Governor Discovers Florida Real Estate

What we need at the moment is a jump start in Florida’s confidence level. Fortunately, Charlie Crist, the Governor of our state, has decided to supply that. According to the Miami Herald, Crist noted that a smart investment right now would be, of all places, Florida residential real estate. After all, the state has plenty of cash in its pension funds, somewhere around $100 billion.

More important, if the state owns residential real estate, it might be able to supply affordable housing to people who serve the states interest, such as teachers, firemen, policemen, sanitation workers, who don’t get paid enough to buy a house based on today’s costs and stricter mortgage requirements.

One glaring reason that the Governor expressed interest in Florida real estate was because of the disastrous $250 million loss the state just suffered through its investment in Peter Cooper Village, an 11,000 unit project built shortly after World War II in New York City. This investment property was acquired in 2006, at the peak of the market, for about $5 billion, by a group of investors headed by Black Rock and Tishman Speyer. Currently, Florida’s stake in the project is valued at zero by the Florida State Board of Administration. It’s a total loss.

Now, the Governor feels that Florida real estate, much of which is available at deep discounts from its formerly inflated ranges, may be the place to invest. Evidently the Governor has been reading the news. And so have the two people who want his job, Alex Sink and Bill McCollum. According to TampaBay.com, both are in full agreement with Crist as far as Florida investment goes.

And they’re correct in their astute observations. In fact, it’s been more than 10 years since homes have been this inexpensive, relative to incomes in South Florida, according to Moody’s Economy.com. It appears that Florida homes have become so inexpensive that even the state government feels it can afford to buy some.

If Governor Crist’s investment strategy works out, it may lead to more affordable public housing in the future. For the present, it will certainly add to the confidence level of our citizens. This forward thinking investment in Florida real estate is also likely give at least a small boost to our sputtering economy. As our economy starts to take off , tourists will once again flood the state and start buying surplus real estate. And who knows, we might even see a return of the 58,000 people who left us earlier this year.

Written by Marc Jablon, Realty Associates
marcjablon@yahoo.com - 561 / 213 – 6139
www.MarcJablonHomes.com