of retirees relocate, but 20 percent of boomers are expected to. Typically, one in four retirees moves to Florida for its climate and lack of state income tax.Midwesterner Mike Rhodes is only 46 and he's plotting his arrival here."My wife is ready to retire," said Rhodes, of Muncie, Ind., who is job hunting and plans to move to Southwest Florida with wife Sharon. "She's ready to go somewhere and relax."
Rhodes is much like others who plan to move here in coming years, according to results from The News-Press' unscientific online survey of nearly 400 baby boomers across the country.They are coming not just for the sunshine but for recreation and leisure opportunities, and they're not waiting until they're 65. Ninety-two percent of respondents plan to work part time, and 65 percent will live here full time.
Boomers who relocate and retire to Lee County will fit in.A quarter of Lee County's population is composed of boomers already, and another quarter is seniors."The rest of the nation won't achieve our current demographics until 2030," said Jim Nathan, president of Lee Memorial Health System.
"When the baby boomer generation bursts into the senior market, there are going to be demographic and phenomenal issues, and I'm trying to figure out how to get ahead of that (as a community)," he said. "We're the laboratory for the rest of the country for senior care."
EFFECT ON EVERYONE
Demographic changes in a region affect everyone, said Aysegul Timur, an economics professor at International College in Naples."If we know a certain age group is coming, then businesses, construction and planning for transportation and everything else can happen," she said.
Economists such as Timur and some developers, health-care providers, business leaders and others are concerned about the work force.Arriving boomers will create a greater demand for jobs such as pool cleaners, lawn-care workers, dry cleaners and waiters that won't pay wages that keep up with housing prices.Southwest Florida hospitals struggle to recruit for and fill nursing positions — some of which pay $30 an hour — because the median price of an existing home sold in Lee County in November rose 49 percent from the same time last year to $295,400.
"The boomers who are coming probably can afford to come, but what about the workers?" said Doug Luckett, chief operating officer at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center and Gulf Coast Hospital.Many issues the community will face as boomers arrive are already in the forefront because of general population growth. The county grew from nearly 383,000 people in 1995 to about 547,000 last year.
The issues are not about boomers arriving here, they're about more warm bodies — people of all ages — moving here, said Wayne Daltry, Lee County's Smart Growth director.Growth hot buttons include work-force housing, transportation and issues such as having enough drinking water, sewage service and plenty of police officers, firefighters and health-care workers.
NEVER-ENDING SEASON?
Add boomers to the mix and what will happen, some residents wonder."What is the plan to make it so it's not like season year-round?" said Teri Hansen, 43, a Lee County native.
County officials and community leaders don't have definitive answers but are in constant discussions about coping with growth.Even beyond growth issues, though, are boomer-specific topics, said Janet Watermeier, a Fort Myers-based real estate consultant.
"Think of better street signs in larger print" for aging boomers' eyes, said Watermeier, who is vice chairwoman of the Florida Transportation Commission, a nine-member body that advises the governor and lawmakers on transportation policy issues."I'm not sure Lee County is quite there yet."The road system is taxed and new roads can't be built fast enough. Interstate 75 will be widened from four to six lanes, and more toll roads and flyovers are planned to bypass clogged intersections.
Many changes will have to be made for growth and because of boomers' sheer numbers, said Lee County Commissioner Bob Janes. Examples include long-term care programs, mental health services and other social services."My concern is that boomers have ubi est mei. Where is mine? Everyone feels a little entitled to everything or something, and they expect it from the government," he said.
"How will we afford to provide all that? ... Ultimately, there will become such a human cry, the government will have to take care of their human services just because there are so many boomers."
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Signs already abound in Southwest Florida that show boomers' influence.Fort Myers hosted the nation's first baby boomers beauty pageant this fall with 25 finalists from around the country.Lee and Collier counties landed the job of hosting 3,000 competitors in the Florida Senior Games State Championship, an event for the 50-plus crowd during two weekends next December.
Business leaders from the Chamber of Southwest Florida featured a forum in the fall about how relocating boomers may affect the region. "Boomers are really different than seniors of today," said forum speaker Carole Green, secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs.The Lee County Library System's staff is getting ready, too. An autumn training day featured speakers about offering services to aging baby boomers, who are a much more Internet-savvy generation than today's seniors. One speaker's point: Don't just search for information; help boomers find what they want themselves on the Web.
Developers are clued in. Upscale gated communities such as those built by WCI, whose average home-sale price is $600,000, have created concierge-style services. For example, boomers won't have to merge into traffic on U.S. 41 to go to the dry cleaner. Instead, they can have a WCI employee come to their doorstep to pick up and deliver the clothing.Charitable groups such as United Way have moved fundraising and volunteer drives into those kinds of communities to tap into boomers who work at home or who have retired.It's like writing on the wall, experts said. The boomers are coming; the question just remains how many exactly will actually show up, adding their signature oomph to Southwest Florida's rapid growth.
"They want to follow some goal or dream they have," said Gene Warren, a Phoenix-based economist who has done work in Florida. He studies the costs and benefits of retirees and advises states and communities how to attract and retain them."Right now is when they're starting to make decisions," he said.
By Betsy Clayton
WHAT'S A BABY BOOMER?Born 1946-1964 • First boomer turns 60 today on New Year's Day • Nicknamed the "Me" generation • Have been hippies and yuppies. Now they're dubbed "abbies": aging baby boomersDid you know?• The word "workaholic" was coined to describe the boomers.• Boomers are enormous in numbers (76 million). They're competitive by nature. The boomers got productivity in the United States to the forefront of the world community.
Pam Uglietta, 53• Occupation: former special education teacher; now part-time employee at nonprofit program for migrant workers' children • Where from: Oklahoma native, lived in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Italy • Residence now: Mediterra, North Naples • Hobbies, interests: Travel, visiting adult children, golf, tennis, pets • What's on her mind: "When i came here, I was struck with 'What do I do now?' I can play tennis and golf, but I needed something worthwhile in my life, something beyond the athletic need and more of an intellectual challenge."
One baby boomer's perspectiveIt’s not just business, organizations and government thinking about the coming wave of boomers. Some Southwest Florida residents are positioning themselves to go with boomer trends.Amelia Gomez (pict. above) was watching a real estate commercial from northwest Arkansas one night — the kind the Natural State uses to lure retiring boomers to the Ozarks — when she decided to check it out. The Cape Coral 45-year-old flew there and snagged good deals. She paid $17,900 for a 100-by-125-foot lot and $27,000 for a 1-acre lot. When she mentioned how she loved real estate as a hobby, the sales staff mentioned they were looking to expand, particularly since Gomez is bilingual and many of their boomer buyers speak Spanish. Now Gomez, who owns and directs a counseling agency that works with the criminal justice system, is pursuing her real estate license in Arkansas via online courses. She plans to commute there on weekends.When the boomer reaches retirement age, she’ll be set financially and also have the lifestyle she wants.“It’s a good combination,” said Gomez. “I’m getting older. I’ll have a nice, pristine place to go in summer months.” Forget waiting until 65 to have the ideal lifestyle — part time in the cool climate, part time in the tropics. Like many boomers, she figures she can get what she wants now.“I’m not waiting,” she said. “If you wait, you’re behind the ball.”— Betsy Clayton
Some thoughts on why people who weren't born between 1946 and 1964 should tune in to the wave of 76 million boomers who will retire across the country and Southwest Florida in the coming decades:"It's going to take leaders who have vision because they'll have to step out and do more for the coming years — even more so than what they've been doing for normal growth."— Teri Hansen, Fort Myers native and marketing company owner"Community leaders need to see who is moving there and what their interests are and figure out how to continue to attract these people. You can't do anything about hurricanes, but you can focus on the amenities you have."— Gene Warren, president of Thomas, Warren & Associates of Phoenix— Compiled by Betsy Clayton
Southwest Florida's older population potentially could double as aging baby boomers begin to retire.Today marks the 60th birthday for the first of the generation that was born in the prosperous post-World War II years and went on to become hippies and then yuppies.For the next 25 years, boomers will come to Lee County, already growing by 25,000 people a year.
When they do, they will change the face of Southwest Florida.Conservative estimates show that 54,000 people ages 65 to 69 will live in Lee County by 2030. That's an increase of 20,000 for that age group alone.
Altogether, about 4 million baby boomers are expected to pull up stakes and move to the Sunshine State when they retire. That's double the percentage of their parents' generation.Retiring boomers will clog Southwest Florida's roads, tax its health-care services, continue to drive up home prices and force employers to simultaneously grapple with growth and workforce shortages.More than half of employers surveyed are not prepared for the boomer brain drain.
But the flood of boomers also will create new business niches, build an armada of community volunteers, energize college classrooms and bring liveliness to areas such as the arts and culture scene, whose leaders have started tailoring programs to a generation younger than their traditional audience.
Will Southwest Florida grow even faster than predicted as boomers arrive? No one knows for sure. Is the region bracing for the boom? Ask 10 people, get 10 different answers."Florida is ahead of things. They're looking at changes already — it's already happening — where other communities are saying, 'It's going to happen,'" said Cam Marston, a North Carolina-based work-force dynamics consultant, speaker and author.
Some local leaders agree.They point to evidence around the region already — housing developments that cater to the crowd born between 1946 and 1964, for example. And early-retiree boomer presence in organizations such as the United Way, where boomers are fundraising and volunteering.
"We can readily see their beneficial influence upon our economy, the design of master-planned communities and even into the civic fabric of our community," said Jerry Starkey, president and chief executive officer of Bonita Springs-based WCI Communities Inc., which sells luxury homes in gated communities."You would be hard-pressed to identify another location anywhere in the United States in which the baby boom population is playing such a pervasive role," said Starkey, who started noting boomers' impact in the 1990s.
WHAT THEY WANT
Some well-heeled boomers are already part of Lee County's growing newcomer population. These are the men and women who were business travelers, luxury vacationers and eco-tourists. They moved around for jobs and quality-of-life experiences.They became second-home owners here.
Southwest Florida has what aging boomers want — health-care services, a bustling airport, colleges and a university, malls and ritzy retail shops, outdoor recreation and upscale housing in communities with fitness centers, nature trails, movie theaters and concierge-like services.It's no wonder a boom is expected here.
Past generations saw 10 percent of retirees relocate, but 20 percent of boomers are expected to. Typically, one in four retirees moves to Florida for its climate and lack of state income tax.Midwesterner Mike Rhodes is only 46 and he's plotting his arrival here."My wife is ready to retire," said Rhodes, of Muncie, Ind., who is job hunting and plans to move to Southwest Florida with wife Sharon. "She's ready to go somewhere and relax."
Rhodes is much like others who plan to move here in coming years, according to results from The News-Press' unscientific online survey of nearly 400 baby boomers across the country.They are coming not just for the sunshine but for recreation and leisure opportunities, and they're not waiting until they're 65. Ninety-two percent of respondents plan to work part time, and 65 percent will live here full time.
Boomers who relocate and retire to Lee County will fit in.A quarter of Lee County's population is composed of boomers already, and another quarter is seniors."The rest of the nation won't achieve our current demographics until 2030," said Jim Nathan, president of Lee Memorial Health System.
"When the baby boomer generation bursts into the senior market, there are going to be demographic and phenomenal issues, and I'm trying to figure out how to get ahead of that (as a community)," he said. "We're the laboratory for the rest of the country for senior care."
EFFECT ON EVERYONE
Demographic changes in a region affect everyone, said Aysegul Timur, an economics professor at International College in Naples."If we know a certain age group is coming, then businesses, construction and planning for transportation and everything else can happen," she said.
Economists such as Timur and some developers, health-care providers, business leaders and others are concerned about the work force.Arriving boomers will create a greater demand for jobs such as pool cleaners, lawn-care workers, dry cleaners and waiters that won't pay wages that keep up with housing prices.Southwest Florida hospitals struggle to recruit for and fill nursing positions — some of which pay $30 an hour — because the median price of an existing home sold in Lee County in November rose 49 percent from the same time last year to $295,400.
"The boomers who are coming probably can afford to come, but what about the workers?" said Doug Luckett, chief operating officer at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center and Gulf Coast Hospital.Many issues the community will face as boomers arrive are already in the forefront because of general population growth. The county grew from nearly 383,000 people in 1995 to about 547,000 last year.
The issues are not about boomers arriving here, they're about more warm bodies — people of all ages — moving here, said Wayne Daltry, Lee County's Smart Growth director.Growth hot buttons include work-force housing, transportation and issues such as having enough drinking water, sewage service and plenty of police officers, firefighters and health-care workers.
NEVER-ENDING SEASON?
Add boomers to the mix and what will happen, some residents wonder."What is the plan to make it so it's not like season year-round?" said Teri Hansen, 43, a Lee County native.
County officials and community leaders don't have definitive answers but are in constant discussions about coping with growth.Even beyond growth issues, though, are boomer-specific topics, said Janet Watermeier, a Fort Myers-based real estate consultant.
"Think of better street signs in larger print" for aging boomers' eyes, said Watermeier, who is vice chairwoman of the Florida Transportation Commission, a nine-member body that advises the governor and lawmakers on transportation policy issues."I'm not sure Lee County is quite there yet."The road system is taxed and new roads can't be built fast enough. Interstate 75 will be widened from four to six lanes, and more toll roads and flyovers are planned to bypass clogged intersections.
Many changes will have to be made for growth and because of boomers' sheer numbers, said Lee County Commissioner Bob Janes. Examples include long-term care programs, mental health services and other social services."My concern is that boomers have ubi est mei. Where is mine? Everyone feels a little entitled to everything or something, and they expect it from the government," he said.
"How will we afford to provide all that? ... Ultimately, there will become such a human cry, the government will have to take care of their human services just because there are so many boomers."
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Signs already abound in Southwest Florida that show boomers' influence.Fort Myers hosted the nation's first baby boomers beauty pageant this fall with 25 finalists from around the country.Lee and Collier counties landed the job of hosting 3,000 competitors in the Florida Senior Games State Championship, an event for the 50-plus crowd during two weekends next December.
Business leaders from the Chamber of Southwest Florida featured a forum in the fall about how relocating boomers may affect the region. "Boomers are really different than seniors of today," said forum speaker Carole Green, secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs.The Lee County Library System's staff is getting ready, too. An autumn training day featured speakers about offering services to aging baby boomers, who are a much more Internet-savvy generation than today's seniors. One speaker's point: Don't just search for information; help boomers find what they want themselves on the Web.
Developers are clued in. Upscale gated communities such as those built by WCI, whose average home-sale price is $600,000, have created concierge-style services. For example, boomers won't have to merge into traffic on U.S. 41 to go to the dry cleaner. Instead, they can have a WCI employee come to their doorstep to pick up and deliver the clothing.Charitable groups such as United Way have moved fundraising and volunteer drives into those kinds of communities to tap into boomers who work at home or who have retired.It's like writing on the wall, experts said. The boomers are coming; the question just remains how many exactly will actually show up, adding their signature oomph to Southwest Florida's rapid growth.
"They want to follow some goal or dream they have," said Gene Warren, a Phoenix-based economist who has done work in Florida. He studies the costs and benefits of retirees and advises states and communities how to attract and retain them."Right now is when they're starting to make decisions," he said.
Orlando market growth to continue!
Home prices in the Orlando area have rocketed to dizzying heights these past two years, taking homeowners, real-estate agents and developers on a wild ride that has left them breathless -- but hoping the momentum will send prices even higher.There's growing evidence that the pace may be slowing, but from south Lake to east Orange, and from Poinciana north to Sanford and DeLand, home prices throughout Central Florida have had a record-breaking run since 2003.Based on an analysis of existing-home sales recorded through the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, the average home has appreciated 55 percent during the past two years.No other two-year period on the local Realtors' books has ever tallied that kind of price increase. And certain parts of Central Florida have done far better than average, according to an Orlando Sentinel analysis of the Realtors' 2003 and 2005 data broken down by ZIP code.Home prices in downtown Sanford, for example, jumped 69 percent during the two 12-month periods studied by the Sentinel -- November 2002 through October 2003 and November 2004 through October 2005, the latest month for which sales figures were available.Houses in Buenaventura Lakes, home to one of the region's largest concentrations of Hispanic residents, have appreciated 67 percent during that same two-year time frame. So have homes in Avalon Park and Waterford Lakes, two of east Orange County's biggest planned communities.But the king of the hill is Lake Nona, the relatively new but very upscale community just east of Orlando International Airport. Existing-home prices have risen more than 150 percent there during the past two years. The median sale price as of the end of October was $362,500.Christopher Cagan, director of research and analytics for California-based First American Real Estate Solutions, has studied market trends across the nation and says that few places are as attractive right now as the Sunshine State."When I talk about Florida -- coastal Florida and the desirable parts of Florida -- it is probably the hottest area in the country," he said.Historically, home values in this country have increased an average of about 6 percent a year. During the past two years, existing homes nationwide have appreciated an average of 23 percent, based on third-quarter data from the National Association of Realtors.Cagan said the recent pattern in Central Florida and other parts of the state is typical of real-estate cycles in this country. That is, homes in desirable areas start appreciating first, but, as prices keep rising, "ordinary areas come to the party" because they become the affordable alternatives.In Metro Orlando, areas once thought of as far beyond the city's suburbs are now sought-after locations for home buyers who view them as a reasonable compromise between a more affordable home price and an ever-increasing commute.Carlin Washo, a Realtor in Howey-in-the-Hills, says people are flocking to south Lake County because of its easy access -- via Florida's Turnpike and State Road 408 -- to downtown Orlando and the Walt Disney World area."We've marketed that for years," she said, though prices didn't start rising steadily until 2004. This past summer, vacant lots that once sold for $10,000 were selling for $50,000. A home that Washo sold in July 2004 for $200,000 resold less than a year later for $285,000, she said.Only one ZIP code in all of Central Florida actually recorded a decline in its median home price during the past two years: 32801, the very heart of downtown Orlando. But that's only because a cascade of apartment-to-condominium conversions starting in 2004 have flooded the market with hundreds of relatively small and inexpensive "homes" for sale; while the median price per dwelling is down, the average price per square foot in the city center was up 44 percent during the same period.Orlando, meanwhile, saw its first downtown home without lakefront or a lake view sell for more than $1 million this summer, according to the Property Appraiser's Office.The agent who sold it, Jack Mutchnik of Southern Realty, said he expects the barrier to be broken many more times as creative mortgages and large profits on current homes combine to make people think differently about the once seemingly unobtainable million-dollar residence."Saying, 'Oh, he's a millionaire' -- what does that mean?" Mutchnik asked. "It's not the way we used to mean it."William Roe, who has been selling real estate in and around New Smyrna Beach for 25 years, says property values on the coast have gone up faster than he ever imagined. "It was a severe spike, as opposed to a gentle upturn," Roe said. "It's really beyond my comprehension. This thing is unbelievable."While a home remains a good investment, experts say, it's important to remember that markets are cyclical."It has to stop at some point," said Jim Gilkeson, a business professor at the University of Central Florida.When exactly the market may slow, or how quickly, no one knows. While there have been signs in recent months of a slowdown locally and nationally, other statistics show that Orlando, in particular, could remain a market on the rise."There's definitely a tug of war between interest rates that are rising, home prices that are rising, and a lot of people coming to Florida," said Greg McBride, senior analyst at Bankrate.com, a personal-finance Web site based in North Palm Beach."Many people are moving here from more-expensive parts of the country. Buyers are coming with a lot of equity."McBride said that, while housing markets have zoomed upward for several years, the downside is that wages have lagged home prices, making it ever more difficult in Florida to become a first-time homeowner.That may eventually help cool the demand."It will move forward," McBride said of the housing market, "but at a slower pace."
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About The Scott Daniels Real Estate Group and Florida List For Less Realty,Inc.
- Florida List For Less Realty, Inc.
- Cooper City,Ocala, Florida, United States
- Buying a Home has never been easier! Buying a home is an exciting and complex adventure. It can also be a very time-consuming and costly one if you're not familiar with all aspects of the process, and don't have all the best information and resources at hand. We use the latest technology for you to search the IDX/MLS. Visit our web site www.listfloridahomes.com From the comforts of your home, just "point and click" homes you wish to view. We pride ourselves with new technological platforms which make the entire home buying process simple and easy! Our comprehensive, high-quality services can save you time and money, as well as make the experience more enjoyable and less stressful.
