Hallandale wants to buy foreclosed homes (Miami, Hialeah: section 8, credit, neighborhood)

[compelled to reply]

Honestly, I think it's inevitable and

A.Just something temporary we and other foreclosure capitals are going to have to deal with for a little while until people decide to start selling their homes for feasible prices. OR
B.It could be the suburban pattern reversing itself with foreclosure and high gas prices it's "driving" force...

Look at what happened to Fort Myers. A year and a half ago that place was booming. Now the unemployment rate there is as high as parts of Michigan. Sarasota is also getting really tight, as is Ocala, and even our northern neighbors in Palm Beach County are getting really tight. Could the same thing happen here? I don't know how, considering that even with the economy around the US being so bad they STILL keep on building those office buildings off of 595 and they seem to actually be selling. Unemployment is increasing but still within the "full employment" range at/under 4%. The job market is going to be one of the driving forces to prices, erm, sales.

[Wild Style]

^^

Could be the reversal thing. Suburbia really isn't sustainable long term. As for Fort Lauderdale's economy. I haven't really looked into it that much. But I know when they build these office buildings they don't have tenants from day one. I remember two years after that one office building on the corner of peters and pine island was built, it was still empty as heck. I think they just build these things and hope for the best (sorta like condos).

Also the notorious underpaying and lack of quality jobs here could cause some serious issues, which we are seeing now given that census data recently posted. I don't know how things will play out for Fort Lauderdale, I cant even begin to guess.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

^^

Could be the reversal thing. Suburbia really isn't sustainable long term. As for Fort Lauderdale's economy. I haven't really looked into it that much. But I know when they build these office buildings they don't have tenants from day one. I remember two years after that one office building on the corner of peters and pine island was built, it was still empty as heck. I think they just build these things and hope for the best (sorta like condos).
.

They built one of those warehouse parks/flex space things not too far from me and the place is under construction and they already sold almost half of them. Those things are selling like hotcakes down here to this day. Sawgrass Technology Park is also more full than I have ever seen it. There is a considerable small business base here, which is at least fairly stable.

[Wild Style]

that would help then, but small businesses aren't enough to employ a substantial amount of people.

I knew a lady who owned a beauty salon, she told me the insurance alone was killing her. She was about to call it quits, not sure if she ever did though. There are a lot of challenges South Florida needs to face/fix. It is doable but I don't know that anyone in power is really addressing any of the big issues (not that I vote or even read up on these things)

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

(not that I vote or even read up on these things)

Why not? One of our most basic freedoms is the right to elect officials. If nobody cares if anyone takes a stand anyway who is going to care enough to take a stand?

[eufo]

Wild Style touched on something earlier that this is something very unlike what we have seen in our history, and I agree. We're already experiencing record numbers of foreclosures and no one knows how long they will continue to increase. The ramifications of this are also not fully known.

If vast numbers of homes in a single neighborhood go vacant, it will surely have a strong impact on those who remain. The homes will sell eventually, if the banks adjust the asking prices to what the market will bear. Based on observations in my own building, banks ask much less and sell much faster than the people selling their own condos. I would gather that this holds true for single family homes as well. In other words, I don't think we should necessarily do anything about it, as the banks are more willing to sell "at market".

The real wildcard is, how deep and long will this go? I do believe it is temporary, but may take years and years to balance itself out.

[Wild Style]

year and years, I agree!

As I keep saying, we live in really interesting times.

[Katie1]

Are they still going to let builders keep building? If they are then this is really dumb....
While the plan helps those that need homes it will keep encourging builders to build more.....

[randian]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

I guess lets get it back on track. What do you guys think should happen to single family home neighborhoods if a lot of them become abandoned because of foreclosures.

Absolutely nothing. Eventually the market will clear and the homes will be bought. The only question is how long the banks will want to hold out. My guess is not long at all, bank regulators hate it when banks keep a lot of foreclosures on the books. The banks will have to sell or regulators will force them into receivership. People still want to live here. We won't end up with entire neighborhoods being permanently abandoned because half the population has left (as happened to Detroit).

[randian]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Are they still going to let builders keep building? If they are then this is really dumb....

Yes, but why should we stop them? If a builder wants to build new homes and sell them into a declining market it's their loss, not mine.