Living and working in south Florida during the past three decades has been nothing short of a “roller coaster ride." My first job opportunities were appraising residential properties immediately following the Savings and Loan collapse. Later I worked through the real estate recession in the 1990s and now we are in the midst of the great decline of the 2000 era. Florida, especially south Florida always seems to have higher appreciation rates and even more substantial price drops than the rest of the continental U.S.

These high percentage changes may be due, in part, to the makeup of south Florida. We seem to attract a large number of people relocating from the northeastern United States. These homebuyers usually bring down substantial equity from up north and have no problem purchasing homes, even at inflated prices. We also have a large share of foreign investors from around the world and especially South America. These are wealthy people who are purchasing second homes. These investors have been known to purchase multiple condominium units in the same building for family members and even staff.

Additionally, south Florida has always been known for land speculation. This started in the early 1920s when bus loads of tourists were taken into the everglades and sold swamp land for future development. An old friend of mine, Stan Friedman, worked with Ed McMahon. Stan told me stories of riding on the bus with Ed and dozens of fresh lunch bags. They would take an empty bus from Miami, drive across the causeway onto Miami Beach. The bus would stop at one of many new hotels. It was not difficult to fill the bus with visitors with time on their hands. The bus would drive back west to the everglades with those hungry, innocent tourists wanting a piece of our palm tree lined streets and hot humid weather. Sales were easy with a few dollars down and affordable monthly payments. Years later, these early investors would find out that there were no building permits issued for this now environmentally sensitive land.

These were the early days of Florida real estate. But this scenario of hopeful buyers purchasing their dream properties would be played out over and over again. The Savings and Loan Crash, the recession of the 1990s and of course the real estate collapse of the 2000s are all part of Florida’s history. In the next few weeks, I will discuss with you more of these issues in greater detail.