[bmurphy]

I mean no disrespect, because I know Florida is pretty hard to afford for a LOT of people now and I'm not saying you don't have a valid case.

Before the boom, Florida house prices were almost all sub $150k, it seems, unless you wanted a real mansion. Most places <$100k for a pretty nice house. This seems to have been as recently as 2002. Obviously, a lot of major areas weren't that cheap only 5 years ago.

With the boom, the prices are much higher, but most of the medians are along the national average. So, I know the boom is lamented and everyone says they cannot afford a home, but the prices are pretty much just caught up with the average now, right? I mean, most major areas don't have prices much lower then Florida anymore. It was bound to catch up sooner or later, being a desirable place.

So if you cannot afford a Florida home I take it you cannot afford a home in many places? Or is it the taxes and whatnot that make it the worst? Because it just doesn't seem that the Florida home prices are all that astronomical considering its "desirability". It's not anywhere near California prices and most major cities have similar pricing.

So is the argument that Florida is expensive and so are most places since the boom, or is the argument that Florida alone is too expensive? I'm just not comprehending. Please don't flame me. I'm honestly asking, since I have considered Florida, despite my disgust for insects and stickyness. Would northern coastal Florida be less humid and less suceptible to the natural disasters? Well, hate to get off topic...anyways, your thoughts?

[Chimpie]

Northern Florida is not less susceptible to storms. Just ask people in Tallahassee and Pensacola. They've seen their fair share of storms in the past few years.

About me: 30 y/o male, middle management, making 30k/yr.

I live in Sarasota, and there is no way I could own a house right now. Not even a condo.

To me, prices of homes are just way overpriced. 180-250k for a condo, and you don't have any real property. 200-300k for a basic 3 bdrm/2 ba house. Then there is insurance (the minimum you have to have). Good insurance is even more. Then taxes, then just the general cost of owning a home. To me it's just ridiculous.

So for now I'm happy renting, but even renting, if it was for my g/f and I splitting the rent I don't think I would be able to stay down here.

[Need_affordable_home]

I couldnt afford to rent in FL unless I split the rent with a few other roomates and ive done that in college, we didnt get along. I want to live alone and have my own detached house. You are lucky to have a $30k job, the last job I had gave me $8/hour and only because I had a two year college degree. Sad I know how little Florida jobs pay! I check the classifieds and few jobs pay over $10 an hour unless you wanna be a lawyer, doctor or rocket scientist! Even manager positions offer only $30k to $40k and you have to work like 50 hours a week!

Houses werent that cheap even 10 years ago, $100k got you a pretty modest house, but the same house is like $250k today! Even rents are overpriced and going up. Expect to pay at least $900 for a 1/1 apartment in a safe neighboorhood, I know this for a fact. 2 bedrooms will cost $1200 to $1500 a month and 3 bedrooms $1500 and up. Much cheaper to just buy a big lot and a mobile home, about a third of the costs of renting. I would buy a mobile home if I wanted to stay in FL.

oh one more thing, the national median house price of $220k is because states like CA, NJ, HI, FL and the northeast new england states are so expensive. If you ignored the 10 most expensive states, the new median would be like $150k. You can find a house for $50k in most states and every state(except maybe Hawaii) has $100k houses. Its knowing where to look. In my opinion its better to get a $100k house in a desirable location in a cheaper state than a $100k house in a bad area in an expensive state.

[bmurphy]

You're not really answering the question. The prices seem pretty average compared to most major cities nowadays. I don't see the fuss. I mean yes I know it's unaffordable for a lot of people, but if so, then a LOT of places are.

So far, all I've heard is a rant about prices which is not helping.

BTW: They were a LOT cheaper even in 2001. Pick up a book from 2001 about retiring to FL for example. Most prices were sub $100k for regular homes, not condos. Things seemed a lot cheaper.

Those apartment prices sound inflated. Using apartmentratings along w/ rent.com I can find at least a dozen 1bdr for less then 900, and DEFINETLY 2 bedroom less then 1200. Those are more like California rents and despite your negativity, NAH, Florida is not at that point...

Your "it's better to get $100k in desirable...then $100k in a bad area" is totally whacked. $100k in a desirable area is not "normal" in most states anymore. Not just subtracting 10 states. Subtract more like 35-40. Keep a chunk of the midwest and that's your desirable $100k homes.

However, that's not the point of the thread. The point is that it seems FL prices are pretty in line with many other places.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by bmurphy

I mean no disrespect, because I know Florida is pretty hard to afford for a LOT of people now and I'm not saying you don't have a valid case.

Before the boom, Florida house prices were almost all sub $150k, it seems, unless you wanted a real mansion. Most places <$100k for a pretty nice house. This seems to have been as recently as 2002. Obviously, a lot of major areas weren't that cheap only 5 years ago.

With the boom, the prices are much higher, but most of the medians are along the national average. So, I know the boom is lamented and everyone says they cannot afford a home, but the prices are pretty much just caught up with the average now, right? I mean, most major areas don't have prices much lower then Florida anymore. It was bound to catch up sooner or later, being a desirable place.

So if you cannot afford a Florida home I take it you cannot afford a home in many places? Or is it the taxes and whatnot that make it the worst? Because it just doesn't seem that the Florida home prices are all that astronomical considering its "desirability". It's not anywhere near California prices and most major cities have similar pricing.

So is the argument that Florida is expensive and so are most places since the boom, or is the argument that Florida alone is too expensive? I'm just not comprehending. Please don't flame me. I'm honestly asking, since I have considered Florida, despite my disgust for insects and stickyness. Would northern coastal Florida be less humid and less suceptible to the natural disasters? Well, hate to get off topic...anyways, your thoughts?

I think you are right. One of the reasons Florida has been a place for retires was because it was pretty cheap to live here. People would think I was kidding but as recently as 2000 you could buy condos for in the 30's and 40's and a single family house under 100k in a nice neighborhood. It sort of just happened over night all of a sudden people can't afford to live here anymore. You defiantly can't afford it if you have to work at a low paying job which is most of the service jobs down here.

Just surviving has become the norm, forget about getting ahead. I know people who honestly feel they have no future at all and will never own anything. Their money disappears at every turn. Also, since we are now several generations into the "live on credit lifestyle", even the prospect of inherited wealth isn't there. It seems like there is some kind of mass financial dead end coming where no one will have much of anything.

I am I'm sure a bit older then many on here. When I was young I looked forward to the future and unlimited possibilities. I have a feeling a lot of younger people today see the future as a frightening abyss they don't look forward to at all.

[bmurphy]

It just seems as though Florida pretty much has caught up with the averages. It may continue to surpass them, but it may level off. I just think if you can't afford FL, you probably will not afford a lot of places. I don't live there, it's just what I gather.

[Need_affordable_home]

You can still get a 55+ condo in south FL for $50k to $100k. Lots of affordable mobile homes as well. But the crime and hurricanes made FL lose its charm. I am not even sure if I want to retire in FL, I dont even like the weather(I wont complain again why, just saying so) I may retire in north Georgia or something.

I am telling you what the rents are. You can rent in a bad area for less but you might as well relocate out of FL if a bad area in FL is all you can afford. You dont want to live with crime just for the sake of living in FL.

I dont care about national median price, middle class people are leaving in droves because when you have that middle class $35k annual salary you cant afford more than about $80k of house. FL used to be affordable for middle class, not anymore!

[RedWingsFan]

Personally I don't find the homes in Florida to be expensive. I think it all depends on where you come from. We moved here from Las Vegas, where the average home price is over $300k. And for that $300k you get a house that has NO yard and they are so close together that when you look at the window you are looking into the window of your neighbor! I have found really nice homes here for around $250k that are exactly like what we are looking for in terms of size, age, and community. They also offer a yard. I'm happy with the housing sitution here. Before moving here we were prepared to pay up to $325 if we had to in order to get what we wanted. So we were pleasantly surprised to see what you get for the money here.

The only thing that scares me is the homeowner's insurance and whether or not they will pay if something messes up your house.

The taxes are higher than Las Vegas, but not higher than when I lived in Michigan. So that's a wash as far as I'm concerned.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Prices have come down in our neck of the woods, but activity is picking up.
We're looking at northeast Florida.
For us, prices are comparable to Denver, but slightly higher because we want to be near (but not on) the coast. I agree with RedWings about insurance and also property taxes--certainly something that has to be taken into consideration, along with the weather.
None of this seems to deter us, though.

[Need_affordable_home]

north FL is half to two thirds the price of south FL! Still north FL is expensive and south FL extremely expensive! Youd be looking at a shack for $200k in south FL, thats insane!