[LifeIsGood01]

Originally Posted by maineguy8888

Just returned from a week driving through the area, including the keys. Am I wrong? Seems like the area is absolutely booming.

It's snowbird season.

[Crane's Rooster]

Originally Posted by maineguy8888

I don't really like overcrowding.
What amazed me is the sprawl, topping even other areas I have recently been to (like Phoenix, Toronto and Boston).


What is sustaining all of this? Is the core of it still drug money?

I have a friend who does real estate in SFL and it's foreign investment, mostly from South America, Europe and more recently Asia. The reason is for wealthier people from these parts of the world, SFL is still considered reasonable priced. Yes the actual home prices might be higher but most are saving in costs such as security and general cost of living. Although there are some bad areas of SFL, for the most part America in general is so much safer for people with money. Yes you have to take precautions, but you do not need your family protected round the clock by armed guards. For many, that's a huge savings and piece of mind. Even for the non ultra rich, America is considered safe, you can send your kids to school/college without too much fear and no American economy, even during bubbles is as volatile as buying in many other parts of the world where even the government is subject to change. This is the sense of security these foreign investors are willing to pay for and SFL also has great diversity and great year round weather.

[Arcenal813]

Topping Toronto? I highly disagree...

[FromCTtoFL]

Originally Posted by BNBR

Not sarcasm. I love it here, big time. And it seems every year we get a cool new project and destination.

What is driving all this? The weather and it's a cool place to live. People like the beaches, tropics, sunshine, and endless things to do here. Nothing else like it anywhere in the world.

I couldn't agree more! We absolutely LOVE living here. There is just so much to do and see and so many cool places to go. Plus, everything is new(er) and well-maintained (at least in my area). I've never seen parks and playgrounds in such great shape plus lots of activities are free. We have a beautiful amphitheater in town that hosts free concerts every week, plus shows, festivals, seasonal events. Even the government facilities like the town hall and the library are gorgeous!

South Florida seems to have recovered from the recession nicely. What a welcome change from the old decrepit buildings, blocks of empty retail spaces, and abandoned foreclosed homes of the NE. (Actually, I can only speak for Connecticut which has been one of the slowest states to recover from the recession).

[maineguy8888]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

Topping Toronto? I highly disagree...

Toronto is sprawling like crazy, I agree. And it's a bigger area. But it seems different than SE Florida somehow.

[aridon]

Toronto is VERY different than SE FL. So different the two can't be compared. Not even close.

SE FL was destroyed when the bubble burst. The newer the area and the closer construction was to the boom burst the worse the pop was. Once the pop happened price plunged. At the time Canadians were buying and many other foreign investors as well as US. They got great deals and formed a bottom in the market which then rocketed up by investors and people still moving here.

Now prices are near the top again and forming another bubble ready to burst right around the time that the baby boomers that have money stop flowing here so quickly. Probably another 5 years or so. As prices start to stagnant in PBC and south prices up north in PSL and other areas in commute range will rise significantly and already have started to do so. Then the next cycle will start.

In addition, sure SE FL is seeing real estate inflow from boomers and investors. However we aren't seeing industry and jobs coming here to make up for the home and rent increases. This is a problem that can't last forever. All those service jobs have to pay to support that because someone has to work in the area and they have to be able to afford to live there.

[OptimusPrime69]

All of sotheast FL is one giant massive sprawl.
Obviously we have land constraints with the everglades and the atlantic ocean, so everything is stuck on a narrow strip of land developed mostly north south.

I generally like living here tho what I do wish we had more of was just open space.... be it forested areas, or vast grasslands with nothing on it. Sometimes, it's like everywhere one turns it's the same strip mall filled with the same stores... the further north one goes in south Fl the less crowded it is. Sometimes, I just wanna find a field where I can take my dog...unleash him and play with the dog and walk around.... really nowhere to do that in SE FL.

I find Boca Raton's traffic to be a breeze compared to Miami/Kendall...

[maineguy8888]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

All of sotheast FL is one giant massive sprawl.
Obviously we have land constraints with the everglades and the atlantic ocean, so everything is stuck on a narrow strip of land developed mostly north south.

I generally like living here tho what I do wish we had more of was just open space.... be it forested areas, or vast grasslands with nothing on it. Sometimes, it's like everywhere one turns it's the same strip mall filled with the same stores... the further north one goes in south Fl the less crowded it is. Sometimes, I just wanna find a field where I can take my dog...unleash him and play with the dog and walk around.... really nowhere to do that in SE FL.

I find Boca Raton's traffic to be a breeze compared to Miami/Kendall...

This is exactly what I noticed. The degree of mind-numbing sprawl is just amazing. And it seems to be finding every possible little niche that is left undeveloped. (We expected the keys to be somewhat immune to this but it seems to be overtaking even that area).

[maineguy8888]

Originally Posted by LifeIsGood01

It's snowbird season.

So would it be "quiet" in July or August?
I can't imagine there being that big of a difference, even in the Keys.

[maineguy8888]

Originally Posted by Crane's Rooster

I have a friend who does real estate in SFL and it's foreign investment, mostly from South America, Europe and more recently Asia. The reason is for wealthier people from these parts of the world, SFL is still considered reasonable priced. Yes the actual home prices might be higher but most are saving in costs such as security and general cost of living. Although there are some bad areas of SFL, for the most part America in general is so much safer for people with money. Yes you have to take precautions, but you do not need your family protected round the clock by armed guards. For many, that's a huge savings and piece of mind. Even for the non ultra rich, America is considered safe, you can send your kids to school/college without too much fear and no American economy, even during bubbles is as volatile as buying in many other parts of the world where even the government is subject to change. This is the sense of security these foreign investors are willing to pay for and SFL also has great diversity and great year round weather.

I agree it must seem more secure and safe than many Central American countries. I also detected a large Eastern European presence; is that correct? And how many people are we talking about?? It takes ALOT of foreign nationals moving in to support a CVS or Walgreens on every other street corner, in a 20,000 square mile area.......