Friday, October 21, 2016

Bloomberg vs. CNBC: Miami Real Estate

October 20, 2016
Bloomberg: It's Better to Buy Than to Rent, and It Probably Always Will Be

Some markets are more advantageous than others. In Miami, it's 53 percent cheaper to buy than to rent a home of similar size, the biggest discount among the metropolitan areas included in the report.

The closure of Detroit's Packard Car Company in 1956, the impact of San Francisco's Great Earthquake in 1906, and Bernanke's "there is no housing bubble to go bust" national housing bubble bust of 2005 notwithstanding, it's better to buy than to rent, and probably always will be? Miami is a screaming bargain? Hmmm.

October 20, 2016
CNBC: Miami luxury condo prices take a plunge

In broader Miami, inventory rose 11 percent, resulting in a 40-month supply of luxury condos. Inventories for single-family homes in both areas are also higher.

Given these broad-based increases, Miller said the luxury real estate market in Miami is likely to get worse before it gets better.


Ever get the feeling that Miami is destined to be the real estate speculation capital of the world? These booms and busts never seem to end. Is it the water? Is it the sun? Is there something in the air? Please don't tell me this gambling vice has a catchy tune!



Here is my advice, for what it is worth. Only buy a home if you believe you can stay for at least a few years. The more the better. That's especially true in a modern world, where job security can often be expressed in mere months for unlucky souls. I rented for years when I was working and never regretted it. I moved often to go where the work was. Owning a home could have easily anchored me [underwater]. Your experience may vary, of course.

I should also mention that as a homeowner, the mere mention of the word earthquake makes me cringe. Care to guess who is mostly on the hook during a big one? Me. In the battle between Mother Nature and my house, the former will eventually win. But hey, at least it's not built on a flood plain. That's something I guess. Now if I could just stop thinking about volcanoes. Mt. Rainier is in the distance. 99.99% beautiful. 0.01% terrifying. So far, so good.

6 comments:

mab said...

I've been to Miami and Miami Beach. I gotta say, they're nice as are the surrounding area like Key Biscayne.

But as usual, there are trade-offs. The traffic is bad and it's not just during the typical work related rush hours. Try getting into Miami Beach on a weekend night - yikes.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Fortunately, I live in the Seattle area and we're spending big money to reduce congestion.

After investing millions to improve traffic flow, Seattle's 'Mercer Mess' improves by 2 seconds

Despite the City of Seattle having $74 million at hand to improve the Mercer corridor, traffic is just as bad as it was two years ago, according to new data from TomTom.

Not just as bad! 2 seconds quicker! Woohoo!

Mr. Slippery said...

Mt. Rainier is dormant, 99.99% beautiful and 99.99% terrifying if you look at it as something to climb, as I do.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Mr Slippery,

Got lahar surfboard? More than 99.999999% thrilling! Less than 0.000001% survivable!

Mr. Slippery said...

If Rainier every blows again, it will be very, very bad for a lot of good people. Hopefully not in our lifetime.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Mr Slippery,

Hopefully. Mount St. Helens was something I'll never forget. Impacted our small farming town severely (the ash fallout), and we were on the eastern side of the state!