So why is florida real estate so dirt cheap... why did it crash so much?

Phokus

Lifer
Nov 20, 1999
22,994
779
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My parents are in Florida right now trying to invest in some really dirt cheap florida properties for rentals (i'm talking 60K or less houses that would probably fetch at least 300k+ here in southwest CT). Our housing market barely budged, yet florida completely took it in the pooper, i'm talking homes losing 2/3rds of their price, and even at it's peak, the houses weren't that expensive to begin with. I noticed that unemployment in cape coral/fort myers (where my parents are looking) is 11.4 whereas unemployment is 7.4 where i live. Is that the main cause? Or are there other factors.





 

xanis

Lifer
Sep 11, 2005
17,571
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Reasons that I can think of why people are making like trees and getting the fuck out of Florida:

- too many bugs
- too hot
- too humid
- too many old people
- too many hurricanes
 

Dr. Detroit

Diamond Member
Sep 25, 2004
8,344
790
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Hurricanes & Speculation -

Florida is a market where people thought everyone would retire and would want there 2nd home there.

Now - everyones investments are in the shitter and they can no longer afford a 2nd home.


 

Phokus

Lifer
Nov 20, 1999
22,994
779
126
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Because you have to live in Florida?

I live in CT... CT sucks balls, boring is hell. I bet i'd have a better time in florida.

Only negative i can see is the job market where my parents are looking is worse than CT. But i'm kind of surprised that a few percentage points would cause such a huge difference, unless there are other factors i'm not considering.
 

Phokus

Lifer
Nov 20, 1999
22,994
779
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Originally posted by: Fmr12B
Hurricanes & Speculation -

Florida is a market where people thought everyone would retire and would want there 2nd home there.

Now - everyones investments are in the shitter and they can no longer afford a 2nd home.

Ahhhh ok, that makes sense. So i guess in CT, people buy homes to live in, and FL, more people speculate
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,775
875
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Because it's Florida.

It's a nice place to visit like I just did for 2 weeks but you don't want to live there.

I have never seen so many fat people and most of them were extremely overweight to the point your foot would get squished if they stepped on it..
 

xanis

Lifer
Sep 11, 2005
17,571
8
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Originally posted by: Phokus
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Because you have to live in Florida?

I live in CT... CT sucks balls, boring is hell. I bet i'd have a better time in florida.

Only negative i can see is the job market where my parents are looking is worse than CT. But i'm kind of surprised that a few percentage points would cause such a huge difference, unless there are other factors i'm not considering.

Funny, I live in PA and I often think the same way about how I'd like to live in Florida. However, I soon realized that Florida is somewhere that's nice to visit for a vacation or something... it's NOT somewhere that I think I could live all year.
 

mshan

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2004
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Rampant speculation (house flipping) and over built local housing market?:

Why So Many Markets: Many markets around the country have tremendous affordability problems that are primarily the residual effect of falling mortgage rates from 1999 through early 2004. Adjustable-rate loans fell from 7.0% to 3.4% during that time, which allowed home prices to increase 50% without affecting the buyer's monthly mortgage payment. For those who purchased with an interest-only loan, home prices could double during that time without increasing the monthly payment.

Why So Much in Some Markets: The markets that have the worst affordability problems tend to be where speculative investor activity drove prices up 200% or more during this time period. Some speculators made a lot of money, and others are in the process of losing it all. Speculative investing is certainly a risky business.

Why So Little in Other Markets: The 9 markets that appear underpriced are largely concentrated in the Midwest, Carolinas and Georgia, where appreciation did not spin out of control during the upswing of this housing cycle. Poor economic conditions or few barriers to entry generally kept price appreciation down in these markets. These markets are just as impacted as the others by the rising mortgage rates since 2004 and the subprime market meltdown

6/07: http://realestateconsulting.co...tter=Local/local200706
3/08: http://realestateconsulting.co...tter=Local/local200803
5/09: http://realestateconsulting.co...tter=Local/local200905


 

Phokus

Lifer
Nov 20, 1999
22,994
779
126
So wtf, there are NO liveable areas in florida or something? I see all the pretty pictures and i curse the POS state that i live in.
 

mAdMaLuDaWg

Platinum Member
Feb 15, 2003
2,437
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Supply & Demand?

Speculation caused an overbuilding of housing and there was not enough demand to justify it.
 

xanis

Lifer
Sep 11, 2005
17,571
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Originally posted by: Phokus
So wtf, there are NO liveable areas in florida or something? I see all the pretty pictures and i curse the POS state that i live in.

IMO, CT is beautiful in a different way. The are your parents are looking at (Cape Coral / Ft. Meyers) is actually pretty nice.
 

Rubycon

Madame President
Aug 10, 2005
17,768
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Funny how a place where someone lives sucks to that person living there but others want to visit or live there. ;)
 

Phokus

Lifer
Nov 20, 1999
22,994
779
126
Originally posted by: Xanis
Originally posted by: Phokus
So wtf, there are NO liveable areas in florida or something? I see all the pretty pictures and i curse the POS state that i live in.

IMO, CT is beautiful in a different way. The are your parents are looking at (Cape Coral / Ft. Meyers) is actually pretty nice.

Well, it has some nice nature parts to it, but the cities blow
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
71,348
30,894
136
Originally posted by: Phokus
So wtf, there are NO liveable areas in florida or something? I see all the pretty pictures and i curse the POS state that i live in.

The keys and the beach. Move eight feet off the beach and Florida is a buggy, humid, conservative hellhole, sort of like Texas with no oil.
 

xanis

Lifer
Sep 11, 2005
17,571
8
0
Originally posted by: Phokus
Originally posted by: Xanis
Originally posted by: Phokus
So wtf, there are NO liveable areas in florida or something? I see all the pretty pictures and i curse the POS state that i live in.

IMO, CT is beautiful in a different way. The are your parents are looking at (Cape Coral / Ft. Meyers) is actually pretty nice.

Well, it has some nice nature parts to it, but the cities blow

Well yeah, I'm not going to CT for the cities, I'm going for the nature. :p
 

Lurknomore

Golden Member
Jul 3, 2005
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I drove through there, all the way from Jacksonville-Daytona-Tampa-Sarasota-Naples-Miami-Ft.Lauderdale-Key West in the spring of '04. Rampant overbuilding among bare, impoverished spaces along long stretches of road. Only so much economy can be sustained between the Waffle Houses and the old people living out their last years.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
69,289
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www.anyf.ca
Hurricanes. When you have a huge chance of your house being scattered in 100 directions at least once a year, it better be cheap. Suppose brick houses might have a better survival rate though, or do those usually get destroyed too from the debris?
 

TruePaige

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2006
9,874
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Originally posted by: Rubycon
Funny how a place where someone lives sucks to that person living there but others want to visit or live there. ;)

Something about grass...and it not being green enough..but it kinda looks green over that way...

;)
 

WHAMPOM

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2006
7,628
183
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Originally posted by: Phokus
My parents are in Florida right now trying to invest in some really dirt cheap florida properties for rentals (i'm talking 60K or less houses that would probably fetch at least 300k+ here in southwest CT). Our housing market barely budged, yet florida completely took it in the pooper, i'm talking homes losing 2/3rds of their price, and even at it's peak, the houses weren't that expensive to begin with. I noticed that unemployment in cape coral/fort myers (where my parents are looking) is 11.4 whereas unemployment is 7.4 where i live. Is that the main cause? Or are there other factors.

Land in Florida equals soon to be sea bottom.
 

Phokus

Lifer
Nov 20, 1999
22,994
779
126
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Hurricanes. When you have a huge chance of your house being scattered in 100 directions at least once a year, it better be cheap. Suppose brick houses might have a better survival rate though, or do those usually get destroyed too from the debris?

interesting, i wonder how much insurance costs
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
69,289
13,032
126
www.anyf.ca
Originally posted by: Phokus
Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Hurricanes. When you have a huge chance of your house being scattered in 100 directions at least once a year, it better be cheap. Suppose brick houses might have a better survival rate though, or do those usually get destroyed too from the debris?

interesting, i wonder how much insurance costs

Can only imagine the cost, if it's even covered. I think acts of God are usually not covered.

But TV/news is enough for me not to want to live there. Other then the huge storms it would be a nice place to live. I like storms, just not the ones that destroy everything. :eek: I'll stick to our snow storms.
 

fstime

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2004
4,382
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Fairfield County, CT home values will always be more stable, and higher in value than the rest of the county simply because this is where the wealthy reside, period.

The richest cities and towns are located here for the convenience of being located so close to New York City. Regardless, the market here was still effected in some areas.

I know plenty of people who sold their homes peak market in 2006 for $600-700K and bought them back this year for $300K. There is opportunity everywhere if you look hard enough.