[killaloe]

From Bradenton/Sarasota area:

Forbes thinks there is an underlying demand growing, but many people are waiting to see what the Legislature does about property taxes before making a move.

Moderator cut: Provide a link instead of copying everything here, please

[tallrick]

You will see more activity in lower priced areas. Places like Miami have a long way to fall.

[floridamove2]

Originally Posted by killaloe

From Bradenton/Sarasota area:

Great now I can sell my house and let some other fool pay the price But I think your full of it.
From Bloomberg. “‘It’s going to take more time’ than previously expected to shake off the housing recession, Seiders said last month. Subprime woes are costing builders ‘a lot of sales and also increasing cancellations.’”

Moderator cut: Provide a link instead of copying everything here, please

[Arrgh]

Last month, in North Port there were 657 houses for sale priced under 200K. As of today there are approx 475 priced under 200K. Also there are no longer any new construction homes for under 180K. At the beginning of the year there were plenty. It would appear that builders were dumping inventory to improve their cash positions and are now starting to build as demand dictates instead of pure speculation. Data is from the North Port Charlotte MLS. In some markets it is beginning to turn while others are still lagging depends where you are.

[firemed]

Originally Posted by Arrgh

Last month, in North Port there were 657 houses for sale priced under 200K. As of today there are approx 475 priced under 200K. Also there are no longer any new construction homes for under 180K. At the beginning of the year there were plenty. It would appear that builders were dumping inventory to improve their cash positions and are now starting to build as demand dictates instead of pure speculation. Data is from the North Port Charlotte MLS. In some markets it is beginning to turn while others are still lagging depends where you are.

Homes pulled off the market to rent ?

[Arrgh]

A distinct possibly, however IMO a good part of the excess inventory was caused by speculative building and better for the builder to make a smaller profit than pay the interest. You can make money by reducing expenses. Another factor that will be coming into play at the end of the year is the dramtic increase in impact fees. The city of North Port will be just under 20K per lot in impact fees. This will cause the cost of new homes to increase which should cause the builders to be more cautious or less inclined to build spec houses at the levels we saw in 2003 to 2005. Which in turn will help keep inventory at a more balanced level.

Who knows what will happen, the legislature could actually do something intelligent or we could have a Katria in SW Florida or as many are seeing we may have reached the bottom with flat prices to the end of 2007???? Although it is starting to clear up, my crystal ball is still a little cloudy.