Buyers' income rises along with home prices

A three-year study of buyers’ incomes shows the impetus for rising home prices in many of the nation’s hottest cities. A study by Redfin created a top-10 list of metros where buyers’ median income grew the most between 2019 and 2021. Of those, four are in Florida. Nationally, buyers’ incomes grew 6.8%; in those Florida metros, it hovered around 17%. [Source: Florida Trend]

Opinion: Don't count on Florida's new arrivals to go back to New York

The New York Post recently published an article by Steve Cuozzo, titled “Listen up, New York — Florida sucks, and you’ll all be back in five years.” While it’s old news that New Yorkers of all ages have been leaving the tax-ridden Empire State to move to Florida, what we have seen with certainty is that the multitudes of New Yorkers migrating to Florida since COVID are putting down roots and are here to stay. Contrary to Cuozzo’s article, the migration to Florida is a permanent relocation, not a short-lived honeymoon. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

Will fight over property insurance roil Florida governor’s race?

Florida’s long-simmering property insurance crisis is reaching a boiling point ahead of a closely watched gubernatorial race that could test the mettle of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Republican with presidential aspirations. DeSantis is the frontrunner in Florida’s gubernatorial race, but in recent weeks has faced attacks from Democratic challengers, who have sought to persuade primary voters that the incumbent is responsible for the state’s failing property insurance market. [Source: Roll Call]

Florida real estate community weighs in on proposed out-of-state homebuyer tax

A slippery slope. A move in the wrong direction. The potential to do more harm than good. These were some of the skeptical reactions Orlando’s Realtor and homebuilding communities had to Florida Sen. Randolph Bracy’s recent proposal of a tax on out-of-state homebuyers in Orange County. Meanwhile, an affordable housing nonprofit thinks the idea could be beneficial — with some tweaks. However, the idea gives pause to the local real estate professionals who count on out-of-state buyers as a big chunk of their customer base. [Source: Orlando Business Journal]

Where do the wealthy want to live in South Florida? More are turning to Broward luxury

The county saw an 18% increase in sales for houses and condos priced above $1 million when comparing sales data for the first half of 2022 to 2021, according to the Multiple Listing Service and the latest Keyes/Illustrated luxury report. Broward had a total of 1,691 closings, up from 1,387. Miami-Dade, in comparison, saw more deals but a slowdown in year-over-year activity. The county saw a 2% decline in transactions, to 3,146 closings from 3,217 during that same period. [Source: Miami Herald]

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› Meet the commercial brokers making bank in Miami [The Real Deal]
When Brian Gale took on 830 Brickell four years ago, he felt pretty good about his chances of getting it leased. The 55-story tower being developed by Vlad Doronin’s OKO Group and Jonathan Goldstein’s Cain International will be the neighborhood’s first standalone Class-A project in roughly a decade, so there were no rivals to worry about. Plus, rent and occupancy numbers were on the up.

› Messy kitchen? Young renters, home buyers want a modern set of amenities [Miami Herald]
Messy kitchens. Concierge services. Coworking spaces. Connections to local businesses. These and other features are the amenities housing professionals are recommending that builders and developers offer homebuyers going forward. “What consumers want in a community is shifting, requiring master plan and rental community developers to rethink once-standard amenities and respond to changing needs,” says Maegan Sherlock, a research analyst with the John Burns Real Estate Consulting firm.

› Kroger sells Manatee County property for $4.3 million to hospital [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
An air of mystery has surrounded the former Albertsons store in Bradenton, which had been owned by supermarket giant Kroger since late 2020. But now it looks like there's no chance a grocery store will be coming to the vacant building. Kroger sold the former supermarket property at 75th Street West and Manatee Avenue West for $4.3 million to Manatee Memorial Hospital on June 24, county records show.

› Gainesville commission gives first OK to elimination of exclusionary zoning [Gainesville Sun]
A split vote during the Gainesville City Commission meeting on Thursday has put the city on pace to become the first in the state to eliminate single-family zoning. It was the first of two needed votes that came in around midnight after a crowd of nearly 100 people showed up to oppose the zoning change, while only about a dozen supported it. The 4-3 vote calls for small-scale, multi-family housing throughout the city, affecting up to 63% of Gainesville's residential properties.