Hurricane season finds homeowners insurance blowing in the wind

| 6/26/2023

Hurricane season finds homeowners insurance blowing in the wind

The Florida home insurance market remains volatile in 2023 for insurance companies and consumers alike. According to Jennifer Gimbel, senior managing editor and home insurance expert at Policygenious, “costly hurricane losses, expensive lawsuits stemming from fraudulent roof damage claims, and high inflation have put increased financial strain on insurance carriers in Florida.” This has caused multiple insurance companies to go insolvent or leave the state in the past year. [Source: Miami Today]

This is the least expensive housing market in Florida

Of the 66 counties in Florida with available data from Realtor.com and at least 10 homes actively listed, Hamilton County has the least expensive housing market. As of May 2023, the median list price in the area was $232,000, compared to the statewide median list price of $475,000. [Source: The Center Square]

Artefacto launches its first U.S. real estate venture in South Florida

VDA | Origin Miami, a Chilean development company, has formed a partnership with home-furnishings brand Artefacto to create Origin Residences by Artefacto, a 27-unit condominium project under development at 9760 W. Bay Harbor Drive in Bay Harbor Islands. It will be the first real estate venture in the United States for both VDA and Artefacto. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

St. Petersburg apartments sit vacant after high rise project stalls out

The fate of a historic apartment complex in downtown St. Petersburg hangs in the balance while the owners decide what to do with the property nearly four years after it was set to be demolished. In 2019, historic preservationists lost a battle to save a cluster of 1920s-era buildings across from the Mirror Lake Community Library after the city approved a plan to raze the complex and replace it with a 21-story tower. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

New study shows rent prices have stabilized across South Florida

New numbers released Friday suggest rent prices in South Florida are starting to level off. Florida Atlantic University professor Dr. Ken Johnson is one of the leading experts on real estate and housing trends. "Our population growth here in Palm Beach County is exceptional," he said. "In Martin and St. Lucie counties, the growth is wildly exceptional." [Source: WPTV]

STAT OF THE WEEK
$123 million
The new owners of Tampa’s Urban Centre paid $123 million for the iconic property. The iconic two-building office complex has been a landmark in the city since 1984. [Source: Business Observer]

ALSO TRENDING:

› Brevard home prices walk, but not sprint, toward summer peak in May [Florida Today]
Brevard's home sale prices are continuing their climb to another summer hot streak. According to the Space Coast Association of Realtors, the median single-family home price in Brevard for May was $371,450. While that's a less than 1% drop from the price from May 2022, it represents an $11,000 jump from April's median price of $360,000. The median sales prices is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

› The $1.2B deal to sell last big piece of undeveloped Miami waterfront called off [Miami Herald]
A group led by Miami developer David Martin has canceled its record-setting $1.2 billion agreement to buy the former site of the Miami Herald’s headquarters, the largest piece of undeveloped downtown waterfront land, from Malaysian casino operator Genting. The announcement, made in a brief joint statement by Genting and Smart City Miami, the entity formed to develop the vacant 15.5-acre site, came as a deadline approached for closing of the sale. The preliminary deal was announced at the end of April.

› Buying a first home in Tampa Bay takes over a decade of savings [Axios]
Navigating Tampa Bay's housing market, especially as a first-timer, isn't easy. The share of first-time buyers in the U.S. has reached record lows — dropping from 34% to 26% from 2021 to 2022 — as inventory and affordability issues persist, per a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

› This Florida golf resort years in the making might finally be on the right path [Golfweek]
A new day could be dawning for the Banyan Cay Resort & Golf. A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a $102.1 million bid by Westside Property Investment Co. Inc. to buy the long-delayed hotel complex. The sale is expected to close on July 25. The property could have sold for more money were it not for a rising interest-rate environment that scared away other bidders and their bank lenders, said Banyan Cay lawyer Joseph Pack.

Tags: Real Estate eNews

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