South Florida Housing Market

[Dave Gray]

I think the solution is to disallow (or severely tax) any corporation purchasing a residential home that they aren't living in.

We have to stop looking at homes we don't live in as assets where you exploit someone else's living situation for profit.  That's what apartments are for; they are zoned differently.

If you want to have a home, fine.  Low taxes.
If you want a 2nd home, fine.   More taxes.

But you can't have big LLCs buying 100s of units up to flip for profit.  And you can't have foreign investment of any kind, as they will crash our economy.

[Spider-Dan]

"if you want communism, move back to California"

Sorry to say it Dave, but if you're looking for government regulation to solve your problems in Florida, you're gonna have a bad time.  CA also has ridiculous housing prices, Sacramento is much more amenable to regulatory solutions than Tallahassee, and even we have problems getting new housing regulations past all the NIMBYs who want to protect their assets.

[Dave Gray]

I don't have any faith that it will happen, but it's the solution, I think.

I'm a capitalist for the overall economy, in general.  But for things like this that are required to live, like housing, we can't leave it up to the free market because people will get chewed up and spit out.  You have to intervene and make it only for people who are trying to live and not for those trying to make a buck on someone else's desperation.

[DenverFinFan]

1. Build
2. Ban AIRBNB
3. Build some more
4. Some form of rent control

[pondwater]

These type issues work themselves out over time. It's happening in the used car market right now. These companies are overbidding regular buyers in an already overvalued market. When the bubble eventually pops they won't be able to flip them for profit and their balance sheet will look like shit, just like Carvana. You're supposed to buy low and sell high, not the inverse. The whole business model is unsustainable over time.

[Phishfan]

I'm pretty sure we already tax a homestead different than investment property. You need to come to the table with more Dave because you aren't really proposing anything there. How do you identify "foreign investors ".

I get your frustration  but I see no solution for the problems mentioned and I think you missed some. I am a transplant but that is our biggest issue. We need to stop residents of other states moving here. Prices are inflated because demand is high. Simple economics

[Spider-Dan]

We need to stop residents of other states moving here.

I know you don't literally mean this, but such an act would be highly illegal (and explicitly unconstitutional).

[pondwater]

I know you don't literally mean this, but such an act would be highly illegal (and explicitly unconstitutional).

Well, I'm not sure if this would have any legal restrictions or if it would somehow be illegal. But you only get a state income tax exemption after a certain number of years as a full resident of the state. Everyone already a resident is grandfathered in at no state income tax. Everyone else pays state 10% state income tax for a specified period.

But then again, I'm sure that the state government actually wants people moving here and aren't too worried about the housing bubble that will eventually pop

[CF DolFan]

But then again, I'm sure that the state government actually wants people moving here and aren't too worried about the housing bubble that will eventually pop

Yes, I don't see our govornment trying to dissuade people from monving here. Besides, although higher to live most of the state isn't anywhere near what is going on in South Florida. One of my inspectors came to Central Florida from Miami to try it out and now he and his wife have decided to stay. They are renting their 1200 sq ft home out back in Miami for enough to pay the mortgage and their rent on a bigger home here in Orlando. It's crazy.

[Fau Teixeira]

This is one of the reasons that i moved to CT. My mortgage is less than my rent was in Boynton Beach .. it wasn't even in a fancy neighborhood or anything.

Governmental solutions can only work if there is political willingness to make it happen.
Assuming that actually happens (it won't), the solution I'd see working is the following:

- Tax any vacant properties at 20% of the home value / year, if it's empty for 5 years, you forfeit the house to the government.
- Tax rental incomes 50% for any amount 30% over the mortgage/tax/insurance payment of the property.
- Increase property tax 10% for every home after the 1st someone (or corporation) owns, you own 11 homes, you pay 100% more property taxes.

[Brian Fein]

Corporate housing buyers are the biggest problem in my community.  These companies swoop in and overbid on every property that goes up for sale, leaving people to have no choice but to rent from them.  They won't stop until they own the entire community.  They just sit back and collect rent.  They don't care about who they rent to, they don't care about the property or community.  Meanwhile, anyone who wants to buy a home for their family to live has to either overpay or find another place to live.  And, the community goes to crap because they generally neglect the home and have no pride of ownership that a homeowner would.

[SlothVomit]

I was renting a 3br/2ba in lake worth in May 2019 for $1800/month with a buddy. I was forced to move out because by the end of my lease, May 2021, they wanted $2800/month. This was a corporate housing company that bought up half, if not more, of the community I was in. At the time I was single so living by myself was and still is impossible. I now live in a condo with my better half in WPB, but rent has nearly doubled here as well. We have decided to move north. We are scouting TN because land is cheaper and we are looking into modular homes. We just want a good chunk of land and build from there. We can't get that in south Fl. You couldn't pay me to stay here. Zero lot lines, HOA, traffic and folks here are miserable SOBs.

[Spider-Dan]

Zero lot lines

What does this mean?

[Fau Teixeira]

What does this mean?

it's where the home wall touches the lot line .. so you have no land that you own in between you and neighbors lot

[Spider-Dan]

Does this mean the homes touch, like row houses?