By Mike Fink

February 14, 2007 4:50 PM | Link to this

As for housing, “This may not be the worst housing collapse in history, but it will be in the top three,” he said.

I will bet money that in this comes right after 1929 as the worst housing downturn in FL history. On a national scale? I think top 1 or 2. We have never really had a national housing bubble like this before, so it would not shock me if we hit number 1 in equity lost over the next few years.

1929 will be impossible to top (imho) because of the percentage declines. However, in monetary terms, we are going to surpass that by many times over (even inflation adjusted) because so many more people are involved.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zecon14feb14,0,663558.story?coll=sfla-business-headlines

By Rawls Rawks

February 14, 2007 5:03 PM | Link to this

Come on. Now all we need is Pat to post and we will have all four post on the same day and easy will explode.

By Dan

February 14, 2007 5:05 PM | Link to this

I know if a big developement would come into Jupiter Village,like they did in Briny Breeze and offer me the price what the residents got.I sign the papers tomorrow.

By Green Grass and High Tides

February 14, 2007 5:53 PM | Link to this

By we are leaving

February 12, 2007 11:00 AM | Link to this

I just wanted to let everyone know here that we are moving. We are breaking our lease and moving to Dothan, Alabama. We just got back from there late last night and it is wonderful.

My husband is going to get a job at a car dealership as a mechanic, and I can stay home because our rent is going to be $425 a month instead of the $875 we are paying here.

The little man just can’t get a head in these parts of Florida and we are just fesd up with the nasty people and how much everything costs. We stopped going to the beach. The sand just blows in your face anyway. My husband gets tired of looking at all those boats that must cost $50000 with those big engines. I for one cannot wait to stay home with my kids. We plan on growing some food too. We tried that here acouple of years ago, but it all burnt out and the neighbors I think trampled our beans.

Good bye south Flordia. I hope your happy that the working man can’t get a head dowen here.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

By we are leaving

February 12, 2007 11:29 AM | Link to this

and one more thing. my husband can park his truck right up next to the house unlike here where we have to park it in the parking lot with the other tenants. Do you know how hard it is to walk up too flights of stares carrying food and stuff.

in Dothan, we can park right next to the front door because its all grass and the owner said he deosnt care if we park closer to the door becuase its all grass anyway.

You try and do that in this place and someone will call the manager lady.

good bye again

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

I hope this dizzy broad reads that blog by Alexandra

That is a classic!

Hey Melissa and Kai Ramadan, head up yonder to Georgia or North Carolina. Carolina Gal will get you in the porn industry!!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH HJAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

By beat me too it

February 14, 2007 6:05 PM | Link to this

I swear to god i was just looking for that post from that woman from just the other day who said she was moving to bama and you beat me too it.

same state, same industry. that is too funny. i wonder what that husband and wife will think now after they read this. i cannot believe how funny that is. the soda i was drinking is now all over my computer screen i was laughing so hard.

Oh My!!!! Mr Fink, you better think quick. Eeasyasabc and the others will be all over this like redneck kids on a nascar carnival ride!!!

By New York Resident

February 14, 2007 7:57 PM | Link to this

Stay where you are. Are you nuts? We are buried in over 120 inches of snow in Oswego New York. Want to move here????

As soon as the snow melts here and I get a buyer for my house, I am moving to Palm Beach county. I don’t care how much the insurance is or how much the property taxes are.

Right now I am paying $8200 a year for property taxes and am buried in snow. You guys kill me with your complaints there. Move here and you will have something to moan and groan about. Shoveling til I drop.

By Dan

February 14, 2007 8:13 PM | Link to this

To,the New York resident are you ready for hurricanes,long wait at the store,gas stations and the humidity when the power goes out?If you want to move to a hot and humid state like Florida,move to Texas,where there is no state tax like Florida,but the taxes and houses are a lot cheaper.

By to dan

February 14, 2007 8:18 PM | Link to this

why do the little boys try and play with the big dogs.

if the little boys can’t handle it, please put down the oil filter, step away from my car, and take the next greyhound with you and your pregnant 18 yr old girlfriend and get back to texas.

By Dan

February 14, 2007 8:33 PM | Link to this

I will just do that with a large amount of cash,when I sell my house to a dumb yankee.

By To New York Resident

February 14, 2007 10:24 PM | Link to this

It will take more than the snow to melt to sell your house for you people in the northeast hoping to move to Florida.

The problem is that you people in the northeast are G-R-E-E-D-Y.

You are all asking $200,000 to $300,000 more than the median price home here in Palm Beach County. Yeah, I looked at your frame farmhouse dumps that you are asking $$750,000 for. Who is going to pay that much for old frame farmhouses in an area that is cold, depressing, and has all that snow.

You people in the northeast think you can sell your dumps, pocket the money and come to Florida and make low offers on our beautiful homes.That is not going to happen. You will all be enjoying another winter like this one next year because you are overpriced and can’t sell yourselves there.

To people selling here: So many people up north are trying to sell and move here. They read these blogs and follow our market. I know of 3 different buyers in 3 different states who have had their own homes on market in the northeast for over 18 months. And not one of them has dropped the price of their own home one penny but hope to steal a home here once they sell there. All 3 buyers have homes that they are asking over $700,000 and they are OLD homes made of frame.

The REAL REASON why people are not buying here is that they cannot sell their own home in the northeast because they are too greedy and unrealistic in the prices of their homes.

You people can’t take it with you. Don’t drop dead shoveling that snow and don’t get sick from that weather either. In the meantime, I will enjoy my golf and tennis this weekend. Enjoy your winters you FOOLS.

By LMAO

February 15, 2007 2:51 AM | Link to this

Did you see the PB Post trying to cover their butts on the latest news?

FORECLOSURES IN PBC DOWN 42% — but just you wait! you’ll see!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

This dreaded foreclosure rate we are talking about turns out to be less than 1 in 800 houses.

Can there be bigger fools in the world than Fink, RCA and the PB Post?

By Mike Fink

February 15, 2007 3:09 AM | Link to this

Well, maybe the foreclosure rate is 1 out of 800 NOW, but 1 out of 50 people are in jail. And if all those people in jail start having their houses foreclosed, well just you wait.

By Mike Fink

February 15, 2007 6:26 AM | Link to this

That was not me who posted at 3:09AM. As I doubt there is another person out there with my name interested in S. FL RE, do me a favor and find your own handle.

LMAO,

Did you even read that article? Perhaps you should before you start enjoying the “recovery” of the housing market.

Such good news is expected to be short-lived, however, as most housing experts forecast that the worst is yet to come on the foreclosure front - both locally and nationally - as more adjustable-rate mortgages reset this year.

“We’re going to see that 2007 may be the largest year that we’ve seen for foreclosures in a long, long time,” said McCabe, whose firm tracks South Florida real estate trends.

Next year will be even worse, he added.

Of course next year is going to be even worse, we still have a large amount of appreciation that needs to be bled off. Anyone who bought in the last few years needs to have their home values come back towards the median for home price growth. And that’s a huge correction for some, and will be painful.

Perhaps you should try reading the entire article before you start laughing.

Also, to imply that the PB Post has to “cover” their butts? From what? They have never said they are financial experts. The newspaper is for news, not the place to get homebuying advice.

The NAR, on the other hand. They very well may need to “cover their butts”. They are supposed to have their client’s best intrests at heart, and I get the feeling many people who bought last year would say that there RE agent was not entirely truthful about the state of the housing market.

By cw1900

February 15, 2007 9:04 AM | Link to this

I am speechless.

The timing of that lady moving to Dothan Alabama, telling us good riddance a few days ago, and then this article on our two churchmice, Melissa and Kai Ramadan, formerly of Loxahatchee is just hilarious.

I am without words.

cw

By cw1900

February 15, 2007 9:09 AM | Link to this

Oh, and in the spirit of our housewife moving to Dothan, Alabama…..and another thing. The Smack-off, yes, I think Easy would win, but thank you to all my fans, Greetings and Salutations to those near and far, your confidence in me does not go un-noticed, I don’t know who to thank first…..

There, that ought to p!ss off the guy who wanted me to fall of the bridge…..

cw

By LMAO

February 15, 2007 9:26 AM | Link to this

Mr. Fink: When there is a dramatic change in the economy, that’s news.

When some unkonwn citizen (“Jack McCabe”) in Deerfield Beach decides there is going to be a leap in foreclosures, that is not news —and certainly should not share the headline with an established fact. One item is fact, the other is opinion. Opinion belongs on the OP ED page, clearly marked as such.

Now, if it were Ben Barnacle making this pronouncement, it would clearly have an element of newsworthiness. However, the case in point is tantamount to asking Mike Fink to make a forecast, and then building a “news” article around it.

This is not news. This is lying — and Ms. Rawls and her editor have no business in the newspaper business, IMHO. Perhaps they should be peddling their resumes to the National Enquirer.

For those who watch closely enough, a gentleman such as “Tom Lawler” participated in this column as did the rest of us. Then one week, he was suddenly an expert to be quoted by Jeff in the article portion.

So be patient, Mr. Fink, your day will come. When you are the last nut out there calling for a 50% to 70% price decline, the Post will have no choice but to quote YOU as an expert.

Meantime, as the news on the Real Estate front gets better and better, month after month, the predictions of the remaining prophets of doom become — like yours — become more and more outlandish. Your post in this very column has us sustaining an econonomic crisis worse than the great depression. And this is based on what— a 1% decline in house prices from 2005 to 2006?

You are a fanatic, my friend, and I hope for your sake this is not indicative of some more severe underlying psychological disturbance.

By In Georgia

February 15, 2007 9:34 AM | Link to this

When you move from one area to another, you will encounter different problems. You just have to realize if you can handle them. We love it here after 5 yrs. It was nice in PBC for 28 yrs but, the crowds drove us out.

By to in georgia

February 15, 2007 10:02 AM | Link to this

then why do you continue to read a newspaper from a place you left 5 years ago.

i do not read the newspaper from the area i left 6 years ago. i never have and never will.

you say you love it, but you can’t let go, can you?

georgia’s just not that exciting is it, or you wouldn’t be here trying to convince us just how happy you are.

what you are doing is trying to convince yourself.

By Carolina Gal

February 15, 2007 11:36 AM | Link to this

“Florida - A nice place to visit but, I wouldn’t want to live there.”

I saw this on a neighbors car the other day.

By AFF

February 15, 2007 11:49 AM | Link to this

This is a direct quote on another blog about Alaska and the guy feeling like his state is being overrun by people from Oregon and California. The response to him below is from someone in North Carolina. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

“Sorry to hear you’ll be going “outside” forever.We native North Carolinians feel your pain. Our state too has changed. Guess they’ll have to change the motto to “Wasthe last frontier” But you would of thought the cold would of kept the “invaders” out. lol. They are like locusts. Once they hear from a friend of a friend about a new hotspot they go moving from one place to another deystroying it in the process and changing the way of life they moved there for. But you always have the people who move there and want to become locales and not keep that “big state” attitude. Will Alaska go the way of Florida? Hopefully not. But alas like you said is it we the ones that will ultimely have to change? Is it mainly people from Calfornia and Washington that are coming up? And is it mainly the South-Central thats changing or has all of Alaska changed?”

This response from this NC person is what NC locals thinks of Floridians. This is true and widespread. I know 3 families who moved up there in the past 5 years and all 3 say this about the locals. They hate Floridians with a capital middle finger.

Can you say AFF?

By LMAO

February 15, 2007 11:49 AM | Link to this

Pardon me, it was Linda Rawls once again, trying to find “news” in what another unknown - a column participant - had to say:

[We asked analyst Thomas Lawler, president of Lawler Economic & Consulting, and a former Fannie Mae economist, to take a look at the Palm Beach County market with an eye to evaluating not just Moody’s but also the predictions of a number of sages. ]

What followed is, in retrospect, too ridiculous to repeat, but this is what passes for news in the Palm Beach Post, and above all, from the pen of Linda Rawls.

By LMAO

February 15, 2007 11:51 AM | Link to this

Carolina Gal —

Not to worry. We wouldn’t want you to live here either.

Congratulations on being able to read an entire bumper sticker by yourself, and on your lengthy and thoughtful discourse. Are you the product of a North Carolina school system?

By AFF

February 15, 2007 11:55 AM | Link to this

This is a direct quote on another blog about Alaska and the guy feeling like his state is being overrun by people from Oregon and California. The response to him below is from someone in North Carolina. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

“Sorry to hear you’ll be going “outside” forever.We native North Carolinians feel your pain. Our state too has changed. Guess they’ll have to change the motto to “Wasthe last frontier” But you would of thought the cold would of kept the “invaders” out. lol. They are like locusts. Once they hear from a friend of a friend about a new hotspot they go moving from one place to another deystroying it in the process and changing the way of life they moved there for. But you always have the people who move there and want to become locales and not keep that “big state” attitude. Will Alaska go the way of Florida? Hopefully not. But alas like you said is it we the ones that will ultimely have to change? Is it mainly people from Calfornia and Washington that are coming up? And is it mainly the South-Central thats changing or has all of Alaska changed?”

This response from this NC person is what NC locals thinks of Floridians. This is true and widespread. I know 3 families who moved up there in the past 5 years and all 3 say this about the locals. They hate Floridians with a capital middle finger.

Can you say AFF?

By ncsux

February 15, 2007 12:27 PM | Link to this

The folks from North Carolina do have a point, I suppose. Their way of life is being destroyed.

Tobacco-growing was much more profitable when they had black slaves doing it. But once slavery was abolished, it disappeared - never came back. Now the best they can do is try to export as much cancer as possible to children in the rest of the US and third world countries.

Lynchings, cross-burnings - cultural staples that are disappearing under pressure from these no good Yankees.

And where does a Yankee liberal think a 14 year-old belongs? No, not pregnant, not working, but in school! Can you believe it?

How are these fine folks in North Carolina supposed to maintain their way of life under continual assault from outsiders butting in?

By Rich R

February 15, 2007 12:33 PM | Link to this

I moved to Raleigh, NC two years ago, and have not experienced any problems for being an “Outsider”. Quite the opposite, I was helped greatly by locals upon my arrival here.

i.e. my next door folks are a husband and wife D.V.M. team. As many of you know, I breed English Mastiffs. I had a Pet emergency the day I moved in.

If not for the unselfish actions of the Strangers next door, I would have lost one of my best friends due to intestinal blockage. How about emergency surgeory on the kitchen floor? Not pretty, but it was an emergency. Never asked for a penny either.

Yeah, folks up here are real nasty; dream on…

If I ever needed help from people next door, I’d rather that happen in SoFla. At least they speak english.

When I lived in Boca for five years, I didn’t even know the last name of the people next door. Yeah, these are the folks with two brand new leased cars in the drive way and their kids eat hot dogs for dinner and FLP turns their lites off monthly

Just too sad for the working class in SoFla

By Sherman Foster

February 15, 2007 12:47 PM | Link to this

I moved to North Palm Beach from Michigan in 2003. After living two years in NPB we decided to head back to Michigan thinking it would be better back home. WRONG! We are now looking to return to Florida. No State income tax, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs,…..

By an ungodly devillike floridian

February 15, 2007 1:06 PM | Link to this

Other direct quotes from people discussing NC and about Floridians going to NC…..

“I would like some of you North Carolinians to please tell me the reason(s) so many people are moving to your state. Has the unprecedented population growth affected the quality of life? Is it becoming another Florida?”

“Yes it’s true….. NC and Georgia are the only places in the country right now where a family can make it!”

“I think western N.C. is the most beautiful place in the world, I don’t even live there (yet).”

“I agree with most everything, but I think there is a lot of “grass is greener” syndrome. I saw that with vegas and especially florida. People were saying this and that are soooo much better than where we live and then well you know the rest. I agree NC has a lot of positives but there are also a ton of negatives. Overall I believe it still a good place to live depending what your willing to give up.”

“As some others pointed out, our reason for moving from Fl to NC is plain and simple…economical. We are a young struggling family. We aren’t trying to get more SF for our dollar, or cash in on investment property. We just want a nice affordable place to raise our family away from the hustle and bustle of condos and townhomes we see now. The beautiful mountains and being able to see the seasons change is just an added bonus.

Now if I were a spoiled Ny’er like Luke (hey, he said it ) and money was no issue that might alter my decision on where I move to. Right now though, I’ve gotta have priorities that focus on being able to get by, not entertainment or fancy doctors in the city. Besides, I’ve had about enough of that in Fl. It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and people in my opinion go to doctors a lot more than they really need to. Insurance and pharmaceutical companies need to make their money you know, lol.”

“When we lived in NC we lived in the foothills, in a very small town. I was a pastor at the time and many of my parishioners, told me that they would rather die on the way to Asheville, than to go to the small local hospital. Many called it a holding room for the morgue (Since then The Asheville hospital has bought them out and are managing them now, it is probably better). Now, I wouldn’t move back to NC for all the Tobacco in Pitt county, but there is fine health care to be had there in the right places.”

“I am currently living in FLorida, and except for the nice winter weather, I hate it. I am also from Long Island, and miss the people more than the entertainment,etc. I am looking for a place to live that is warmer than NY, affordable, and has some of us NYers living there. I am considering Cary- haven’t been there yet- ust doing research and hearing good things about it. My question is if there is still a civil war being fought there, or are Yankees only a ball team there? I lived in Texas for a few years, and was afraid I would get lynched for being a Yankee! I am wondering if anyone in this forum is a former NYer, and will give me the good, the bad and the ugly.Thanks!”

“not to mention nc is the racing capital of the world , and the people who want to start their career in racing move to north carolina, and im one of those people, i am planning on moving to mooresville in the fall of 07 plan to go to the nascar technical institute, and go to a pit crew school, hopefully i can get financial aid 4 nti. i cant wait”

“Cart, the only longterm negatives I can think of are the continued skyrocketing growth pricing some people out of home ownership and gridlock on the roads. We just don’t want to see what has happened in the Northeast and California happen here, though to a certain small degree it already has.”

“That is deep in the collective character of the true Southerner. Since the civil war and reconstruction, they just don’t cotton to Yankees (translation, anyone not from the Southeast) giving their opinion. I was a pastor in NC for 12 years. There were some subjects that I couldn’t really address, because I was a Yankee. A home boy could say the same thing, and get a totally different response. I know that this exists everywhere, but I contend that it is most severe in the South.”

“I don’t know why they’re moving to NC, but I wish they wouldn’t. Need to build a wall on I95 at the stateline(maybe let a few in from southside VA though). I grew up in eastern NC and lived in Gville since ‘87. Have seen a nice small town start to lose what made it a nice place. Same thing at Nags Head. You get to a point of development where you start to degrade the character/quality of a place. And no, we don’t care how you do things up there or down there, lol.”

“The influx to NC is incredible. With all this growth with little planning, sometimes the negatives outweigh the positives. A complete dilution of Southern culture, in places like Cary, Mooresville, Huntersville, all the areas constantly talked about on the forum.

I dont care how many times I hear people talk about how bad the traffic is up north. Someone posted on here that the most traffic is confined only to the rush hour time frame. THAT IS NOT TRUE! Anyone who drives up and down the interstate to and from work everyday can tell you there is no place or even backroad that is safe from bumper to bumper traffic. On a weekend, or even lunch time? Might as well walk to a nearby restaraunt. There roads here are not built for all this traffic, and an improvement here is usually just adding a turn lane.

I guess it is cheaper here, but its not the cheapest place to live. Thats one of the problems. People are drawn only to certain areas, and it really overloads schools and roads.

In the end. people feel NC is a safe ship to jump to because their friends have done it and everyone else seems to be doing it.”

“Well, it’s not so much the religion as that everyone there is related. You just don’t shoot or rob your fourth cousin, twice removed. I’ve got family up in Clinton, and you’re an oppressed minority if you don’t see your surname anywhere. It’s really that bad.”

“When I was a teen-ager, one of the ways my Dad used to guage my dates was by the firmness of their handshake. I guess the habit stuck with me. One thing I have noticed in NC is that men don’t extend their hand to shake mine very frequently if they know I’m from Florida. I’m the one who offers mine, more often than not.”

“I’m telling you all this because i care it’s frightenining to see so many people eagerly waiting to move into an area which already averages 179 persons per square mile. give the state 5-10 years they will never be able to keep up with the growing pains they are already experiencing, imagine traffic in once rural areas of western NC , smog and pollution a raped over land scape all of the beauty that made the area appealing will be gone soon. my humble suggestion is for anyone who is considering a move to avoid the NC area it will soon be nothing more than an overpriced and underdesired FLORIDA.”

“You don’t have to be a native to feel bad about what’s happening to the land in North Carolina. I appreciate the forest, the buildings, the mountains. I don’t want to change anything. As much as we would love to live there I don’t thing we’ll be able to because of the taxes, but don’t say only the natives love the land. I respect the feelings of the natives but I hate living in Texas and I am going to move but most likely to eastern Tenn.”

“Well, now that you ask, there is a civil war being fought here, but not the kind you’re thinking of. It is more of a culture war where people are moving here (invading) who don’t care about the Southern heritage or way of life and would really love to change it with their enlightened cultural views. They don’t like the mess that has been made of their own states so they decide to spread the love around, but just can’t bring themselves to accepting our way of life down here. Just look at the disdain they have of the “Bible Belt”. The truth is they would like to loosen up that belt a couple of notches. They don’t care about the land or even the people really because they don’t have any roots here. Many would almost prefer every spare piece of land be turned into a strip mall or subdivision (or maybe an entertaiment complex since it’s so boring down here). So the newcomers are looking to start little enclaves or colonies of like minded people so their sensibilities will not be offended or their superior intellects can thrive. But inevitably their desire to help us poor Southern people gain cultrue and understanding gets the better of them and they start trying to change us again. The viscious cycle repeats itself over and over. The more visible results of this invasion is that our state is becoming one huge parking lot surrounded by a massive subdivision. One poster on this site talked about the endless forests in N.C. Well, maybe in the national forests, but everywhere else you go the trees are being cut down or bulldozed for new houses. All this amounts to “progress” for those that are flooding down here. Hope this helps you gain some insight into the mind of a True Southerner (and no, this is not a cry for help, except if you can help us by not coming here).”

and last but not least, the cream of the crop….

“By the good lord’s hand, if them Florida people can’t stop ruining our land, it’ll be the end of us god-fearing folk for sure. Florida is full of the devil and the atheists, the agnostics, and I know I’m going to a good place when he takes me, but I’d fall to my knees if I my beloved N.C. turns into the Devil’s own playground because of those ungodly Florida people. I’m off to a revival tonight and I’m going to pray hard for our beloved N.C.”

By Tired of NJ

February 15, 2007 1:26 PM | Link to this

I can tell you why I want to move to NC. I can’t afford to breathe in NJ anymore. I will never own a home, the taxes are crazy, our state is becoming more and more corrupt by the hour, people are nasty, traffic is insane, if I stay I’ll have a nervous breakdown, welfare is draining the state. I want my own home, with my own yard, and my own BBQ grill in MY Backyard.

I am tired of paying $1200 a month in rent and owning NOTHING! I am tired of the air polution, hmmm what else….Oh and everyone is miserable here because the stress of life is killing them slowly.

By goingtoNC

February 15, 2007 1:32 PM | Link to this

I’m moving to NC next month because it is very difficult for an average income family to make it here in S. Florida. My rent will be going up $200 to $1335/mo for a measly two bedroom. Median home prices here start at $350,000 but then you have to pay $6000+/yr in property taxes and $5000+ home owner’s insurance. The problem is the median income for the area hasn’t gone up - it’s $45,000. People can’t afford to live down here and are leaving in droves. NC is one of the #1 places that Floridians are fleeing too.

By kat

February 15, 2007 1:35 PM | Link to this

Yep, and in a few years, we’ll all be looking into moving out of there too. NC currently is not set up to handle the influx of “transplants” and it’s not all peachy and rosy there. Cost of living, except for the cost of a house, which is climbing quickly, is almost higher than Florida and there won’t be much open space left very soon. I’ve heard (because I looked into NC also) that the only discrimination there is there is about how much “green” you have.

By Apple Annie

February 15, 2007 1:36 PM | Link to this

There are many other places that are more affordable for Floridians to “flee” to, like SC, GA, TN which are much more affordable. Floridians have been fleeing to NC for years, it’s nothing new. Now, however, they are finding that it is quickly becoming what they are leaving … so keep on going if you are looking for affordability. It’s not here anymore. Also, the government is backwards, so the roads aren’t keeping up with all the traffic, there is no money to improve the infrastructure, taxes are going out of sight, home prices are going out of sight, new schools are not being built, drugs and crime is rampant; and many towns are simply becoming a hell hole. Just the facts. Most folks flocking here don’t want to hear it, they know all the answers before they ask the questions. Oh yes, very important: low paying jobs, or no jobs at all.

By Saby2121

February 15, 2007 1:37 PM | Link to this

Hello everyone, I am looking to move from FLorida yes another one lol. But, I want to move in the country part more I am looking for a big house with acrage. Does the homes in NC have basements? My family is diverse my husband is purto rican and I am white are children are of course mixed. We want to go were we feel comfortable and school should be good also. Please help I have no CLUE but I want to get out of FLorida. Sabrina

By Carynative

February 15, 2007 1:39 PM | Link to this

Many areas in NC are rather pricy. Any part of Charlotte that is ‘desirable’ to live in, and especially Lake Norman, are out of many peoples financial reach. Infrastructure is well behind the growth. Roads being built now and that are close to completion were planned 10 - 15 years ago. You are right that many people dont want to hear about the high crime and rapidly increasing cost of living, but people keep coming. I really dont know how all these people are making a living. If you drive away from Charlotte, almost all jobs are retail.

By Rich R

February 15, 2007 1:48 PM | Link to this

Keep coming folks.

I have acres of land waiting for development.

Let’s just open the flood gates.

yahoo!

By DorisA

February 15, 2007 1:52 PM | Link to this

We drove over to Raleigh this weekend to visit friends. Realtor.com may show something for $200K available, then again it may be sold. Realtor.com is not reliable, and is not the venue to make a life altering decision from. It is merely an overview of the market. There are some pretty tacky areas in Raleigh around $200,000. The average home in the nicer areas and new subdivisions are approaching $300,000 for anything decent in a subdivision near amenities that the average family wants to be near with fairly decent schools. Condos start at $180’s.

The traffic situation: starting at about Greensboro (BTW, there are now 11 exits from Rt. 40 going through Greensboro!) was horrendous on a late Friday morning, and continued into Raleigh at 70 to 75 mph all lanes. Lane jumpers everywhere, impatient tailgaters and very stressful driving over there. We stood at a crosswalk at around 7:30 pm trying to get across Glenwood Av. to walk over to the Crabtree Valley Mall and it was like taking your life in your hands or being at the Indy 500 with the traffic whizzing by so fast you barely make out the model of the vehicle.

We also went to Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and the highways were the same. Driving home Monday nearly did us in …. trucks, trucks and more trucks; and Fred and Ethel from Long Island, via Fla. were out there toddling along creating havoc on the roads. The NY tags were driving like wannabe NASCAR drivers, and it was a like a free for all.

That will be our last trek to Raleigh, ever. Not worth the stress.

BTW, We weren’t “looking” to move there, just visiting; and that was enough. BTW, we are both Realtors; and believe we know how to judge the market. Thank you.

Also, I wouldn’t say I’m discouraging anyone. Just being truthful. Relocation always depends on frame of reference as to where the family is relocating from. If someone is coming from LA or any city larger than Raleigh or Charlotte, and there are several, the traffic and stress of life in Raleigh will seem manageable. If someone is coming from Ea. Podunk, then they are in for a culture shock.

People are flocking to NC from big cities. The honest advice is: the grass is not always greener. People making life changing decisions by relying on unreliable information usually make a huge mistake by not doing their homework. Then there is Realtor.com. That is not a reliable source. If a family is relocated because of employment, that’s different they have no choice, and a good Realtor will show them where they should live for their needs, and for ease of selling upon the next relocation.

NC has been touted by every marketing company in the book.

For example, Asheville just dropped off the “100 best places to retire”. The marketers are on to another place to “make it a hot spot”. I only wish folks would see through the marketing and make a decision based on their needs and not on the hype. Do you know that there are actually huge trade shows put on by developers to draw people to an area and into their developments?

If I get criticized for wanting relocated people to make the best decision they can, so be it. I can handle it. If I can help one family do some deeper thinking and more exploring (this is not the only state in the country last time I checked), then I’ve done them a service without even getting paid for it. Not all of us need a sale.

In over two decades in the business, it was always my policy to show buyers the areas where I would live myself, and try to advise and lead them to the right decision. Many relocating buyers move every two years. I don’t want them to call me to list the property when they leave the area, and have it on the market for a year because they bought a pig in a poke or overpaid for it. If that is what they want, then fine … it’s their ultimate decision.

Never had any complaints except possibly posters taking the typed word out of context. It’s called being a good agent, and guiding the buyer to make a good decision. If you like an agent to candy coat everything, then fine. The other thing I sad was that Raleigh did not appeal to me. That’s why they make strawberry and vanilla. Personal taste.

By Princeton, NJ

February 15, 2007 1:54 PM | Link to this

Anyone from or familiar with Princeton, NJ? I may have an opportunity there, but I don’t know much about the place. Any insight would be helpful.

By Rich R

February 15, 2007 1:54 PM | Link to this

You all are nuts.

I bought a brand new home, from the builder. 2,100 SF, 3 Bedroom, 2 1/2 Bath, Formal Dining Room, 14X20 Kitchen, Breakfast nook, Crown molding, Chair rails, Hardwood floors, Split Zone A/C-Heat Pump on over an acre of land.

Yes, Brand New, with warranty too.

Cost: $149K

Taxes: $965 per year total.

Insurance: $328 per year with State Farm.

Taxes will be going up this year $72 due to a recent bond issue to build schools. Yes, our schools are exploding as your’s are reducing. hmmmmmmm.

The average person, with the average job, can afford the average home here. Bring the dog too.

As with all communities, you have higher priced and lower priced homes. Just like SoFla. Unfortunately, the lower priced homes are unobtainable for the average joe.

NC is open for business.

It’s all about choices.

By rich r must be tacky

February 15, 2007 2:05 PM | Link to this

My brother lives in Raleigh.

For 150k, yes, it is very, boring, middle class, nothing fancy, and not for me. Doris is telling it like it is Rich R.

If you want something decent and a little larger than Rich R’s cookie cutter with very average construction, you will spend well over $225k, actually probably more.

Rich R, you have been taken out.

We know Raleigh and we will post more to show people what it really costs.

Sorry buddy, but no sense lying to people.

By Rich R

February 15, 2007 2:10 PM | Link to this

My 12 mile commute takes about 15-20 minutes every day.

I have no idea what the post above is referring to.

Traffic in Raleigh is a breeze campared to my 18 mile commute in PBC that took about an hour each way daily.

Very funny.

By Rich R

February 15, 2007 2:12 PM | Link to this

Even at $300k and a tax rate of 0.62 it’s easy to see that NC is much more affordable then SoFla.

You’ll find the median income higher too.

Both realtors, I guess working in SoFla now. They earn their income down there. Why would they recommend NC? Just my thought.

By South Carolina and Loving It

February 15, 2007 3:59 PM | Link to this

We moved from South FL to South Carolina (Charleston area) and LOVE it.

By ncsux

February 15, 2007 4:33 PM | Link to this

Rich R. claimed to have paid 300K for his house, not 149K as above, on postings in this blog. Like many of the nuts on this blog, Rich R. is a pathological liar.

Anyone is a liar who claims that NC is not full of ignorant, hateful people like “Zyclon B” - whose posts capture the true spirit of North Carolina.

NC is the shithole of the nation, and always will be.

Why the hell are all you deep south lunatics here? We are in Florida to be away from people like you - don’t follow us to our blogs.

By FEAR

February 15, 2007 4:52 PM | Link to this

MEDIAN INCOME HIGHER IN NC? ARE YOU NUTS? ITS FUNNY ALL THE PEOPLE COMPLAINING ARE POOR. GRASS ALLWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE

By FL Renaissance

February 15, 2007 7:01 PM | Link to this

Thank you to those suggesting that I participate in the RE smackdown event, but I must decline. I sincerely appreciate being tagged as a worthy participant… but I’m just too busy practicing what I preach! I own multiple investment properties within as close as a 100 mile radius to as far as 6000 mile radius to PBC. That’s as close as Martin and St. Lucie counties in-state; up North to NYC (Manhattan); out West to the SF Bay Area, and much further West to the Pacific Rim on the Hawaiian islands. To impart some knowledge to those far less traveled, Real Estate is always a LOCAL endeavor, one size does NOT fit all. As South Florida finally upgrades by attracting a better class of Northern migrants and sophistacated Europeans and Canadians(more educated/affluent professionals replacing the old leisure suit wearing fixed income Century Village types AND by shedding of long-time locals whose days of low cost Florida living are now over and whose priority it now is to seek lower cost living in Mayberry RFD USA or wherever…please be advised that if you cannot afford to uncover a prime buying opportunity in this woe-is-me scare-di-cat market forgetabboutit, it will be no better later! For those who can afford to buy here and accept the summer’s humidity and storms and the insurance scams, buy now or forever hold your aspirations. For what you believe is an outrageous price will seem very cheap to you within 20 months or so. I personally only buy recognizable international destinations and this is one of the most affordable I’ve come across. But then, not everyone travels first class do they?

By the geico cave man

February 15, 2007 7:18 PM | Link to this

forget NC, SC, TN & GA. If you want wide open spaces & cheap living…look at TX…anywhere west of DFW…its wide open spaces…economy is booming just as long as the price of oil stays above $50 bucks a barrel. Draw a line thru TX…use I35 asthe line and move to west TX

By North Carolinian

February 15, 2007 7:30 PM | Link to this

Advice To Princeton NJ. Say, I tink there is some kind of famous singing school there. I do not beelive it is as well known as our Duke where that sharp lady made our school famous by taking on the DACROSS team but ifin you do move there you will have to deal with lots of snow I tink. I will ask my sister about Prince’s town and what its like because she saw his purple show at halftime.

By cw1900

February 15, 2007 8:18 PM | Link to this

To FL Renaissance,

Amen.

You are correct and I couldn’t have said it any better.

cw

By Trickle Down Economics

February 19, 2007 6:26 PM | Link to this

Housing Market Heats Up Again in New York City The New York Times- February 19, 2007 Can PBC Florida be far behind for those cashing in???

Since the new year began, a burst of activity has broken out in Manhattan and several Brooklyn neighborhoods as New Yorkers frenetically hunt for co-ops, condominiums and town houses, sending prices higher despite sluggish sales in many other cities. Preliminary indications from real estate firms showed that this increased activity, with open houses jammed and bidding wars taking place, has occurred in all price ranges — from tiny studios in the East Village to red-brick mansions on the Upper East Side — in counterpoint to the heavily weighted record sales of luxury properties that led the market in the late summer and fall. During the last quarter of 2006, the major real estate agencies differed on which way prices were headed.

But now, the three largest real estate companies in the city agree: for January, at least, both prices and the number of signed contracts rose in double-digit percentages compared with the same month in 2006. With higher Wall Street bonuses, a strong regional economy and pent-up demand from New Yorkers who were once worried that the city’s real estate market would crash, buyers’ attitudes have done an about-face.

“Their psychology has changed,” said Frederick W. Peters, the president of the Warburg Realty Partnership. “For almost two years, they’ve been scared that the market would plummet and they’d end up like fools who paid too much.”

Real estate experts say they see no reason for the trend to not continue, with economists predicting stable mortgage rates and a continuing city budget surplus. However, other factors may alter New Yorkers’ renewed interest in buying real estate, including an expansion of the Iraq war, a changing employment picture or another terrorist attack.

A week ago, one open house attracted 100 people to an Upper West Side one-bedroom; a $2.475 million house in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn sold in a day. Across the board, the prices of Manhattan apartments are rising. Jonathan Miller, the president of Miller Samuel, an appraisal firm, said the number of contracts signed this January was 19.4 percent higher than in January 2006. Prices were up 14.4 percent in the same time period. Inventory, which was mounting last summer, is shrinking fast.

Now, according to Mr. Miller, statistics showed that sales of studio and one-bedroom units, stagnant over the past year, were up 13.7 percent in January. “It’s not like a lot of huge sales at the high end skewed the average up.”

According to a report released last week by the National Association of Realtors, prices are falling in many other metropolitan areas around the country. The report covered only the last quarter of 2006, and showed a modest increase of 3.1 percent for the New York area, which includes parts of northern New Jersey. Anecdotally, there isn’t much talk of falling prices in Manhattan and in the most sought-after neighborhoods in Brooklyn, where young people looking for a break, empty nesters looking for a guest room and foreigners looking for a pied-à-terre say they want to live . Katalin Shavely, a 30-year-old bedding designer in Manhattan, devotes her weekends to scanning the classifieds and attending open houses, searching for just the right one-bedroom apartment for less than $750,000. She can’t find it. “I made a mistake,” she said last week. “I should have started looking before Thanksgiving.”

Mr. Miller said New Yorkers had been reluctant to buy because of the feeling of an impending crash. “Last summer, a lot of information was being dumped on the consumer: stories about the glut of condos in Miami, Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas, exacerbated by the constant debate on the blogosphere about housing bubbles, mixed together with a barrage of negative predictions,” he said in a telephone interview.

Although no one can pinpoint the moment when New Yorkers started feverishly buying again, Kirk Henckels, the director of the private brokerage division of Stribling & Associates, said he thought the luxury market picked up after Labor Day.

Within the last month, the Corcoran Group, Halstead and Prudential Douglas Elliman, three of New York City’s largest real estate sales firms, say they have recorded double-digit increases in contract prices and in the number of transactions.

In a real estate market where 18 and 22 percent price increases were recorded in 2004 and 2005, last year’s 6 percent increase was depressing, Mr. Miller said.

Pamela Liebman, the president of the Corcoran Group, reported that the company’s contracts for this January totaled $1.3 billion, an increase of 53 percent from January 2006.

Prices in many areas of Brooklyn are going up, too. According to Marc Garstein, the president of Warren Lewis Realty in Park Slope, prices in what he called the downtown neighborhoods — including Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Prospect Heights and Windsor Terrace — are now approaching 2004 highs, after being off about 10 percent in the last two years.

A town house at 171 Garfield Place in Park Slope, priced at $2,475,000, sold for the asking price one day after it was put on the market. Fifty people had shown up at the open house, Mr. Garstein said.

Customers said they had expected a buyer’s market in which they could call the shots, but found a race track, instead.

Jane LaFarge Hamill, a 25-year-old painter who lives in a “small, kind of stinky” studio in Chinatown, said she had looked at 60 apartments over three months, trying to take advantage of the lull she had noticed. “We decided to look while sellers were still worried that the market was crashing,” she said.

When she started looking last fall, there was still “wiggle room,” she said. But now, there is frenzy, said her mother, Leita Hamill, who, with her husband, Bill, is helping her daughter search for and buy a new home. The Hamills had gotten into a bidding war, one of many reported by brokers these days, for a two-bedroom co-op in Gramercy Park. They had started bidding above the asking price, but it wasn’t enough.

“There were people bidding on the apartment sight-unseen,” Mrs. Hamill said. The victors got the co-op through a sealed bid, she said. “It was like a pair of shoes that you absolutely had to have,” she said.

Real estate executives say they do not know how long the market’s heat will be turned up, although they say the regional economy looks strong.

They also say that the first two quarters of the year — the spring market — are traditionally stronger than the last two. Thus, the average for the whole of 2007 may or may not show the double-digit growth that the first part of the year is showing. “It’s all about price now,” Ms. Ramirez said. “The market is not in a spike mode, when anything, for any price, will sell.”

Ms. Ramirez, who has sold real estate for more than 30 years, said she expected that the current rocketing growth would be followed by a period of slower yet steady increases. “I don’t want to hear, ‘Oh my gosh, the market is slowing up again,’ ” she said. “With the number of deals we had last week, it has to calm down. But I feel much more confident than at any time in the last five years when the market had fits and starts and there was always a certain underlying nervousness.”

Toward the end of 2004, the real estate market in the city was booming. But then, brokers started seeing “great concern among clients that mortgage rates were about to jump and that house prices would suffer a sharp correction,” Mr. Miller said.

Since then, there has been change of leadership in Congress, Mr. Miller noted. In the region, unemployment has dropped. Mortgage rates didn’t soar. “Two years ago, we were predicting they’d be up to 8 percent now,” he said. (Rates for a 30-year fixed loan on a New York City co-op hover around 6.25 percent, according to the Manhattan Mortgage Company.)

After months of trying to push shoppers over the edge of indecision, brokers now say they spend time warning house hunters not to rush in heedlessly — advice the would-be buyers don’t always listen to.

“When my wife and I got into the market in mid-December, people told me there was a glut of one-bedroom apartments and I could take my time,” said Shelly Cohen, 51, an empty-nester. “When we actually got into the market, I found it was just the opposite.” He just found a newly created condominium in a beige brick high-rise at 1438 Third Avenue at 81st Street and quickly signed the contract. He said he felt he had to.

Mrs. Hamill, the mother of the young artist in Chinatown, offers her own advice to friends.

“Now I tell everybody: Be ready to write the check the minute you see something you love,” she said. “If it’s any good, it’ll be gone by the next day.” She paused. “Or, even by that same day.”