Florida down payments plunge as people rush to sell houses
Cities in Florida saw some of the largest declines in down payments for home purchases at a time when homeowners in the state are highly motivated to sell, according to an analysis by Realtor.com. The Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville area of the state saw the median down payment plunge nearly 41 percent, a drop of nearly $12,000, in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same time a year ago. Ocala, meanwhile, saw a more than 51 percent fall. [Source: Newsweek]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Cars and condos
Mercedes-Benz is the latest luxury car manufacturer to lend its brand name to a Miami-Dade condominium project. JDS Development is scheduled to complete Mercedes-Benz Place in 2028 with 791 units rising 60 stories high. The Brickell development is selling studios for $550,000 and three-bedroom homes for $4 million. [Source: Florida Trend]
Florida has 9 of the most overpriced housing markets. Here’s where and by how much
Nine Florida housing markets, including Miami, are among the most overpriced in the U.S., data from two state universities show. The nine Florida markets were all listed as overvalued by double digits. Of the biggest 100 U.S. metro housing markets considered overvalued, the Miami metro area ranked 11th at 34.7%. [Source: Miami Herald]
Did Florida lawmakers clean up a condo-hotel mess, or create ‘dictatorships’ for developers?
A courtroom fight over a luxury Miami Beach condo and hotel complex spilled into Florida’s Capitol this year, where lawmakers gave hoteliers and developers the upper hand in disputes with residents over common areas in so-called hotel-condos — and potentially undercut a key reform put in place after the collapse of the Champlain Towers in Surfside. [Source: Miami Herald]
Florida rent trends: What to know about statewide renting costs
When it comes to renting in Florida, there’s no easy way to understand it. Costs remain high while data says it’s getting lower. So, what’s really happening? Though Florida’s median rent is $2,117, it’s actually decreasing the most yearly. The year-over-year change in Florida’s rent is -8.80% â?• the most drastic in the country. [Source: Naples Daily News]
40%
Gen Zers and young Millennials took out 40% of U.S. mortgages in 2023. [Source: Redfin]
› Tampa’s Beer Can Island isn’t for sale anymore
Flip-flop is not just the name of popular island footwear. Three months after putting Pine Key up for sale for $14.2 million and shutting it down to the public, the popular Tampa Bay boating destination better known as Beer Can Island is again open for business and off the market — well, 90% of it, anyway.
› $400k a ‘low budget’ in Northeast Florida housing hot spots
Grace Hardy works in special education, and her husband Kyle works in IT. The family lives in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in southern Duval County with their 4-year-old son. With a second child on the way, they want to move south to St. Johns so their children can go to the county’s highly rated schools. But the Hardys — like many prospective homebuyers with spending caps of $400,000 — are finding that once-ample budgets aren’t cutting it in Northeast Florida’s most competitive housing arenas.
› Pensacola to advocate for zoning changes to boost affordable housing
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves is expecting pushback to reforms to the city’s land development code, which will likely include changes that will make it easier to build affordable rental housing in the city. “As we start talking about land development code, that’s going to be a difficult conversation in this community,” Reeves said.
› Orange County denies controversial senior housing proposal in Waterford Lakes
A developer’s plan to bring a 36-unit attainable senior apartment complex to the Waterford Lakes community has been denied by Orange County’s Planning and Zoning Commission. More than a dozen Waterford Lakes neighbors spoke against the project moving forward at Thursday’s meeting, concerned about adding even more traffic to an already congested and dangerous intersection.
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