Decisions made in Tallahassee can affect South Florida Market All eyes are fixated to the northern realms of the state. What seems to be a million miles away can […]
U.S. home sales are hitting new highs by breaking through to a 10-year record. It appears buyers are not concerned with higher prices or the slight uptick in mortgage rates. […]
Decisions made in Tallahassee can affect South Florida Market
All eyes are fixated to the northern realms of the state. What seems to be a million miles away can dramatically affect life here in southern Florida.
The 2017 legislature is currently meeting, and local economists are keeping close tabs on the topics to be discussed.
Some of the issues include workers’ compensation in which lawmakers will discuss recent court rulings that make some aspects unconstitutional, the death penalty that has been on hold since 2016, and the potential to expand legalize gambling into eight additional counties.
Key issues such as how to go about implementing the voter-approved marijuana initiative, scaling back regulations in the healthcare industry, and discussions over the burden of proof in the “stand your ground” gun control laws will also be hashed out.
A great deal of the focus is on the state budget which includes over $600 million in tax cuts and increased spending for schools and hospitals, as well.
Lastly, the governor is looking to spend $160 million to increase tourism and small business initiatives to further grow the economy in Florida.
South Florida would be a huge benefactor to increased spending. The local economy depends on money brought in from tourism and the image of having a strong marketplace.
As businesses see success with more visitors and more money pours into the pockets of local employees, it should help sustain the steady housing market.
A thriving economy also helps attract investors, both domestic and foreign. Both would help prop up and grow real estate prices and sales.
All attention seems fixed on Tallahassee to see if positive moves can be made to better the State of Florida and build and sustain its local markets.
U.S. home sales are hitting new highs by breaking through to a 10-year record. It appears buyers are not concerned with higher prices or the slight uptick in mortgage rates. This would seem to be a healthy sign that home buyers have confidence in the direction of the economy.
The National Association of Realtors released a report in January showing that sales of existing homes have bumped up over 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of almost 5.7 million units. The country has not seen numbers this high since back in Februarys of 2007.
At the end of 2016 researchers had updated the numbers to over 5.5 million units from what was reported prior as 5.49 million units. National economists had previously forecasted sales to increase slightly at a 1.1 percent pace rising to 5.54 million. The National Association of Realtors also went and updated all of their numbers going back to 2014. These changes were only minor in nature and had no impact on housing market characterization.
The trends seem to be continued as sales at the beginning of 2016 were up 3.8 percent. Demand in the housing market appears to be related to the strength on the labor front, which is increasing job opportunities for the younger generation and growing their desire for home ownership.
On the other side of the data is the shortage of available properties for sale, which is naturally leading to an increase in listing prices. This point is an apparent roadblock to a robust housing marketplace. At the same time, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has seemed to level out after rising quickly over the past months; it still is over 4 percent, however. In a clear contrast to this, annual wages have grown below 3 percent.
Florida Legislative Climate Set To Change?
UncategorizedDecisions made in Tallahassee can affect South Florida Market All eyes are fixated to the northern realms of the state. What seems to be a million miles away can […]
No Signs Of Stopping
UncategorizedU.S. home sales are hitting new highs by breaking through to a 10-year record. It appears buyers are not concerned with higher prices or the slight uptick in mortgage rates. […]