Miami Worst Selling Market in Country

[Meerteekah]

My husband was born in Miami. I've lived here since 1974. And in recent years, the building boom was crazy. Everywhere you turned, they were tearing down and building sky-high condo units, razing and building gated communities. During the RE boom, most stuff was way out of the ability-to-pay for most residents. I remember glancing through the Herald's RE section and seeing where the majority of new built housing was for 600K and up.

Well, when the boom goes bust, you ahve what? Lots of empty condos flippers can't flip. Empty luxury houses sellers can't move. Foreclosures. Condo coversions reverted to apartments for rent--which happened across the street from me, actually. "Now Renting" has been up since last year, instead of condo-for-sale.

And now our idiot commission has approved violating the UDB line to accomodate a Loews. Excuse me? We have a glut of unaffordable housing and people tightening their belts and foreclosures, and we push into delicate ecological areas for a fricken Loews?

Insanity rules.

Even though it means I lose home equity, and lots of it, I hope housing prices drop like crazy until housing is affordable for the average worker with a solid 20% down payment. Sane credit, sane dp's, sane prices. We all lose (if we're homeowners), especially in the painful transition, but it's healthier for a country for people not to pay 50% + of monthly income for a decent place to live. And maybe we need to stop wanting the fancy schmancy house with 2500 sq feet and learn to live more modestly. A thought for the credit burdened: let's become savers.

So, here I sit while the value of my home sinks like a stone, and think maybe that's not a bad thing long-term. Even if right now, we're suffering for it (can't relocate to take a great job offer, cause the house simply won't sell, even pricing it really low right now.) Our loss, but maybe the US's ultimate gain if we break ourselves from the idea that a house should bring us 25% increases in value in the blink of an eye. That's speculating, not responsible home-ownership and citizenship. And look where it's gotten us...

I'm really pissed at irresponsible bankers, greedy mortgage brokers and RE agents, and foolish home-buyers who should not be using homes as investment speculation assets, but for shelter and moderate investment long-term.

We all suffer for the greedy and imprudent.

Maybe we'll see decent 200K SFH's as the norm soon.

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by Hero

Inventory last updated 4/28/2008.:

1. Miami -- 118,189
2. Denver -- 24,911
3. San Diego -- 19,408
4. Baltimore -- 17,514
5. Washington D.C. -- 41,972
6. Los Angeles -- 42,728
7. Tampa -- 44,246
8. Phoenix -- 49,290
9. Orlando -- 33,515
10. Chicago -- 67,459

HousingTracker.net: Collecting, Interpreting and Disseminating Real Estate Data

Wow a huge gap from Miami to Chicago.

[TannerMan]

^^ Atlanta is the next closest to Miami, yet it didn't make the list.

[observer]

Merteekah wrote "So, here I sit while the value of my home sinks like a stone, and think maybe that's not a bad thing long-term. Even if right now, we're suffering for it (can't relocate to take a great job offer, cause the house simply won't sell, even pricing it really low right now.) "

As a homeowner it is not fun to see values of home drop especially when I would like to sell and move out of South Florida within the next 2 years. I too may have to ride it out for a while unless I get to the point that living in Miami isn't worth it anymore.

[Marlin Darlin']

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Wow a huge gap from Miami to Chicago.

This gap is even more pronounced if you consider how much bigger Chicago is compared to Miami in raw population.

Compliments of city-data.com...

Chicago downtown population........... 2,833,231 (2006)
Cook County population................... 5,303,683 (2005)
Chicago Metro Area population.......... 9,505,648 (2(It was 9,098,316 in 2000)

City of Miami downtown population.... 404,048 (2006)
Miami-Dade County population.......... 2,376,014 (2005)
Miami-Broward-Palm Beach Metro...... 5,413,212 (2007)*

*I assume these atrocious housing figures for "Miami" do not include the rest of the South Florida Metropolitan Area. At most, they might include all of Miami-Dade County... If someone would like to further this thread by adding more...you know who you are!

[Marlin Darlin']

Hey doggie, this is your thread. Is that "Miami" figure Miami-Dade County, Miami Metro Area or MSA-Metropolitan Statistical Area, or is it downtown??? It couldn't all be downtown could it???

[lionking]

I don't need to see a graph to know what's going on.I saw 2 of my exact model houses like I had I sold last year now listed today for sale at 50 to 60k less than what I sold for last year.

My friends told me at that time I was listed 20k too low for the neighborhood lol.If I had listened to them Id still be there trying to sell for 50k less than what I sold for then.

Drive in any area in most of Florida and you see at least 2 for sale signs on every street.My area here has dropped 50k to 60k in price also comparded to last year.

Go back to 2005 and prices have dropped 100k on average for a house that is a 3 or 4 bedroom in a middleclass hood.For instance in Cutler Bay a house on the main canal that sold for 400k 2 years ago are now listed for 300k or less.I wouldn't be surprised to see it level off at 200k or below,basically 98-99 prices.

[Meerteekah]

Prices went far, far, far too high. People got crazed over it. Prices are now falling to correct themselves. Miami was one of the skyrockets. It went really high, so the crash is gonna be really harsh.

The ones who cashed in before the bust made out great (unless they turned around and bought an inflated-price home). Those of us who bought before the bust will likely simply gain the normal gains (long-run) of buying a house. Those who bought high during the boom and took out HELOC's, well....it's gonna hurt. High debt usually does.

Let's hope we don't do anything nuts that extends the pain or reduces too much responsibility from those who took unwise risks. A home isn't (for the rank and file homeowner) supposed to be a speculation. It's supposed to be a place to LIVE. And we should NEVER EVER EVER take out huge loans we can't afford and aren't really prepared to pay back. If all I can afford is a 200K home (cause I make, say, 65K household income, and one shouldn't buy a house that's more than 3 times annual household income), then I ought to rent until a house/condo/townhome in my price range is available or I can save up enough to make up the difference between cost and affordability. If the house I want is 350K, and all I can really afford is 200K, then I have to save up 150K, right?

No one likes frugality and penny-pinching (I don't!), but it's time to get back to that when it comes to home-buying. Wait for what one can afford--no more. Cause it's not fair to ask the whole fricken country to pay for the speculations of those financing lavish lifestyles with equity or buying homes with "big eyes" rather than fat wallets or making a quick fortune flipping.

I hope we are actually learning from this (greed bad, saving good) and REMEMBER so we can maybe avert a future insane boom that does more harm than its limited good.

[compelled to reply]

At least people are coming to Dade to BUY those houses, even for less!