Maybe a lot more people are leaving Florida than anyone has reported. The canary in the coal mine? Palm Beach County, which is not only home to the super rich. The real estate market is tanking, according to a report prepared by a local real estate company. “Newly signed contracts fell month over month for the first time in five months, as new listings fell for the second time in three months,” said the authors. Via BocaNews.com:
The numbers tell the story, and the story is a horror story. When it comes to newly signed contracts comparing April of 2023 with April of 2022: homes valued at under $300,000 saw a 24-percent drop in the number of homes going under contract. For homes valued from $300k to $399k, the drop is 15-percent. For homes valued between $400k and $499k, there’s a 26-percent drop in newly signed contracts.
For homes valued between $500k and $999k, the drop is 26-percent. For homes in the $1M to $2.99M range, the number of newly signed contracts comparing April of 2023 to April of 2022 is down eight percent. For homes valued between $3M and $4.99M, the drop is 48-percent.
Twenty-four percent drop in contracts for affordable homes, huh? So people end up paying more for their insurance than their mortgages. Guess Florida is not such a great place for middle-class snowbirds. They might soon be flying away, probably to North Carolina, where they can still afford to live.
Oh, and let's not forget all the local businesses losing employees due to Rhonda's draconian new immigration laws! Which, by the way, also block foreign real estate investors.
Plus, with a tsunami of casino cash flowing into the pockets of state politicians, Big Development is looking forward to turning the state into Las Vegas By The Sea. You can bet Florida politicians are planning to get rich off the transition.