Angel Chavez and his wife Maria, originally from Cuba, lived in Miami for more than 30 years until spiraling costs and a collapsing real estate market pushed them to find another home.
"It was an extremely hard decision we had to make, but it was either we leave Florida or we lose everything we have," said Mr. Chavez, who left two adult sons in Florida. "It was like emigrating all over again."
The Florida Chamber Foundation reported earlier this year that while the state continued to attract residents from the Northeast and the Midwest, Florida became a net exporter of residents to other Southern states.
Tony Carvajal, executive vice president of the foundation, said several factors are affecting Florida.
"For the last 100 years we have been a state that was built on real (low-cost) land, low-cost labor, low utilities," he said. "The population explosion that we had over the last five years, particularly 2004-2005 ... (has) just put a huge strain on our entire construction -- land, utilities, and insurance -- markets, which also coincides with eight hurricanes (in a two-year period) that hit our shores."
According to the Chamber Foundation, the state's population increased by 2.1 million residents from 2000 through 2006, reaching 18 million. Florida now is the nation's fourth-largest state and is projected to surpass New York in population within the next few years.
There aren't any specific numbers on how many Cuban families have moved to the Chattanooga area in recent years, but the Chavezes said they know of about 15. Mr. Chavez said population growth, the high cost of living and the stress made it impossible to live in Miami.
"I love Miami, but it was just becoming too aggressive for us," he said.
Their home insurance had increased from $4,000 to $10,000 in one year, and their real estate business had been paralyzed by an epidemic of foreclosures, he said.
According to the Miami Herald, as of Dec. 6, 20,475 foreclosures had been filed in Miami-Dade County, or about 1 in 32 homes, compared to fewer than 10,000 foreclosures in 2006.
Mr. Chavez, who came to Chattanooga six months ago with his wife and a daughter, said they relocated here because they loved the city during previous visits, and they had family and friends who came here before them.
J.Ed. Marston, vice president of marketing and communications with the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, said groups of people who move to the city promote it among friends and family.
"(This) helps our economy in a number of ways: Bringing new people with new skills into our community, helps organically grow our tax base, and creates a richer diversity in our community," he said.
Marlene Blewett had lived in Florida since her family left Cuba when she was 2 years old. But Mrs. Blewett and her husband Thomas, originally from Oklahoma, decided to relocate in Chattanooga, where their daughter lived, after they realized they wouldn't be able to retire with the increasingly high cost of living in Florida.
"We had our own business in pavement maintenance, and it was going well, but my husband was working seven days a week," Mrs. Blewett said. "We knew that if we wanted to leave we had to do it soon because home prices were just going up."
Mrs. Blewett, who has been living in Signal Mountain for three months, said the move was "very difficult at first."
"It was hard leaving my family behind. ... I even used to cry at the beginning, but I think we made the right choice," she said.
E-mail Perla Trevizo at ptrevizo@timesfreepress.com
CHANGES IN FLORIDA
* Population increased by 2.1 million residents between 2000 and 2006, reaching a total of 18 million.
* Median house prices went from $158,400 in 2003 to $248,300 in 2006.
* An estimated 34 percent of major urban roads are congested during peak periods.
I am one of those who will "migrate" to the Chattanooga area too. I have land in Lookout Mountain. There is no way on this planet I will be sticking round here in Miami during old age.
Lots of Cuban - Americans are moving back to Cuba with nice pensions !!!
Cubaking Wrote:Lots of Cuban - Americans are moving back to Cuba with nice pensions !!!
Oh, I'm sure of that...........
It is becoming very difficult for elderly Cubans to stay in Miami. Few had jobs with pensions...and were too busy raising a family to save for their old age. Many have had to cancel their homeowner policy because they can't afford the $3K + annual premiums.
The housing market and property taxes in this area are comparable to many parts of the NJ..without the same higher salaries to offset the high cost of living. Most employers pay in So. FL as it were the deep south.
In my job I have been witnessing a significant exudus to northern FL and to NC specially.
This will continue as I do not see any solution in the short or long term.
The number of houses for sale in most of So Fl is incredible.
The number of empty condos around Miami is also incredible..less and less foreign investments...they are going elsewhere.
Mercy I dont know if you could stand the colder temps in tennessee check them out right now: colder there; than here in south eastern ontario can ,esp there at higher elevations hard to beat miami :
frodo Wrote:Mercy I dont know if you could stand the colder temps in tennessee check them out right now: colder there; than here in south eastern ontario can ,esp there at higher elevations hard to beat miami :
frodo, i was raised in new jersey so i know what the cold weather is like. i will admit though my skin has become "thin" to the cold. now, arnaldo, (the hubby) is another story. 2 nights ago, the temps plunged to about 32f. the man slept with long pajama pants, socks and a long sleeve shirt. he was under two covers and kept telling me to "ven pa'ca". i thought it was GREAT! i hate the heat.
Mercy I will admit it was -22c wed night and thurs morning but has become to moderate by the first of next week maybe get up to 12c here it can change very fast from one extreme to the other; here we use electric blankets really cozy and no weight on you: last night power was off for two hours during the night house was starting to cool off but I have a generator for back up never had to use it yet not cheap to run gas today up to 1.15 a liter in some places cheaper to go to the states to fill up with dollar at par cheers;
frodo Wrote:Mercy I will admit it was -22c wed night and thurs morning but has become to moderate by the first of next week maybe get up to 12c here it can change very fast from one extreme to the other; here we use electric blankets really cozy and no weight on you: last night power was off for two hours during the night house was starting to cool off but I have a generator for back up never had to use it yet not cheap to run gas today up to 1.15 a liter in some places cheaper to go to the states to fill up with dollar at par cheers;
Electric Blankets? Dios Mio. I didn't think they made those things anymore.
I have never liked to use the heaters in the home. They dry up my nose and I can't stand the smell. I would rather just bundle up. I remember when I was a kid up in Jersey, my father always used to turn on the heater. I hated it. Then again, I was a kid. Maybe now since I have been "declimatised" I would turn it on is 12F weather.
Pain Street USA: '08 housing outlook
The forecast is for a longer, deeper home-price slump than previously expected, with double-digit declines in many markets.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The United States is deep in its worst housing slump since the Great Depression, and according to a new report, it's not going to get better any time soon.
In a new survey, Moody's Economy.com says many metro areas will record losses of 20 percent or more during the downturn, with the national median price for single-family homes dropping 13 percent through early 2009. Factoring in discount offers from sellers, the actual price decline would be well over 15 percent.
Eighty of the 381 metro areas covered by the report will record double-digit losses, according to the report. Most of the worst-hit markets are in once high-flying areas, such as California and Florida.
Home spiff-ups for all seasons
The steep losses were bound to arrive sometime. Throughout the housing slump, which began in the summer of 2006, experts kept expecting prices to tumble, but it wasn't until recently that they dropped substantially, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com.
"There has been a sea change in seller psychology since the subprime shock this summer," he said. "Sellers now realize they have to drop their prices to make a sale and prices are coming down very rapidly in some markets."
One such place is Punta Gorda, Fla. In Moody's outlook, prices there will undergo the steepest correction of any U.S. market. From their peak during the first three months of 2006, to their bottom, forecast for the second quarter of 2009, prices will decline 35.3 percent. That's in nominal dollars; adjusted for inflation, the loss will be even greater.
Other metro areas expected to go through crushing price drops include: Stockton, Calif., where prices are forecast to drop 31.6 percent, Modesto, Calif. (-31.3 percent), Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (-30.4 percent) and Naples, Fla. (-29.6 percent).
The worst hit market outside the Sun Belt is expected to be Ocean City, N.J. where prices will fall 24.9 percent, according to Moody's. Prices in St. George, Utah (-21.8 percent), Grand Junction, Colo. (-18.9 percent) and Atlantic City, N.J. (-18.6 percent) will also suffer. In the Washington, D.C. metro area, Moody's forecasts a decline of 18.4 percent.
Home prices are being pulled down by an even more severe decline in home sales, which Moody's expects to bottom out in early 2008, when unit sales will be down more than 40 percent from their peak.
Home builders continued to add to inventory even as the slump got well under way, contributing to what is now an 11-month back-log of homes for sale, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Many of these homes are sitting completely empty: The Census Bureau reported a total of 2.1 million vacant homes for sale. Vacant homes add pressure on prices because owners of these houses are usually more willing to slash prices to move the properties. They cost out-of-pocket cash each month while providing neither income nor shelter.
Even though home construction has now contracted severely - the Census Bureau reported Tuesday that new housing starts were down to an annualized rate of 1.187 million units in November, the lowest in 16 years - it will take time to work through the excess inventory.
The housing slump will have a substantial impact on the overall economy, according to Moody's, which says it will depress real gross domestic product by more than a percentage point this year and by 1.5 percentage points in 2008.
Speculative investment in the mid-2000s helped fuel the current slump. Zandi pointed out that 16 percent of mortgage originations during 2005 were for non-owner-occupied housing, twice the number of a few years earlier.
"And that's a very conservative estimate of investor demand," he said. "Many home buyers lied on their mortgage applications." That's because interest rates are lower for owner/occupied dwellings.
Buying for investment was especially prevalent in many resort areas, such as Ocean City, N.J. Many buyers were betting they could hold onto the property for a short time and sell it for a quick profit, a difficult feat to finesse, considering the high transactional costs. Many speculators came late to the party and got caught in the slump. Now their properties are adding to mountainous inventories.
Another factor was excessive new home construction, especially in once hot markets. As prices skyrocketed, builders rushed to take advantage of the increases, contributing to the now high inventories.
Also adding homes to markets was the increase in foreclosure filings. When lenders take back properties, they put them back on the markets. Foreclosures have just about doubled this year.
For the slump to end, much of the excess inventory will have to be worked through. Zandi doesn't envision that happening much before 2010, which he forecasts to be a very modest recovery year with low, single-digit growth.
Pain Street USA: '08 housing outlook
The forecast is for a longer, deeper home-price slump than previously expected, with double-digit declines in many markets.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The United States is deep in its worst housing slump since the Great Depression, and according to a new report, it's not going to get better any time soon.
In a new survey, Moody's Economy.com says many metro areas will record losses of 20 percent or more during the downturn, with the national median price for single-family homes dropping 13 percent through early 2009. Factoring in discount offers from sellers, the actual price decline would be well over 15 percent.
Eighty of the 381 metro areas covered by the report will record double-digit losses, according to the report. Most of the worst-hit markets are in once high-flying areas, such as California and Florida.
Home spiff-ups for all seasons
The steep losses were bound to arrive sometime. Throughout the housing slump, which began in the summer of 2006, experts kept expecting prices to tumble, but it wasn't until recently that they dropped substantially, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com.
"There has been a sea change in seller psychology since the subprime shock this summer," he said. "Sellers now realize they have to drop their prices to make a sale and prices are coming down very rapidly in some markets."
One such place is Punta Gorda, Fla. In Moody's outlook, prices there will undergo the steepest correction of any U.S. market. From their peak during the first three months of 2006, to their bottom, forecast for the second quarter of 2009, prices will decline 35.3 percent. That's in nominal dollars; adjusted for inflation, the loss will be even greater.
Other metro areas expected to go through crushing price drops include: Stockton, Calif., where prices are forecast to drop 31.6 percent, Modesto, Calif. (-31.3 percent), Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (-30.4 percent) and Naples, Fla. (-29.6 percent).
The worst hit market outside the Sun Belt is expected to be Ocean City, N.J. where prices will fall 24.9 percent, according to Moody's. Prices in St. George, Utah (-21.8 percent), Grand Junction, Colo. (-18.9 percent) and Atlantic City, N.J. (-18.6 percent) will also suffer. In the Washington, D.C. metro area, Moody's forecasts a decline of 18.4 percent.
Home prices are being pulled down by an even more severe decline in home sales, which Moody's expects to bottom out in early 2008, when unit sales will be down more than 40 percent from their peak.
Home builders continued to add to inventory even as the slump got well under way, contributing to what is now an 11-month back-log of homes for sale, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Many of these homes are sitting completely empty: The Census Bureau reported a total of 2.1 million vacant homes for sale. Vacant homes add pressure on prices because owners of these houses are usually more willing to slash prices to move the properties. They cost out-of-pocket cash each month while providing neither income nor shelter.
Even though home construction has now contracted severely - the Census Bureau reported Tuesday that new housing starts were down to an annualized rate of 1.187 million units in November, the lowest in 16 years - it will take time to work through the excess inventory.
The housing slump will have a substantial impact on the overall economy, according to Moody's, which says it will depress real gross domestic product by more than a percentage point this year and by 1.5 percentage points in 2008.
Speculative investment in the mid-2000s helped fuel the current slump. Zandi pointed out that 16 percent of mortgage originations during 2005 were for non-owner-occupied housing, twice the number of a few years earlier.
"And that's a very conservative estimate of investor demand," he said. "Many home buyers lied on their mortgage applications." That's because interest rates are lower for owner/occupied dwellings.
Buying for investment was especially prevalent in many resort areas, such as Ocean City, N.J. Many buyers were betting they could hold onto the property for a short time and sell it for a quick profit, a difficult feat to finesse, considering the high transactional costs. Many speculators came late to the party and got caught in the slump. Now their properties are adding to mountainous inventories.
Another factor was excessive new home construction, especially in once hot markets. As prices skyrocketed, builders rushed to take advantage of the increases, contributing to the now high inventories.
Also adding homes to markets was the increase in foreclosure filings. When lenders take back properties, they put them back on the markets. Foreclosures have just about doubled this year.
For the slump to end, much of the excess inventory will have to be worked through. Zandi doesn't envision that happening much before 2010, which he forecasts to be a very modest recovery year with low, single-digit growth.
If your home's value increased by 40% and it devaluates by 20%, you still made 20%.
Sometimes, these frigging analysts should find other employment.
property over 3 years ago. Those who purchased recently are fucked.
I looked a a two unit building with a duplexable attic in a great area. It's in foreclosure and was listed for $569,900. They need a quick sale and dropped the price to $399,900. I gave an offer for $350,000.
Fingers crossed.
wotan Wrote:property over 3 years ago. Those who purchased recently are fucked.
I looked a a two unit building with a duplexable attic in a great area. It's in foreclosure and was listed for $569,900. They need a quick sale and dropped the price to $399,900. I gave an offer for $350,000.
Fingers crossed.
oh i agree. whomever purchased property within the last 3 years is totally screwed because they purchased at the height of the boom.
maybe your seller can look into a "short sale". many lenders are willing to do this. remember lenders are NOT realtors. they really don't want your property they want your money.
you have no idea how many closing are being scapped because people just don't have equity in their homes anymore. most of the people refinancing don't have money to pay their real estate taxes. it's mufugly out there.
here in florida, the governor is pushing for lowering property taxes, raising the homestead exemption to $50,000.00 and the BEST one is for the seller to be able to take their tax status to the new property.
this goes to the polls sometime in january. already the fire department, teachers and police men are out there campaining for the "no vote" since this will ultimately affect their pay.
Maybe not their pay......but there job. It'll never pass