Property Tax Increases Rile Renters [North Florida]

Property Tax Increases Rile Renters [North Florida]

The news was grim last week in the over-55 mobile home park of Crystal Lake. Rents are going up $15.

But residents’ share of the property tax bill is what has them riled.

“People are upset. Everyone in here is concerned with the rent increases, but the only thing we feel we can do anything about is the property tax increase,” said Jerry Lavender, the homeowners association president who explained the increase to residents last Monday – and then drafted letters to elected officials.

Say ‘hello’ to sane housing market

Say ‘hello’ to sane housing market

If you’ve gotten the idea that the sky is falling on the real estate market, 2006 is actually one of the best years on record for home sales.

The average price of both new and existing homes combined rose a healthy 8.2 percent during the second quarter of this year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Board. It’s not the manic market of 2004-05; it’s a much saner one that has thrown some clout back in the buyer’s direction, by virtue of a bountiful inventory.

It’s not bad to make room in the driver’s seat for the consumer. In fact, it creates a healthy competition among sellers and developers to earn business. The onus is on developers to raise the bar, product-wise, in order to attract buyers. Gone are the days of dime-a-dozen deals and rank amateur Realtors raking in commissions with little or no work. The pendulum has swung back in the direction of good sense and careful decision-making.

Caught off balance [Los Angeles]

Caught off balance [Los Angeles]

Home prices dropping here, rising there and sluggish appreciation. Squeamish owners fear a sudden tumble. Experts predict a long slowdown.

Whether at the dinner table, Starbucks or just standing around the office water cooler, Question No. 1 for most property owners these days is this: Is my home’s value tanking yet, and if not, when?

The short answer is that home-price appreciation has slowed to single-digit levels in most Los Angeles County neighborhoods, homes are worth less than they were last summer in a few communities and values are falling faster than most experts anticipate

Shopping centers are now going up — and up [South Florida]

Shopping centers are now going up — and up [South Florida]

Some of South Florida’s strip shopping centers are prime candidates for vertical, mixed-use remakes. But some developers want to wait out the slowdown in the condo market.

Take a good look at the giant asphalt parking lots in front of South Florida’s strip shopping centers and malls, because in 10 or 20 years, many of them will be gone.

With land in short supply, those parking lots are an asset that many developers can no longer afford to waste.

Forced-out tenants could see more money

Forced-out tenants could see more money

Ann Silver’s landlord must pay her $500 to move out of the apartment she’s lived in for nearly 16 years — an apartment that’s about to become a condo.

But if her landlord knocked down the building and built a new condominium tower, rather than converting the apartments, Silver would get at least $2,664.

That’s because state law governs payments only to lower-income tenants displaced by building conversions, whereas Seattle has jurisdiction over other projects.

Upscale condos cater to Gator alumni, parents [North Florida]

Upscale condos cater to Gator alumni, parents [North Florida]

UF alumni are shelling out big bucks to spend football game weekends in Gainesville – and their checks aren’t going to local hotels.

More and more alumni are buying upscale condos within walking distance of UF’s campus, and developers are happy to keep up with the demand.

“This provides a unique opportunity for some of the more affluent Bull Gators and alumni to basically come back and enjoy the environment in a first-class, first-rate condominium development,” said Henry Rabell, a University Corners sales representative.