[Floridabound09]

I spoke to a lady from Ocala today at an antique mall here in Ohio and she told me that her and her hubby bought a home down the street from them for 125k less then two months ago, did some landscaping, painting and cleanup and sold it before they left to come here to see her parents, for..... 175k. Nice profit in 2 months.
The buys are there if you are there to grab them when they come up for sale.
I have been told its a buyer market right now and I am looking but havent found anything I would grab yet.
I agree as above, the market will drop even more in time. But the buys are still there to grab if you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.
My explorer is set to realtor.com/florida !!!

[CayBren]

I apologize for the “idiot” remark. This thread has turned into a Real Estate investment thread of which I enjoy but did not intend. The “idiots” I am referring to are the residences that bash and do not recommend new families to relocate to Florida. I gave my belief to their reasons, that they made “fake” money during the Real Estate Boom and now are pissed. I would like to move to Florida, have investment property and feel it is a wonderful State.

[CayBren]

To the poster that buying is difficult today because of financing is a poor excuse. Opportunities to have creative financing with sellers have never been better.

[D-R-B]

I guess I'm an "idiot" then. I would not advise anyone to move to Florida and real estate is just ONE of many reasons why IMHO. I'm under the impression that the OP doesn't live here full time-if that's the case, than I don't feel the OP is qualified to make an accurate assesment of Florida. I have lived here for 16 years ( 20 minus 4 in the Air Force) and have a TRUE idea on what it is like to live here and try to make a living here. Many of the so called " Florida bashers" have LIVED in Florida full time and had a different opinion on the state for a long time. My opinion changed in the late 90's-prior to that, NO ONE loved Florida more than me. If it seems like there are SO MANY "Florida bashers" maybe, just maybe there is SOME truth to what is being said.

By the way.....Just because houses are selling for less than than the were, that doesn't mean that it is a "buyers market". Most houses are still overpriced and will continue to fall and flood the market with even more houses for sale.

If this country goes into a recession, it will be WAY worse and linger around longer here in Florida. Our states economy is based on tourism and home ownership-that's it. Every time the state government tries to "help out" it's people-the only thing they can come up with is something to do with houses. How about trying to attract companies to the state who will pay decent wages to it's employees? How about saying "NO" once in a while to the developers who have caused many of our problems to begin with? How about improving our school system? all of these things I mentioned will raise property values because it will be a more desirable place to live. That's how other states do it- they are concerned with improving thier comunities permantly so that people will prosper and stimulate the state's economy instead of waiting for the next "real estate boom" to stimulate things. That is not progress IMHO, if you spend any time visiting, talking to people, or doing research on other states, you can clearly see the difference between a "vacation" based economy vs. a real one.

[Chet S.]

While I dont agree with the bashing there is a lot of truth with what D-R-B says. Florida is great if you have old money/trading out of a expesnive home elsewhere or are coming in having landed a well paying job. The trade off used to be that real estate and the overall cost of living was considerably less in Florida which is no the case anymore. While we dont have state income tax we do have high property taxes, expensive gas and serious problems with home insurance especially in the designated flood areas. A lot of people were making do the past 5-7 years cashing out their homes rising equity to help make the bills. Real estate is at a standstill if not dropping in many areas so that cash machine has been cut off. Also with these increases in home prices everything else went up and not just here I am sure yet job pay which was too low to begin with hasnt kept up at all. I own a retail store in gainesville and hear people complaining how hard it is to make ends meet every day and its only gotten worse the past 6 month with a recession kicking in.

That being said if your situation is one where the financial aspect is covered than Florida is a great place and offers many different areas to live in and I am sure one will cover the other things you need to make one happy.

[AONE]

You are very correct it is a good time to buy. I have seen deals in all price ranges. ex - 1.5M for a home worth 2.75M. or at the other end 135k for a home worth 250k. Most people miss opportunities and live in a would of, should of , could of mentality. Thats why some make fortunes and others make it by. ...If I had bought 10 shares of Microsoft in 1971....well you didn't so what opportunity are you overlooking today? Us realtors see bargains daily and we really do like to share our info with others. If we make you rich we are helped as well. and yes many realtors do buy these deals and profit. There are so many you can only do so much. For buyers, love the deal not the house. If you can get a good house that can fit needs along the way, better. Why not make a 100k in the process? Want a deal? Call us?

[CJFlorida]

Originally Posted by AONE

You are very correct it is a good time to buy. I have seen deals in all price ranges. ex - 1.5M for a home worth 2.75M. or at the other end 135k for a home worth 250k. Most people miss opportunities and live in a would of, should of , could of mentality. Thats why some make fortunes and others make it by. ...If I had bought 10 shares of Microsoft in 1971....well you didn't so what opportunity are you overlooking today? Us realtors see bargains daily and we really do like to share our info with others. If we make you rich we are helped as well. and yes many realtors do buy these deals and profit. There are so many you can only do so much. For buyers, love the deal not the house. If you can get a good house that can fit needs along the way, better. Why not make a 100k in the process? Want a deal? Call us?

A home is worth what someone pays for it. It is impossible for houses to sell for less than what they are worth. The market is what a house sells for.

Those two homes you gave as examples were worth $1.5 M and $135,000.

But if you are a real estate agent, you already knew that.

[CJFlorida]

“Lee County had the worst rental occupancy rate in the state and the steepest decline in the fourth quarter, according to a report released Thursday. In complexes of 100 units or more, the occupancy rate was 80.4 percent.”
“‘It’s not surprising,’ said Fort Myers-based commercial real estate broker Ed Bonkowski. ‘There are too many vacant homes and speculation homes that people closed on. They’re doing anything they can to rent these properties.’”
“As a result, he said, ‘The tenants are in charge now. If you think you’re going to get first month, last month and deposit, you’ll be sitting vacant for a year.’”

“The median sales price for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area dropped below $200,000 in November for the first time since April 2005, according to data from the Florida Association of Realtors.”
“November’s sales price of $189,100 was 21 percent lower than in June 2006, when prices peaked locally at $239,600.”
“Inventory has swelled, too. There were 19,354 homes listed for sale in December, five times as many as were listed in the same month in 2004, the Tampa Realtors group said.”
“It would take 17.6 months at the current selling pace to sell all those homes, according to the group. ‘We’re at a point now where being a part-time agent isn’t going to work,’ Rojas said. ‘In my 20 years as an agent, this is the toughest market I’ve seen.’”

“Just-released November occupancy rates were down in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties an average of 10.3 percent — a trend that was mirrored in other parts of the nation.”
“Middle-class vacationers, especially those who use credit cards to pay for all or part of their holiday, who have been recently spooked by the poor economy and declining home values.”
“Florida is being hit harder than other places in the nation, but tourist destinations everywhere are suffering, said Duane Vinson, a spokesman for Smith Travel Research. Companies are cutting three-day conventions to two, while some leisure travelers are staying home altogether. The occupancy figures across the nation are as worrisome as those in Southwest Florida, Smith said. ‘You’re looking at double digits.’”
“Though some pundits have argued in recent months that tourism is recession-proof, the downturn comes as the housing market struggles at its lowest point in decades, as retail sales are down and while the federal government considers a broad stimulus package to bail the nation out of a downward economic course.”

The Miami Herald (broken link). “Florida’s unemployment rate hit its highest level in more than three years, according to employment data released Friday. The state’s white-hot employment growth of the past few years was fueled in large part by the housing boom. Since that started cooling off last year, the jobs picture has become more lackluster.”

[macguy]

Originally Posted by AONE

You are very correct it is a good time to buy. I have seen deals in all price ranges. ex - 1.5M for a home worth 2.75M. or at the other end 135k for a home worth 250k. Most people miss opportunities and live in a would of, should of , could of mentality. Thats why some make fortunes and others make it by. ...If I had bought 10 shares of Microsoft in 1971....well you didn't so what opportunity are you overlooking today? Us realtors see bargains daily and we really do like to share our info with others. If we make you rich we are helped as well. and yes many realtors do buy these deals and profit. There are so many you can only do so much. For buyers, love the deal not the house. If you can get a good house that can fit needs along the way, better. Why not make a 100k in the process? Want a deal? Call us?

So if you are worth million and still growing through your brilliant real estate dealings, why do you waste your time listing other peoples real estate? How many properties (be honest now), have you personally bought in the last year? I mean you see these great deals every day $250,000 houses selling for $135,000, you must really be racking in the cash, becoming richer and richer. What are you going to do with all this money?

I have to say this. I have delt with enough real estate people to know they are far worse then any used car dealer and I will tell you why. They can get people into messes with their lies that can ruin their lives just to make a small commission. With a car all they have to do is get rid of the lemon, but it won't ruin their life or create a divorce or wreck them financially like a bad real estate deal can. I love the last line in your post. What a desperate attempt to maybe get a customer.

[tallrick]

My problem with real estate is that it is usually not bought outright. The vast majority of it is mortgaged, and will be a liability for decades. Farm land produces wealth, factories and even junkyards do as well. But residential properties just do not appeal to me as they have a high carrying cost with minimal profits at the current time. Since wages are very low in Florida currently, a property "owner" cannot expect much profit above the high cost of TAXES, insurance and the risk of serious natural disaster. The entire US economy has been shaky since 1970 when oil production peaked. Before that time real estate was priced in line with the economy as a whole. The first places to show the weakness of the economy were in California- a desireable area in demand. The money we have to spend on foreign oil came back to inflate our property prices. The real estate speculation that had been dead since the 20's came back in the 70's and spread to other areas in the 80's.

The Federal Reserve has been the main cause of real estate bubbles in the last few decades. Cheap, easy credit from funny money has caused property prices to climb upwards. Add in foreign investors with dollars to dump and we have today's mess. This is almost over. I think of Florida real estate today like a golf course in a desert. As long as it gets fertilized and watered it continues to grow green and the desert is far away. Once the water is shut off, things don't die instantly but little by little the signs of decline are evident. An occasional shot of water makes things "look good" but once the water (money) stops flowing the result is inevitable. Florida is set for another 1920's style crash, and a hurricane will seal the deal.


No matter what the investors say, if you don't think property is a good deal don't buy it. If someone offers you a property you can afford, that's a different story. I think that real estate investing is not going to be as it was. Energy technology is the new frontier. I will leave the condos to the investors to watch them deterriorate!