[lulu]

You know...I've been in Miami for a while and trust me things are not the same at all. I've gone around & asked a few people how it was in the 60's, 70's and 80' here & believe you me...it is not the same. According to everyone the rule of thumb, with most of these S.FL hard working souls, was you'd have a salary & you'd double that yearly amount. For example you'd would earn $25,000 a yr. & you'd consider a home for $50,000-$60,000. What would a combined income of even $40,000 (which is even high for some in Miami) get one in S.FL, Nowadays? nothing. I think that something went wrong in the 90's, what it is I can't pinpoint. But it was after Hurricane Andrew passed by that it started & forget the last 3 yrs...that totally has tilted the scale out of proportion.

Ok..out of curiousity, I've asked regular people what their salaries were in the 60's, 70's and 80's and what homes they purchased and these were their answers.

1968 - 2/1 post WWII single family home -$21,000
Combined income was $9,100/bookeeper & salesman

1974 - 2/1 condominium - $27,500
Combined salary - $14,500 Architect/part time office clerk

1976 - Brand new 4/3 single family home
1 salary/head of household for 4 family members - $30,000/pharmaceutical rep.

1980 - Brand new 4/2 home/$90,000 (and this was expensive for the time) 1 salary/head of family of 3 - $46,000/engineer

1985 - brand new 1/1 condo - $30,000
1 salary/ single female - $15,000/ secretary

1988 - 3/2 townhome - $50,000
salary - $25,000 - accounting clerk (and single mother with no alimony nor child support help).


Ok..add that home ins. costs were like nothing and taxes were literally nothing due to the $25,000 homestead exemption, oohhh...and let's not forget that HMO'S & their cost saving tactics (Yeah, right...) didn't come into the scene till about 1985, as I recall I think IMC was the first one. Before them everyone had health coverage for free at their place of employemnt and the norm was that they'd pay 80%.. and our out of pocket expenses were 20% - no questions asked either,nor forms to fill out, authorizations none of that mess. I'd like to add that one could buy a brand new car like a shiny new mustang in '79' for like $5,000 or a Caprice for $6,000.

I don't know...but as a true life long Miamian I can honestly say things are not the same nor balanced, noooo way.
And I'll say it again & honestly, we could not afford our own home if we had to buy it today, so forget another home in Miami - we are prisoners of our own home.

[LBNY]

Salary depends on occupation. The ideal situation would be a job transfer & keeping LI salary. For some, that is not possible.
I'm living in a condo in FL. After paying my mortgage, HOA fees, 2 special assessments for hurricane damage last year (yes, the unit owner is responsible for that) and any other fees the Association can come up with, I can well afford a house in NY (on two incomes). If you are looking to purchse a condo down here, pay close attention to those Association docs. They will get you any way they can. Also, that is correct, mobile owners are the first to evacuate and the first homes to go down. Keep that in mind.
By the way, $65K does not go very far down here.
Best of Luck to you!

[briarjm]

From what I have seen the salaries in Florida are not much better than Eastern Kentucky and the housing costs are probably 3 to 4 times higher.My wife is a CPA in Kentucky and is Assistant Controller for the Division of Clinics for a Hospital chain. She has applied for several jobs in Florida and even with her qualifications has only received one interview and this was by phone. The starting pay was in the low 40s and training for a CEO. She did not get the job.

I just recently became disabled from a back injury. I have dreamed for the past 20 years of moving to Florida but now that dream is getting dim. I love to fish and for 12 years, before my injury, spent a week fishing on Okeechobee. I really miss the fishing trips and now that is about all I am able to do.

Some friends we have that live in Florida have told us to come on down and she could surely get a job with her qualifications. From what I read on here that would not be a smart move at all. From what I see it would be very hard to make ends meet considering the salaries and the price of housing etc. I have not given up but I don't feel as good about the chance we will get to move as I did before.

[lulu]

I forgot to post the price of the 1976 home - it was $55,000.00

Just was talking to a neighbor and he told me he bought his 3/2 home for $92,000 here in the Gables & he earned $40,000 (1 salary for 3/2 -family of 3).

Another bought here in 1992 a 3/2 for $150,000. and he earned $65,000 (1 salary for 2 adults). Plus this man had child support payments & was living a bit tight.

I guess I want to prove to myself most of all, that the rule of thumb..."double the amount of your yearly salary" held true. The ones that risked a bit more were the ones that had equity in a previous home and used it as down payment's.

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by crankyyank

a mobile home in florida is almost impossible to insure unless you want to spend endless hours on the phone and online trying. if you are however lucky enough to get it, you will find an active storm season will result in the company dropping you even if you make no claim. mobile homes are either in a park or on a piece of land suitable for mobile homes, if you can FIND a piece of land and you can AFFORD to buy it, dont put a mobile home on it, in the long run it will cost more to improve the lot for use than the whole property will be worth when it is done, and the taxes and utilities will kill you. i own a home in polk county (redneck capitol of the world) and even in this part of florida i see the commissioners are moving to limit the number of mobile homes.after the storms took out the last batch of them there was a limit placed on the replacement of them as well.

No point insuring them, not worth the money and hasles when mobile homes are so cheap. One guy sold his for $6000! Several are for sale, one at $6500, the other at $8700. There is a calculated chance each hurricane season of losing the mobile home. Still buying a mobile home costs less than a single year's apartment rent! Plus I dont plan to live in Florida much longer. There will be alot less hurricanes elsewhere and higher paying jobs too. There are $30,000 2 bedroom condominiums in Houston, so I am seriously considering moving there.


I have read the other threads and am amazed how cheap houses were in the 1970s and 1980s! One average income could easily get you a 2 bedroom condo! Now it takes three to five incomes at todays price!

[SunnyDog]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

No point insuring them, not worth the money and hasles when mobile homes are so cheap. One guy sold his for $6000! Several are for sale, one at $6500, the other at $8700. There is a calculated chance each hurricane season of losing the mobile home. Still buying a mobile home costs less than a single year's apartment rent! Plus I dont plan to live in Florida much longer. There will be alot less hurricanes elsewhere and higher paying jobs too. There are $30,000 2 bedroom condominiums in Houston, so I am seriously considering moving there.


I have read the other threads and am amazed how cheap houses were in the 1970s and 1980s! One average income could easily get you a 2 bedroom condo! Now it takes three to five incomes at todays price!

Ever been to Houston? Plenty of the mobile homes you're looking for, and with their zoning laws you'll probably be next to a 5000 sq. ft. mansion. Also plenty of oil refineries, smog, big hair, beat up pickups, illegals, and heat + humidity that make South FL heat seem balmy (despite their much chillier winters). There's good reason why it's cheaper than Palm Beach county. You get more home for the money in Houston, but the catch is that it's located in a less desirable place. Inside space versus outside location desirability.

Housing affordability is a nationwide problem, not just a Florida problem. Ohio has one of the nation's highest foreclosure rates, yet the median home there is around only $130K! Back in the gold ole 1960's, America's population was around 200 million. Now it's around 300 million, yet the country is still the same size. This makes for a big demand increase in land for housing with a corresponding inflation of housing prices. As the population increases and land area stays the same, expect housing to become even more unaffordable in the long term.

[UB50]

Salaries were a lot lower in the 1970s. Minimum wage was $2 in the late 1970s so someone making $30K was making a HUGE amount of money. I worked as a copywriter for an ad agency in Florida then and only made $100 a week or $5200 a year.

[lulu]

At that time women had already entered the work force & w/two working, even if her check was measly, she'd still contribute something to the household & eventually both could set sail thru work & savings & they could at least buy/qualify for a condo, sell it, put the equity in a single family home and had a chance to step up; plus no worries about ins., taxes, and all the added stuff we have now. A chance at the American dream. It seems now that even if both work (& some even with college degrees) residents can't even qualify for an efficiency. I hear this everyday of my life...from people that can't get ahead. I've met people with college degrees working at a big company here earning minimum wage and having to room up with 2-3 people - like teenage college co-ed's.
I'm sure most can remember...in the mid 80's some S. Beach hotels that were converting to condos offered 'em for $30,000 - I considered it at the time as I could afford it even as a second home & regretted I never bought one. I met at the time a single gal in her 20's that qualified & bought one...and she was an office clerk & had been living w/her parents & for her saved a whopping $10,000. Can one imagine this now??
Around in the N. Gables on Coral Way (s.w. 24 st) there are tons of brand new high rise condo's being built and they start at $250,000, so probably for a decent livable one for 2 people it would be in the mid
$300's-add maintenance fees, taxes, ins, etc. I just don't know how the average worker here can even afford or a family squeeze into one of these small units. The only two people I have come across that have bought these are: a 60 yr. old retired school teacher from N.Y. whom made $90,000 a yr. & has a wonderful pension - & add the social security check she'll be getting in 2 yrs. she has it made. She's happy as she says she's finally made it & even bought a brand new car, on the other hand her blood cousin whose lived here all her life & still works can't buy and drives an old car.
The other example is 2 adults that left Venezuela due to Chavez & came w/bucks in hand...but for the average local Miami worker to get ahead or even a regular retiree like in the past on their social security check, it's impossible. Unless, of course baby boomers with tons of cash which is probably what the state might be expecting...but they haven't thought about it's ole' faithful's.
Let's just take a look back in South Beach how it was all full of elder people sitting in the front of the hotels, walking about, etc. from all over...
It was a retirement haven since the 40's because it was an affordable paradise for the average senior citizen or average working Joe or Jane. Even my parents could rent all summer long at S.Beach and there was only 1 wage
earner, I don't think anybody can do that anymore...maybe, a few days but all summer??? I don't think so. These scenes are gone into the past - I'd like to say again that this is in S.FL & don't want to discourage/deprive anyone of their dreams - there are more affordable places in the state.

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by SunnyDog

Ever been to Houston? Plenty of the mobile homes you're looking for, and with their zoning laws you'll probably be next to a 5000 sq. ft. mansion. Also plenty of oil refineries, smog, big hair, beat up pickups, illegals, and heat + humidity that make South FL heat seem balmy (despite their much chillier winters). There's good reason why it's cheaper than Palm Beach county. You get more home for the money in Houston, but the catch is that it's located in a less desirable place. Inside space versus outside location desirability.

Housing affordability is a nationwide problem, not just a Florida problem. Ohio has one of the nation's highest foreclosure rates, yet the median home there is around only $130K! Back in the gold ole 1960's, America's population was around 200 million. Now it's around 300 million, yet the country is still the same size. This makes for a big demand increase in land for housing with a corresponding inflation of housing prices. As the population increases and land area stays the same, expect housing to become even more unaffordable in the long term.

If I can get a house in Houston for 50k, wont be needing a mobile home. If you dont consider Houston desirable, what city/state do you that has cheap houses? Housing affordability is a problem, much more so in metro cities and desirable areas/locations. Some compromise is needed here. Would you say a mobile home in a desirable area is better than a small, old house in a cheap area? Ohio does have cheap housing, but alot of people *still* cant afford a 130k house, including me. Florida job median salary is only $13.47 an hour!
Land is cheap in rural areas but thats useless unless you are a farmer.

[SunnyDog]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

If I can get a house in Houston for 50k, wont be needing a mobile home. If you dont consider Houston desirable, what city/state do you that has cheap houses? Housing affordability is a problem, much more so in metro cities and desirable areas/locations. Some compromise is needed here. Would you say a mobile home in a desirable area is better than a small, old house in a cheap area? Ohio does have cheap housing, but alot of people *still* cant afford a 130k house, including me. Florida job median salary is only $13.47 an hour!
Land is cheap in rural areas but thats useless unless you are a farmer.

There is no place I can think of as being desirable that has cheap houses. Remember the three most important things in real estate--location, location, and location. 50K houses anywhere in America are nearly always boarded up crack dens that need 100K in work to meet code and be liveable, and nobody will invest that kind of $$ because the neighborhood is slum. There's more to life than cheap houses. Job availability, pay, weather, recreation define a location and a property's worth. Cheap housing is cheap for a reason, you get what you pay for.

You keep mentioning "house", but what about a condo? They're usually cheaper and will allow you to live in a nice area for less money. Rent for a few years, save as much as you can (preferably 20% of your net income), keep your credit good, increase your income through promotions, overtime, and/or getting a second job. Prices 3-5 years from now will likely be the same as now or even less for condos in South FL, and by then you will have enough saved plus a higher income to buy. The last time condo prices here spiked up was 1977-1982, and then prices remained flat with some declines up to 2000. So the last condo recession lasted over a decade and a half, this current downturn just started, and only realtors are saying buy now it'll last only 6 months. Be patient and you'll do OK.