Florida's condo crisis: Is it bad enough to call a special legislative session?
The unintended consequences of the state's new law designed to ensure the safety of condo buildings is being felt throughout the state. While the vast majority of those affected buildings are in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, condo associations from the Keys to Tallahassee are struggling to cope with its fallout. Gov. Ron DeSantis is concerned enough that he has called on the Legislature to fix the new condo safety law this year. [Source: Gainesville Sun]
See also:
» Florida’s new condo laws are controversial, but here’s why they make sense
Tenants battle vermin, sewage in investor-owned mobile home parks
Mobile home parks often serve as a last resort for vulnerable people struggling to afford the record-high cost of living. Experts say they fear investment firms prey on immigrants, low-income families, formerly incarcerated residents and others who have nowhere else to go. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida real estate software firm brings AI to the industry
Realty Dynamics, a Florida-wide real estate data platform, extrapolates data from all 67 counties from websites like local property appraisers, zoning ordinances, floodplain maps and more, serving as a one-stop-shop for the real estate community looking for developable sites across the state. [Source: First Coast Inno]
Some Florida residents plan to sell homes, leave state after hurricane season: 'We're done'
After back-to-back storms this hurricane season, many residents are planning to sell their homes to either move out of flood zones, or out of the Sunshine State completely. Some wasted no time with a contract for a new home. "We're not going to move back into this house, it was a very traumatic, and I don’t want to go through this again," said Jody Hameroff, a St. Petersburg resident. [Source: Fox Weather]
More flooded homes on the market being sold 'as-is'
Among all the debris still left to pick up after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, “For Sale” signs are popping up across the Tampa Bay area. Owners are selling dozens of properties “as-is,” wanting cash offers with no contingencies. Some are facing a short sale if they’re underwater on the mortgage. It’s happening in every county where homes flooded, from Sarasota to Pasco, sometimes at prices far below what the owner paid for it. [Source: WTSP]
$1.45 million
Key Biscayne remains among the most expensive Zip codes in the state, with a 2024 median selling price of $1.45 million on closed home sales. [Source: Islander News]
› Treasure Coast in 'seller's market' one month before Hurricane Milton
The Treasure Coast real estate market in September saw more homes listed, fewer homes sold in St. Lucie County, an increased median sale price in Martin County and longer wait times to get a signed contract compared to August, according to local Realtor data. Active listings totaled 4,107 in September, not quite surpassing pre-COVID pandemic numbers that peaked at 4,293 in March 2020.
› Long-haul trucking, entertainment bosses buy South Florida homes
In the latest roundup of South Florida luxury residential deals, long-haul trucking and entertainment moguls bought homes. Deals spanned Miami to Palm Beach Gardens, and ranged in price from $8.5 million to $12.7 million. In Miami, the founders of a long-haul trucking, transportation and logistics company bought a waterfront teardown in the gated Bay Point neighborhood for $12.5 million.
› Orlando won’t offer affordable-housing tax breaks. Will Orange County be next?
Orlando became the latest — and largest — government in Central Florida to deny property tax breaks for affordable housing developments that previously qualified for the incentives under a Florida pro-housing law. Orange County may follow suit this week.
› A village on the bay? Miami voters to decide on $2 billion projects for Watson Island
A city-owned Miami island that has languished as a graveyard of ambitious redevelopment ideas for more than two decades could now become a bayfront destination with 40-story luxury condo towers, new hotels and a 13-acre public park. Next month, city of Miami voters will decide the fate of Watson Island, which could transform from a largely vacant tract of land into a 30-acre village on the water.