Miami Fl the 17th most expensive city to live in???? (Orlando: sales, real estate)

[FlyMIA]

No state income tax. Guess that could be a reason.
But really a lot of these surveys are pretty dumb.

[nature's message]

It is rare for Forbes to make a good list.

[compelled to reply]

You guys are ruthless. I wouldn't consider the cost of living to be a real pro for Miami, but you guys sound truly disappointed that Miami didn't rank higher. If the methodology of the survey was to pull first place out of a hat, and Miami just so happened to be the name pulled for highest, I wouldn't be surprised if you guys were praising the survey unanimously.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by JackTheRipper

Crap list.
Miami should be #3 atleast.

Compared to SF (or any city in CA actually), Boston, DC, Chicago, even Philadelphia? This list actually seems about right when you look at who is ahead.

[Deeman804]

Look, all of y'all cr-a-zy. I lived in Miami last year and live in the DC Area of Virginia. Everyone that complains of car insurance should take out there calculators immediately. With DC holding down the five spot I think this is worth the time.

I have a friend that lives in a VERY nice 2 br apartment in Miami and pays $1400. I also have a friend that has a nice 2 br apartment (not as nice as the first apartment) in DC and pays $2500 a month. THe average pay in DC is about 10% higher however DC charges about 7% payroll tax (for a single person before any write-offs). Okay, if you can figure out how 3% take-home pay increase and the difference in food prices and car insurance premiums (for a non-Maserati car) would cost $1100 more, I'm all ears.

[Nolefan34]

You guys are forgetting that real-estate prices have declined 50% since 2006, and have yet to bottom out. DC, NYC, Philly, and Boston did not experience the same declines. Also, property taxes have come way down since 2005 since we haven't had any hurricanes. So the cost of housing here in Miami remains cheap compared to the other cities on the list. If this list came out in 2006, Miami would probably be top 5.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by Outofthematrix

Yea I mean they say living up north is more expensive,but I used tell them,yea its more expensive,but we can afford it,because jobs pay us better,living up north

True, to a certain extent.

Originally Posted by JackTheRipper

Crap list.
Miami should be #3 atleast.

While, I can't say for sure, 3rd spot , I'd say there should be enough data/proof to put it in one of the top 10 spots. I'm not sure what their criterion were, so I can't refute it entirely. Still, being top 20 out of hundreds of cities, says enough. It's still not a cheap place to live. That, we can't refute.

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

You guys are ruthless. I wouldn't consider the cost of living to be a real pro for Miami, but you guys sound truly disappointed that Miami didn't rank higher. If the methodology of the survey was to pull first place out of a hat, and Miami just so happened to be the name pulled for highest, I wouldn't be surprised if you guys were praising the survey unanimously.

While, you may have a point, we must agree that Miami not making it in one of the top ten spots will raise some eyebrows. Hey, at least, it made top 20, right!!

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

You guys are forgetting that real-estate prices have declined 50% since 2006, and have yet to bottom out. DC, NYC, Philly, and Boston did not experience the same declines. Also, property taxes have come way down since 2005 since we haven't had any hurricanes. So the cost of housing here in Miami remains cheap compared to the other cities on the list. If this list came out in 2006, Miami would probably be top 5.

While, I agree with some points, such as property taxes and insurance going down for South Florida homeowners, these cheap prices some talk about...I don't see them as they should be. You are right (also stating that they have ways to go down in price), but here are some things from observation and research:

I did some research, and noticed most were foreclosures and short sales. Again, I'm not disagreeing, I just need to see more proof. These are many houses, but many aren't moving. I don't think the banks are giving enough discounts. (Am I being a bit unrealistic, or expecting these banks to give sweeter deals to stimulate more potential homeowners? Maybe, but these are thoughts going through my mind about this market).

Example:

I notice in some ads/flyers that I receive from time to time from Lennar Homes (and others), I ask myself if these idiots are not understanding that townhomes for $270k aren't going to sell, in this market. Why are they wasting their time?

[Nolefan34]

MisterNY>

You may be right that prices are skewed largely due to foreclosures, but that doesn't change the fact that overall prices are less than California or northeastern markets and have been all along. That is the biggest reason why S. FL is considered less expensive than those other markets. Even at the market's peak, our prices were cheaper. The difference is that since then, our prices have fallen more than other markets and have yet to bottom out. Today, the gap between S. FL prices and northeast prices continues to widen. So that may account for why our cost-of-living is declining relative to other cities. And the list of rankings reflects that other cities are actually jumping us in cost-of-living.

[rnc2mbfl]

The costs that drown Miami residents financially are hurricane insurance, property taxes, auto insurance, sales taxes and anything that tourists do. For instance, going out for a cocktail is VERY expensive in Miami.
If you own a home, your hurricane insurance can easily be over $10,000 a year for a modest home. If you live in a 2 bedroom condo, your H.O. dues can easily reach $1000/month. Insurance and taxes are built into the costs of rent which drives them upward. Also, if you bought a home during the housing bubble, you are upside down in it and paying tons a year in property taxes.
The biggest problem in Miami is the most salaries are not aligned with the costs of living. Couple this with the fact that imported money drives many of the costs of living and you end up with a metro that some can afford while many others cannot.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl

If you own a home, your hurricane insurance can easily be over $10,000 a year for a modest home. If you live in a 2 bedroom condo, your H.O. dues can easily reach $1000/month. Insurance and taxes are built into the costs of rent which drives them upward. Also, if you bought a home during the housing bubble, you are upside down in it and paying tons a year in property taxes.
The biggest problem in Miami is the most salaries are not aligned with the costs of living. Couple this with the fact that imported money drives many of the costs of living and you end up with a metro that some can afford while many others cannot.

$10,000? What kind of modest home is that? Maybe 3 years ago when insurance companies went all crazy and trippled home owner insurance but the prices have dropped since then. I thought 2006 was the crappiest year for Miami and that was even the reason why I joined this forum. To whine and complain because it was so ridiculous back then.

I still think real estate prices are too high for some neighborhoods like Pinecrest/East Kendall/Brickell and need to drop to more realistic prices.